Former Seattle elementary school teacher Dan Finkel earned national recognition in 2022 for his innovative mathematics curriculum. Photo: Linked In
I always enjoy sharing stories about creative educators who have earned accolades for their innovative curriculum. One of these is Dan Finkel, a teacher from Seattle, Washington, who founded a math game and curriculum company called Math for Love. For his work, Dan garnered national attention from the National Museum of Mathematics.
“I decided that teaching math is the most important contribution I can make to the world,” declares Dan. “I’ve devoted much of my life to understanding and teaching the motivation, history, aesthetics, and deep structure of mathematics,” he continues. “My goal is to give everyone the chance to fall in love with mathematics. Whether you excel or struggle, whether you’re a teacher or student, parent or child, if you want to learn what math is really about, I can help,” he concludes.
The National Museum of Mathematics specifically applauded Dan for his lesson entitled “The Billiard Ball Problem” in 2022. The lesson explores the geometry of reflections by guiding students to observe the patterns a billiard ball makes when it is shot diagonally from a corner of a rectangular table. The students then conduct mathematical processes to predict what corner the ball will travel to.
Today, as an educator of teachers and students, Dan works with schools, develops curriculum, leads teacher workshops, invents board games, and gives talks on mathematics and education. He is one of the creators of Prime Climb, a mathematical board game. He contributes regularly to the New York Times Numberplay blog and hosts Seattle’s Julia Robinson Math Festival annually.
The former classroom teacher earned his Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Swathmore College in 2002. He earned a PhD in Algebraic Geometry from the University of Washington in 2010. He taught grades 4—12 at Saint Ann’s School in Brooklyn Heights from 2002 to 2004.
To check out Dan Finkel’s website and examine his free lessons and materials, click on this link to Math for Love.
