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Participation in UKMT SMC 2023

Tue Oct 03 2023Being honored to have the opportunity to participate in this year's UKMT Senior Maths Challenge, I'd like to showcase my own reflections.

Introduction to The Activity

On the 3rd of October, 2023, I took part in the SMC of 2023. It is a math contest I have always been looking forward to and preparing for.

Focus

Addressed Learning Outcomes:

  1. Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance.
  2. Identify your own strengths and develop areas for personal growth.
  3. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process.
  4. Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences.
  5. Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions.

CAS Hours

CAS Stages

Preparation

Earlier on during the summer, I had been busy with preparation for the UKMT SMC contest; taking advantage of the past paper resources, I practiced over and over again to reach a certain level.

Action

Taking part in the 1.5 hour contest in the IB library.

math work image

Reflections

Mathematics has always been a massive passion of mine. Since mid-year 10, I started to invest more time and effort into the subject, but mostly extracurricular and beyond-syllabus content, such as competition-styled questions. For the past two years, I have been the top scorer of the contest in my year group, and last year, with a decent score just above the grade boundary for the Maclaurin Olympiad, I participated in the next round and had the honor to gain competition experiences. Mathematical ability doesn't come from natural talent, at least not all. While I am certainly not one of the quickest to get things, working hard consistently does have an outstanding effect. Through the 2-year period of dedication to mathematics and curiosity for the subject, I am now able to progress at a decent pace and utilize my skills and knowledge to benefit myself and others.

The third year of UKMT is subtly different... In year 10, a month of intense hard work got me no more than 85/125. However, being determined and staying curious allows me to continuously explore the subject and extend my capabilities, to an extent where now, without much stressful preparation before the contest, I am able to handle the questions with relative ease compared to 1/2 years ago.

As someone who comes from a Chinese background, we had different approaches to problems than what I have witnessed here in the Western culture. Thus, learning and experimenting with new and creative approaches pushed me to broaden my perspective and benefit from the internationalized problem solving environment, functioning as a lens to explore mathematics. This triggers the reflection on the lack of creativity in certain education systems, where students only receive one perspective and are less open-minded to approaches coming from other cultures and backgrounds.

In compliance with ethical standards, I ensured that not in any point of time after the examination, I shared the questions with others, as it would be unfair to those who have not taken the test yet. This effort was to ensure integrity and value of the competition as much as possible and to respect the rules and regulations of the contest.