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    Making Math Your Friend

    Making Math Your Friend

    With less than half of Ontario secondary students graduating with credits in math and science, STEM subjects are in crisis. Dr. Lynda Colgan is committed to making these subjects fun and engaging for students across Canada.

    Interviewee Name: 
    Dr. Lynda Colgan
    Topic: 
    Making Math Your Friend
    Podcast: 
    Blind Date with Knowledge, Season 1, Episode 03
    Interviewed by: 
    Barry Kaplan
    Air date on CFRC: 
    February 14, 2018
    Episode length: 
    16:25
    Academic areas: 

    Dr. Lynda Colgan’s lifelong mission is to make science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, fun. She has published award-winning books about mathematics education, created toolkits for educators and students, inspired several television series for children, and directed the wildly successful Science Rendezvous Kingston for over seven years. Dr. Colgan discusses the anxieties of North American adults surrounding math literacy, even though many use mathematics in everyday situations without realizing it. Ontario students as early as Grade 3 are already taking on negative attitudes towards math, and scores on standardized mathematics tests are dropping rapidly. Dr. Colgan is concerned that less than 50% of Ontario high school students are graduating with math and science credits. She has seen that students who see their mistakes as opportunities to learn instead of feeling discouraged by failure are able to perform better in the classroom.

    The song “The New Math” by Tom Lehrer can be found on .

    Please visit the for more information about Dr. Colgan's research.

    Making Math Your Friend

    Season 1: Episode 03