The Tidewater Team A collaboration at William & Mary’s School of
Education is aimed at helping both students and K-12 teachers
approach excellence in mathematics education. Photo by Stephen
Salpukas A hands-on approach to math education for students and
teachers| June 13, 2012 The Tidewater Team is helping fourth-
and fifth-grade students get their hands dirty—creating mini-
ecosystems, fictional animals, volcanoes and ice cream makers.
But the fun and games are just sneaky hands-on ways to teach
math and science concepts. “Unfortunately, many people think of
math as just memorizing facts or just doing algorithms, and I
can’t tell you how many times you hear, ‘Why do I need to know
this?’” said Margie Mason, a professor of education at William &
Mary. “Here, we are capturing kids’ imaginations, we’re getting
them actively engaged, and they’re seeing a purpose for math and
science. Plus, we’re bringing in the engineering component, as
well, that I think really helps. It gets the kids just so
excited about what