SNAP Mathfairs
  • Home
  • Guidelines
  • Organizing
    • Organizing & Preparing for the Fair
    • Choosing a Theme
    • Different Types of Displays
    • Some Typical Projects
    • Who to Invite
    • Optional Timelines
    • Math Fair Club
  • Grading
    • Assessment Checklist (Grade 7)
    • Evaluation Guidelines (Grade 9)
    • Rubric for a Math Fair (Grade 12)
    • Marking Guide (Grades 5 and 6)
    • Math Fair Club Evaluation (Grades 4 and 5)
  • Resources & Contacts
    • Puzzle Sources
    • Contacts
    • Workshops and Conferences
  • Puzzles
    • Level 1 Puzzles >
      • Spoke Sum
      • Number Wheel
      • Buggy Jump
      • Pyramid
      • Nine Men in a Trench
      • Star Jump
      • Circle Jump
      • Circle Jump II
      • Four Cottages
      • Free the Animals
      • Sam's House
      • About the Solutions
      • Solutions - Level 1
    • Level 2 Puzzles >
      • Neighbourhood Sums
      • Eight Squares
      • Soko Puzzle I
      • Soko Puzzle II
      • Abdication
      • Regime Change
      • Stairways to Heaven
      • Catacombs
      • About the Solutions
    • River Crossing Puzzles >
      • The fox, the goose, and the grain
      • The fox, the goose, and the grain, and the dog
      • The mouse, the elephant, the dog, and the cat
      • Soldiers and children
      • Animal Crossing
      • The Three Thieves
      • The Missionaries and the Cannibals
      • Quarrelsome Boys
      • Jealous husbands
      • A Handful for the Farmer
      • The farmer, his children, and their pets
      • About the Solutions
    • Sudoku-Type Puzzles >
      • Cats, Cows, and Pigs
      • Latin Squares
      • Apple and Bananas I
      • Apple and Bananas II
      • Apple, Bananas, and Cherries
      • Four Skyscraper Puzzles
      • Colourful Cats and Pigs I
      • Colourful Cats and Pigs II
      • The Wizard's Hats
      • Four Colours
      • About the Solutions
    • Other Puzzles >
      • Catch the Thief
      • Cherry Glasses
      • Coin Jumping I
      • Coin Jumping II
      • Evensies
      • The 22 Game
      • Switch Positions
      • Spellbound Frogs
      • The Die Hard Jugs
      • About the Solutions
    • About the Solutions
  • About SNAP
    • Our Mandate
    • Our Supporters
    • Who Are We?
    • Curriculum Connections
    • The SNAP Approach and "Inquiry-Based Learning"
    • Some History
  • Gallery

Guidelines in Detail 

The SNAP foundation takes its name from the four fundamental guidelines for a math fair.
  • Student-centered,
  • Non-competitive,
  • All-inclusive, and
  • Problem-based.
The guidelines have been "field tested" over a period of several years. They are flexible enough to allow a school to incorporate it's own academic standards in the math fair. There are sound reasons for following the guidelines, and these are briefly described below.

Student-centered

In a SNAP math fair, the students must take ownership of their projects. The students should be front and center. By nature, teachers, parents, and older siblings want to help. However, in a SNAP math fair, the students should design and prepare the displays themselves with little or no external help. Releasing ownership to the students may cause anxiety, but will lead to a highly energetic math fair.

Non-competitive

Children love success. They like happy endings. If you give them a story to read and they know it does not have a happy ending, they will soon lose interest. If you have a competitive math fair, children who have no hope of winning will simply not participate. It is no different than a sports team — it is a good experience for a child to try out and maybe not make it, part of the learning experience. But many children who know there is zero chance to make the team will not bother to try out. There it doesn't matter, but here it does.

A non-competitive math fair has a secondary benefit. There will be no arguments about judging, and no negative feelings by students who do not win a prize. No prizes are awarded at a SNAP math fair. No prizes are needed. 

All-inclusive

The participation rate should be 100%, whether the fair is presented by a single class, a single division or an entire school. While a traditional science fair may be geared towards the perceived 'elite' students, a SNAP math fair does not exclude anyone.

Problem-based

Students are given math puzzles to solve. They must solve the problems themselves and this is really the important part of the math fair. This is what makes it relevant to the curriculum. The students become experts for their own puzzle, and they will present the puzzles (not the solutions) to the math fair spectators. They will help the spectators solve the problems.

A math fair that follows these guidelines will be charged with high-energy. It will not degenerate into a passive poster session. The atmosphere will resemble a carnival midway more than a trade show.

The students will gain confidence in their problem solving skills, they will learn that enjoyment of mathematics is not confined to "elite" students, and it will create in them a favourable attitude towards mathematics. If our anecdotal evidence is to be trusted, they will improve their abilities in all aspects of mathematics.