Voting Theory

Author: Meghan VanderMale

Meghan VanderMale teaches Mathematics at Grand Rapids Community College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She writes curriculum, problems, and puzzles related to the mathematics of social decision making and politics and has a blog (polokupuzzles.com) which features some of her problems. She works with programs in local high schools and has taught at both BEAM Discovery and BEAM Summer Away at various locations. In addition to mathematics, Meghan enjoys learning circus arts such as circus hula hooping and aerial silks.

This course is good for someone who…

  • Is ready to learn new material themselves.

  • Is an interdisciplinary topics teacher or Expeditionary Learning (EL) school teacher.

  • Has classroom management experience due to lessons with physical activities and requiring materials management.

This course features…

  • Totally new content for students! This course includes analysis of different voting systems and matching algorithms, and introduces students to polyominoes and a geometric understanding of compactness.

  • Topics directly connect to real life, particularly in years with federal elections.

  • Lessons that challenge traditional understandings of mathematics
    as static; what makes things “fair?” and
    “who gets to decide?” come up on
    multiple occasions.