Mason Levens ’25 Launches His Own Minor Course: “Analytical Approaches to Mathematics”
By Matt Strauss ’27, Marketing and Communications Department Intern
Moorestown Friends School strives to create an environment in which students have the freedom to pursue their passions. Mason Levens ‘25 is in the midst of pursuing his passion for math instruction, partnering with Math Teacher Michael Omilian to design and teach a new minor course called “Analytical Approaches to Mathematics.”
Mason’s course, which began on January 24, quickly filled to capacity with 18 student participants. “I was first inspired by my research on how math is being taught analytically by some of the leading schools around the country,” Mason said. “I feel as though MFS does a really great job of teaching math to the why in their classes, but I want to try to experiment by applying the principles that go into the discussions and collaboration in humanities courses to math courses as well.” The opportunity to teach this minor course will give Mason the ability to run a pilot course at MFS that represents that same model of collaboration that can also be applied to math. His class has a direct connection to his Capstone Project, which culminated in a book he authored called Analytical Approaches to Mathematics Instruction in which he goes into greater detail about how teachers can work on applying these concepts in their own classrooms.
“Analytical Approaches to Mathematics” was open to Upper School students in grades 10-12, which has provided Mason with a class with a wide range of skill level and mathematical knowledge. Mason began the course with an introduction to fundamentals of mathematics such as algebra and geometry. However, he wants to start to shift his approach by talking about ideas that are traditionally more difficult. “I want to take concepts that are often stated as being really complex for students and give them an understanding of how to manipulate them and teach kids some cool tricks and understanding there,” he said. He believes that he’ll be able to work with students on anything even if they have basic level skills. As the semester progresses, Mason hopes to talk a little bit about how calculus can be described. “I want to give students a better understanding of what it actually is and where it comes from,” expressed Mason. He believes that there is often a misconception about how calculus can be extremely complicated, and he hopes to be able to explain what is actually going on when students are performing different calculations by using an analytical approach.
Mason is deeply appreciative for the teachers who have supported him throughout his process. “I want to thank (Librarian and Capstone Advisor) Ms. (Nicole) Weber and (Upper School Director and Capstone Advisor Mr. (Noah) Rachlin with a special thanks to Mr. Omilian for his willingness to build the course with me,” he acknowledged.