Springtime diner  |  2 views  |  home  | Dutch version |  Classroom materials,
motivating pupils for math and science
The activity



Dutch Mathematics day Contest 2021 (age group 15 years old)		Springtime diner

The assignment is based on the A-lympiad preliminary assignment The Christmas Buffet from 2006. In this A-lympiad assignment we had to come up with a (time) roster of companies that wanted to come to the Christmas buffet; for the OWD we adapted the assignment to the organization of a spring dinner in a restaurant, taking into account the corona rules and the limited space of the restaurant: how to place the tables in the space and the companies at the tables?
Background information

Dutch Mathematics Day Contest

During the Dutch Mathematics Day Contest students work in teams of about 3 to 4 members on an open mathematical problem solving task during a couple of hours. The product of this work is a report (and sometimes a presentation).


Dutch Mathematics Day Contest 		Using your skills in a new setting
  • The task gives the students the opportunity to show what they have learned from mathematics and how they can use the knowledge and skills in a new situation.
  • Students can try, analyze, reason, calculate en design;
  • The (context of the) task is authentic, while the mathematics knowledge is easy to (re)use in this new situation;
  • Different teams can work 'on their own level' and this gives opportunities for differentiation;
  • There is a structure in the task from 'easy first steps' to a more complex end task.

Online learning objects from the Freudenthal Institute (Utrecht University)