Chatter fills the classroom as students solve math problems, teaching themselves new content and collaborating with one another for help. Pencil in hand, junior Sanjana Prasanth solves the current question at her desk on the University of Los Angeles campus. She participated in the UCLA Math Circle, a program hosted by the UCLA Department of Mathematics that teaches students K-12 advanced, non-traditional math topics.
“[The experience] helped a lot with problem-solving. And how I approach learning new things,” Prasanth said.
Prasanth joined the program during her freshman and sophomore years of high school after her father found the program and encouraged her to join. However, her passion for mathematics started at a much earlier age.
“In elementary school, I did an after-school math program, which really got me into doing math,” Prasanth said.
The program holds weekly classes led by students studying mathematics at UCLA. Each week, the class focuses on a different mathematical concept, providing students with worksheets to work on and allowing them to apply analytical thinking to solve the problems.
“For example, there was one [problem] about linguistics [the scientific study of language]. In the beginning, they would give you [a question] like: “If this word means this, then what does this word mean?” Prasanth said.
Compared to a high school environment, the UCLA classroom settings were very similar. The major distinguishing factor, however, was the intense focus on collaboration.
“There were a lot more students helping each other, teaching each other. It was like learning it yourself [by] discovering [the answer],” Pransanth said.
After two years of participating in the program, Prasanth’s main takeaway was an introduction to a new side of math that she’d never been exposed to before.
“Even though math just feels like numbers, there are a lot of different applications to it, and they’re very, very different,” Prasanth said. “[You can do things] with math that you wouldn’t necessarily consider being mathematical concepts or [even] STEM.”
Besides learning new concepts, Prasanth has gained skills that have encouraged her to take Advanced Placement Calculus BC in her junior year.
“I did geometry over the summer between eighth grade and ninth grade. And then I went straight from AP PreCalc to Calculus BC. I think [UCLA Math Circle] helped teach me how to self-study and learn on my own,” Prasanth said.
In AP Calculus, students cover a variety of topics, including limits, derivatives, and polar functions. However, Prasanth’s AP Calculus BC teacher, Michael Smith, thinks the most important skill taught in his math class is problem-solving.
“[Through] math, you become a really good problem solver; you become a really good critical thinker. You train that part of your brain, creating these neural networks in your brain, and you’re laying the foundation [to solve future problems],” Smith said.
Besides Prasanth’s ability to uncover patterns quickly and absorb information from lessons, she is always willing to be a team player.
“[There are] some people in the class that she knows, but then [there are] other people in the class that she doesn’t know. When we do board work or homework, she’ll go up, and she’ll guide [the class] through. It’s very refreshing when you see a student who is very bright and gifted, but also willing to help other students,” Smith said.
UCLA Math Circle taught Prasanth new principles and concepts that she wouldn’t have learned in an average math class, skills she can apply to not only AP Calculus but also to what she wishes to do in the future.
“I’m probably going to go into engineering. I really like problem-solving, and I like the idea of building things. Engineering is an area where I could apply a lot of problem-solving skills,” Prasanth said.
