CAS Learning Outcomes:
1: Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process
3: Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience
4: Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
5: Demonstrate the skills and recognise the benefits of working collaboratively
6: Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance
Stage 1: Investigation
Ever since I participated in the Math Challenge @ Pan Asia International School in Grade 6, I had wanted to do something similar again. When I got into high school, I decided to make Wells Math Club with Jinyoung and Sapal.
Stage 2: Preparation
Our goal was to engage more people with math. So we decided to make our own competition. The competition was open to any Wells high school student willing to pay the participation fee (to be donated to charity). To make the rigor of the competition as fair as possible, we split the students into two divisions: G9-10 and G11-12. We also had a final Students vs Teachers round.
There were 3 main things to prepare for:
1. Making questions that would be used for the competition.
2. Gathering student and teacher participants.
3. Coming up with a floor plan and schedule.
Stage 3: Action
On the day of the final round, we had to set up the auditorium according to the floor plan: Tables and chairs on both stage left and stage right, one whiteboard per team and one marker per person, questions on the projector, and a timer on a laptop on center stage.
Students sat on stage left and teachers sat on stage right, all facing the screen. After the final round, participants received their participation certificates.
Stage 4: Reflection
The competition was a success. This was actually our second time holding the math competition. The first time, in 2018, we had over 50 participants. This time, in 2019, we had over 60. Based on feedback from my classmates, the difficulty of questions were still a bit hard, but better than the first year. Some areas of improvement, however, would be getting more teacher volunteers. This could be improved by revising the difficulty of questions and twisting the competition questions so that creativity is required more than an extensive set of knowledge on math.
CAS Learning Outcomes:
1. Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
- Improvement in leadership.
2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process
- As an introvert, it was quite challenging to hold the mic on stage and give instructions to people. Improvement in public speaking skills.
3. Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience
- My first time leading an entire event from the start to the end. Improvement in critical thinking skills: 1. because I had to foresee any possible problems on the day of the competition and 2. boost motivation of club members.
4. Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
- There were times when all our club members were demotivated during the planning process because it was hard to manage school work and create questions for the competition. Although we postponed the competition several times, we still ended up holding the event successfully.
5. Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively
- All the members of the math club aren't in my year level. It was a first working with a completely new group of people. Although we knew each other well, collaborating as a team was a first. The planning process improved my teamwork skills and leadership skills.
Stage 5: Demonstration
Wells Math Competition 1 & 2 were one of the biggest student led events in school. It was really amazing to see how only a group of 4 people were able to successfully start a club and hold a well-organized event.
Also, we ended up raising over 3000 baht by collecting participation fees. All money was donated to UNICEF.
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