With the help of application-oriented mathematics, the project School@DecisionTheatreLab aims to bring together high school students and scientists to investigate important social issues—such as sustainable mobility or the spread of infectious diseases. Through mutual exchange a new science communication format is created in which both sides learn from each other: students gain exciting insights into current mathematical research and science benefits from the feedback of the students.
Background
Our world is becoming increasingly complex, digitalisation is advancing, and ever larger amounts of data are produced every day. How can mathematics use this data to address major challenges facing our society or contribute to progress? While the COVID-19 pandemic has drawn attention to mathematical modelling in epidemiology, the relevance of mathematics and mathematical modelling to many other societal issues and problems is less known. Yet mathematical modelling can be found everywhere—from painkiller development to solar cell improvement to evacuation plans or the transformation to sustainable mobility.
In cooperation with the Global Climate Forum, MATH+ researchers led by Sarah Wolf have produced a story about modelling and discussing future mobility.
Illustrated by comic artist Alberto Madrigal and published with RAUM Italic, the comic book (in German) can now also be viewed here.
Our concept School@DecisionTheatreLab
The project Schule@DecisionTheatreLab aims to introduce students to the exciting and fascinating research of application-driven mathematics, to decrease inhibitions about mathematics and science, and to awaken a greater understanding of the importance of mathematics for our society and future.
School@DecisionTheatreLab aims to combine two existing science communication formats—”School Lab” and “Decision Theatre”—creating an innovative format with which students can gain insights into mathematical research.
In School Labs (workshops) mathematicians explain the development of mathematical modelling and its application to relevant issues in society.
In the Decision Theatres, students can experiment with mathematical models by discussing topics such as sustainable mobility or the spread of infectious diseases. In several scenarios, they put together different measures, such as driving bans and the expansion of bicycle infrastructures for mobility or different measures for infectious diseases. With the help of interactive visualisation on large screens, the students can reconstruct and discuss the different effects of the taken measures on society and the future. This should promote awareness for and the understanding of the impact of decisions and activate a participation process.
Hence, the students dive into a manifold of real-life mathematics and have an hands-on experience in an open-minded environment. At the same time, the relevance of mathematical modelling for decision-making processes will be highlighted. For the forecasts that arise from mathematical modelling can have a considerable influence on measures by politics and economy that are decided for citizens.
Science in communication with students
The Decision Theatres are conducted at the Zuse Institute Berlin (ZIB) with students in grades 10-12.
For science, the project offers the opportunity to learn from the students’ perspective. Modelling important societal issues is a rather new research area field, and details in the model are often not determined—as is with the modelling of complex physical systems. New ideas from everyday life and feedback on which aspects are considered more or less important can play a big role in improving models. Therefore, the project aims to facilitate science communication in two directions: on the one hand, bringing mathematics closer to students; on the other hand, developing a method that makes it possible to include practical perspectives in the mathematical models.
A Decision Theatre on pandemic outbreaks
Mathematics Workshop
© Per Jacob Blut
Computer Science Workshop
© Per Jacob Blut
Decision Theatre
© Per Jacob Blut
Regarding the topic “Pandemic outbreaks under the microscope: A Decision Theatre on the spread of infection,” school classes currently have the opportunity to visit the ZUSE Institute Berlin. Their visit is divided into three parts.
In the Mathematics Workshop, students learn how to mathematically model epidemics and calculate probabilities of infection.
Our Computer Science Workshop welcomes participants with no programming experience. Within the context of an agent-based simulation illustrating the spread of infections, students use a block-based programming language.
The centerpiece of the project is the Decision Theatre. Through interactive experimentation with a mathematical model, students create possible scenarios of epidemic outbreaks and simulate social and political decision-making processes by devising sets of measures based on their insights.
The following video provides some impressions (in German) from students of an 11th-grade class who participated in the “Decision Theatre Day.”
Exploring MATH+ Topics
School@DecisionTheatreLab is based on the mathematical modelling provided by research projects of the Cluster of Excellence MATH+. With a resolute focus on advancing application-oriented mathematics through interdisciplinary collaboration, MATH+ researchers tackle pressing societal issues across a spectrum of fields, guided by the the principle of “Changing the world through mathematics!”
Decision Theatres have been established to explore the following topics within the realm of MATH+ research:
- Sustainable mobility
- Pandemic outbreaks: Exploring the spread of infection.
Funding by Berlin University Alliance (BUA)
As part of the program Experimental Science Communication Laboratories, School@DTL is funded by the Berlin University Alliance (BUA) for three years until the end of June 2024.
Didactics and Social Sciences
Both communication formats are accompanied by educational experts and social scientists (with a focus on diversity and gender equality). Through their perspective, the formats will be comparatively examined and continuously improved.
In order to sustainably establish this science communication format in schools, student teachers of mathematics are involved and are to gain inspiration for their future teaching activities through their participation in the project.
Materials for Schools
Team Members
Researchers from the three major Berlin universities (Freie Universität, Humboldt-Universität, and Technische Universität) have developed the concept School@DecisionTheatreLab. The team is divided into the following areas of responsibility:
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- Decision Theatre / Spokesperson: Dr. Sarah Wolf, FU Berlin
- Teaching and Learning: Dr. Luise Fehlinger, HU Berlin
- Diversity: Prof. Dr. Heike Solga, FU Berlin
- Gender Equality: Dr. Anina Mischau, FU Berlin
- Scientific Project Coordination: Estela Gretenkord, TU Berlin, MATH+
- Communication: Beate Rogler, TU Berlin, MATH+
Elevating our team with Master’s and PhD Student Expertise:
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- Sinah Gürtler, PhD-Student, FU Berlin
- Alicia Jokisch, Employee, TU Berlin
- Jannis König, Student, FU Berlin
- Christoph Lieben, PhD-Student, HU Berlin
- Nina Samani, Student, FU Berlin
- Karolin Stiller, Student, FU Berlin
- Malika Tokpanova, Student, FU Berlin
- Joshua Wiebe, PhD-Student, FU Berlin, MATH+
Former team members:
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- Malika Tokpanova, FU Berlin
- Xueyi Guo (02/2022 – 04/2023) TU Berlin
- Ariane Beier (10/2021 – 03/2023), TU Berlin, MATH+
Scientific Coordination - Linda Tillert (10/2021 – 07/2022) FU Berlin, MATH+
Here you can access the short biographies of our team members.
Contact
- Spokesperson: Dr. Sarah Wolf
- Project coordination: Estela Gretenkord
- Public relations: Beate Rogler
- Register school classes for a Decision Theatre: dt@mathplus.de.
Links
- Film: Portrait of Sarah Wolf (in German) about the mobility model and the Decision Theatre (MATH+ YouTube Channel, BUA-production)
- Film: Interview with Sarah Wolf on the Decision Theatre (in German) (Futurium, MATH+)
- Article in the Berliner Tagesspiegel: Was bringt die Zukunft?: Nachhaltigkeit, die sich rechnet.
Shaping the ecological transition: Mathematician Sarah Wolf analyzes agent-based modeling for sustainability issues (Feb. 2021)