Work in Progress: Project MathWORKS! Introducing Operations Research to High Schools

Project MathWORKS! reaches out to high school math and science instructors, introduces them to operations research methods that help solve real-world problems, and excites them into teaching math in ways that help improve student learning. Instructors and undergraduates at the United States Military Academy conduct workshops that relate mathematical ideas to familiar context - such as reducing waiting time in a fast food restaurant, maximizing profit for a manufacturing company, or choosing of the most appropriate college upon graduating from high school - so that high school instructors can then incorporate the material into their classrooms. MathWORKS! seeks to introduce practical methods and tools that help promote the love of learning, dispel the notion that mathematics is incomprehensible, and empower teachers and students alike with the capacity and imagination to leverage math in the solution of everyday problems. In short, MathWORKS! aims to show that math does actually work