Learning Math Aboard The Hokule’a

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UH-West Oahu is opening a new undergraduate Math Center this spring semester.

Training will go beyond help with class assignments, bringing tutors and math students together to apply mathematics in real-world situations. Math teams - undergraduate tutors partnered with students enrolled in Math 100 (Survey of Mathematics) and Math 103 (College Algebra) - will engage in projects involving the Hokule’a. Community groups including the Polynesian Voyaging Society, which built the sailing vessel, will also work with the students.

The teams will present their projects at the end of the semester. Examples of projects include investigating navigation calculations with geometric properties, analyzing the relationship between math and the environment, and determining the mathematical seafaring methods that brought the ancient Pacific Islanders to the Hawaiian Islands.

“The peer-to-peer learning experience is very effective,” said Linda Furuto, UHWO assistant professor of mathematics. “The Math Center serves as a valuable first step in reaching the university’s long-term goal of providing bachelor’s degrees in math education and math within the next five to 10 years.”

For more information, call 454-4700.