The document is a paper by Kayleigh Lane about organizing and hosting a math tournament for her senior project. It describes how she developed a passion for math in elementary school and decided to create a math tournament based on her experience volunteering for one previously. The paper details the process of planning the tournament, including determining what content to include, creating questions at varying difficulty levels, and getting feedback from her teacher. It discusses challenges faced along the way and lessons learned. In the end, the tournament was successful and the experience confirmed for Kayleigh that while she enjoys math, she does not want to be a math teacher.

1. Kayleigh Lane
Mrs. Corbett
AP Literature
9 April 2012
Math Tournaments
When you recall elementary school, what comes to mind? For me, I remember the
countless games we played in class. In particular, I remember that fall day in my fifth grade math
class, and the race we had on the board that determined who could finish that math problem the
fastest. I remember how I loved being fought over because everyone wanted me on their team.
But above all, I remember the passion I developed for mathematics. For my senior project, I
created and hosted a math tournament because of my devotion to the field of mathematics.
In general, math tournaments are a test of how well a student has grasped mathematical
concepts. My research paper focused on the main problem facing math tournaments today, and
this problem is the information to include in them. With the new “Math 1” system of learning, I
became confused over what concepts are actually being taught to the student body. Therefore,
this directly affected how I was going to determine what information to include in my
tournament. Thankfully, from my research, I learned that even though schools are not exactly the
same, the core concepts of math per subject are still taught and, therefore, known. So, as a result,
I knew what information I could use in my tournament. In addition, I also learned that each
student learns differently than another. So, in relation to math tournament problems, I concluded
that more than one method of testing the student was needed. I determined that a multipart
tournament would be the most effective test of a student’s knowledge. Both of these realizations
helped me develop a strong base for the tournament as a whole.

2. Lane 2
For my project, I created and hosted the 2012 Creekview Mathacre. I actually was
inspired to do a math tournament not only from my love of mathematics, but from my experience
with math tournaments in general. Last year, I volunteered to help out at the 2011 Creekview
Mathacre held at the school. I enjoyed watching the participants get extremely excited over the
subject I loved. I knew what made me get excited over the subject, but I also was curious as to
what made math tournaments so exciting. I wanted to know what kind of work went into math
tournaments. Also, I knew that I still wanted to be a math teacher. If I could figure out why I am
so interested in math tournaments, I could finally conclude if I want to pursue a career in math
education. Therefore, the choice was clear. I wanted to do a math tournament.
Once it was clear that I wanted to do a math tournament, the long process of creating it
began. I initially told Mr. Oglesby that I wanted to do a math tournament for my senior project in
the spring of my junior year. With this, I told him how much I liked the Mathacre and all the
work that was put into it. He suggested that I could create and host the 2012 Creekview Mathacre
next year. I responded quickly with an abrupt, “yes!” From there, the stage was set for my senior
project. The preparation for the tournament began with Mr. Oglesby and me meeting and
discussing the components of the tournament in October. He told me that there were three
components and that I needed to create: 25 multiple choice questions, ten ciphering questions,
and one power question for the Junior Varsity portion. The varsity portion would be created with
old tests and questions. He then sent me some sample problemsfrom past tournaments to develop
my ideas and gave me a website for research materials as well. This initially is where the topic
for my research paper came into play because Mr. Oglesby said that the material for the JV
questions was everything up until trigonometry. The process continued from there.
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3. Lane 3
When November came, I was mainly devoted to my research paper. I researched and
developed the question of the material used in math tournaments up until the date it was due on
the eighteenth. After this, I buckled down on the tournament questions. Right as I began though,
the first problem began to surface. I was not sure how to formulate my own questions. Even
though I knew what other teachers did and how they approached them, I needed to find my own
medium for creating questions. In order to solve this problem, I decided to get creative and work
backwards. So, I looked up some of the sample problems I got from Mr. Oglesby and solved
them. After I did a few, I looked at my line of thinking and process for solving each problem.
From this, I developed a pattern of the way my mind perceives math questions and figured out
what my mind emphasizes. From this information, I found out what I should focus my questions
on and worked it out from there. I created the ciphering questions first, and after I created the
first ciphering question, I gave it to Mr. Oglesby for review. He said that the problem was great
and was of an easy caliber. This was when my next problem surfaced.
Math tournament questions range from easy to hard, and this was something I had to keep
in mind as well. I had trouble rating how hard my questions were. Since my math skill is above
junior varsity, what I perceive as hard and what a junior varsity participant sees as hard is
completely different. This problem was actually resolved with the help of my friends. I asked
them to try answering the questions and rate how hard it is. I not only got a good view of how
others see math questions, but I also got an idea of what kind of questions students like to see. I
repeated this process when I started working on the multiple choice questions in late December
and again with the power question. Once this was done, the creating process was over and the
editing process began.
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4. Lane 4
Editing and eliminating questions for the tournament was not the worst part of the
process. This process lasted relatively two weeks, and it cleared up all misunderstandings related
to the questions and tournament. During this time, I also got to review the script that I had to say
for the tournament as well. Preparations were complete.
Finally, it was the day of the tournament, and all the work was put into play. I
coordinated the activities, directed the participants, and timed the ciphering. Also, I passed out
awards and trophies to the teams and individuals. It was a long day that began early in the
morning until mid-afternoon. It was rewarding, and all the hard work put into it paid off because
the tournament did not have any major problems. It is true that I did a tremendous amount of
work for this tournament and my senior project, but I do not think it would have been possible if
not for my project facilitator and math teacher, Mr. Oglesby.
Mr. Oglesby is currently my AP Calculus teacher and was my Honors Analysis teacher
last year. I chose him as my facilitator because he is not only enjoyable to work with, but he is
highly skilled in the field of mathematics. Also, he was the coordinator of the Mathacre in 2011,
and therefore, is the best suited for the position. He helped me figure out what kind of questions
to do in the tournament, guided me on how to fix my mistakes, and showed me just how math
tournaments work. There was not a day during the process that he refused to answer a question.
Mr. Oglesby was a reliable facilitator.
As a whole, I gained some insight into myself due to my senior project. I learned that
under pressure, I buckle down and get the work done. Also, I found that I do enjoy math, but I do
not enjoy making questions. I found out that I want my career to involve mathematics, but not
necessarily be all of it. Through my senior project, I learned that I do not want to be a math
teacher, but I now know that I want to be in a field that involves math. Finally, I gained respect
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5. Lane 5
for math tournaments in general because of all the work that is put into them. I appreciate what
coordinators have to do in order to give participants a valuable experience.Because making
questions is not something I can see myself doing in the future, I would not pursue math
tournaments farther than I have now. It is a difficult process to go through and dedication is the
key to it. Furthermore, I learned that math tournaments are not to be taken lightly, but are to be
enjoyed to the utmost extent. Therefore, I encourage you to participate in one and see what they
are all about. They are nationwide and not just at high school levels! Think of all the knowledge
and experience you will gain once you have participated in one! Math tournaments are an
educational experience that should be enjoyed by everyone. Thank you for your time. Do you
have any questions?
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