Other Mathematical Sessions

• Alder Award Session

  Friday, August 7, 2:00 – 3:30 pm

  In January 2003 the MAA established the Henry L. Alder Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Beginning College or University Mathematics Faculty Member to honor beginning college or university faculty whose teaching has been extra-ordinarily successful and whose effectiveness in teaching undergraduate mathematics is shown to have influence beyond their own classrooms. Each year, at most three college or university teachers are honored with this national award.

  This year's honorees are:

  • Scott Annin, California State University at Fullerton
  • Sommer Gentry, United States Naval Academy
  • Jennifer McLoud-Mann, University of Texas at Tyler

  Presentations will be given by the Alder Award recipients. The session will be moderated by David Bressoud, Macalster College, MAA President.

  • Making a Connection

    Jennifer McLoud-Mann

    Friday, August 7, 2:00 – 2:20 pm

    A teaching model that has been very effective and satisfying for me involves making personal connections with my students both inside and outside of the classroom. I have observed that students who feel a positive connection to me on a personal level care more about their performance in my classes and tend to get more from the courses I teach. In this presentation I will discuss a variety of ways one can create these personal connections with students, including journal assignments, undergraduate research, math club activities, and other simple but surprisingly effective tactics.

  • Math that matters: Optimizing kidney transplants

    Sommer Gentry

    Friday, August 7, 2:30 – 2:50 pm

    To energize students in the classroom, give them relevance and ownership. A problem is relevant if students care about the answer; students feel ownership when they can create solutions. My shortcuts to ownership include mini writing projects, computer-aided experimentation, and manipulating physical models. I've culled classroom examples from my research that are immediately relevant, like expanding transplantation and analyzing human movement. In kidney exchange, two incompatible donor / recipient pairs are matched, so the donor of the first family gives to the recipient of the second family, and vice versa. Kidney exchange generates a fascinating and accessible discrete optimization problem: among a set of families, how can the largest number of transplants be arranged? Students can solve kidney exchange problems with Monte Carlo optimization, with heuristics in Flash puzzles, or with Excel's integer programming solver.

  • The Art of Having Good Questions

    Scott Annin

    Friday, August 7, 3:00 – 3:20 pm

    In mathematics, it takes a good question to spark creativity, inspire new ideas, and energize students. In fact, it could be argued that it is better to have good questions than to have good answers. In some cases, a good question is more a matter of form than substance, and in other cases, it is more a matter of asking a routine question in an interesting new context. Over the years, many such questions have arisen both in and out of my classroom. I will describe some of them, and I will share how the art of having good questions has led to an entire program of undergraduate research in modern algebra.

• Issues of Common Concern between MAA and NCTM

  Saturday, August 8, 1:00 – 2:20 pm

  Organizer:

  • Gail Burrill, Michigan State University
  Sponsor: The MAA-NCTM Committee on Mutual Concerns

  Panelists:

  • David Bressoud, MAA President
  • Henry Kepner, NCTM President
  • J. Michael Shaughnessy, NCTM President Elect

  This panel of presidents and presidents-elect of the MAA and NCTM will discuss issues of common concern to the two societies, especially what it means for a high school student to be mathematically ready for college (considering courses that include but are not restricted to calculus) and what our respective societies are doing and can do to clarify and disseminate what is meant by college readiness in mathematics. The panel is particularly interested in audience comments and suggestions.

• MAA Section Officers Meeting

  Thursday, August 6, 2:30 – 5:00 pm

  This session will be moderated by Richard A. Gillman, Valparaiso University, Chair of the MAA Committee on Sections.

• MAA Prize Session

  Friday, August 7, 11:30 am – Noon

  This session will be moderated by Martha J. Siegel, Towson University, MAA Secretary.

• MAA's New Online Calculus Text

  Saturday, August 8, 1:00 – 3:00 pm

  Organizer:

  • Don Albers, MAA
  Panelists:
  • Lawrence Moore, Duke University
  • David Smith, Duke University

  The MAA is publishing an online one-variable calculus book, Calculus: Modeling and Application by David A. Smith and Lawrence C. Moore. The authors will discuss the book and its use; site testers will report on their experiences. The materials may be reviewed at http://www.math.duke.edu/education/calculustext/.

• SIGMAA on Math Circles for Students and Teachers

  Saturday, August 8, 1:00 – 5:00 pm

  Organizers:

  • Tatiana Shubin, San Jose State University
  • James Tanton, St. Mark's School

  A math circle is broadly defined as a semi-formal, sustained enrichment experience that brings mathematics professionals in direct contact with pre-college students and/or their teachers. They foster passion and excitement for deep mathematics. This special session explores issues of conducting, supporting and propagating math circle activity and welcomes all interested in learning about this work. Along with short lectures and a panel discussion, a demonstration class with local school students will be given during this session.

• Issues for Early Career Mathematicians in Academia

  Thursday, August 6, 5:00 – 7:00 pm

  Organizers:

  • Michael Dorff, Brigham Young University
  • David Stone, Georgia Southern University
  Sponsor: Committee on Early Career Mathematicians

  This session will begin with three speakers each addressing a different issue of concern for early career mathematicians. The issues will be: (1) the faculty member as teacher and scholar; (2) using technology to teach mathematics; and (3) joining the mathematical community. After all three speakers have finished, the audience will break up into three groups to discuss these issues with the respective speakers as the group leaders. Participants will also be encouraged to continue the discussion after the session.

• Poster Session: Research by Early Career Mathematicians

  Friday, August 7, 3:00 – 5:00 pm

  Organizers:

  • Michael Dorff, Brigham Young University
  • David Stone, Georgia Southern University
  Sponsor: Committee on Early Career Mathematicians

  This poster session will allow early career mathematicians to present and discuss their research with other attendees in an informal atmosphere. Presenters should have their materials prepared in advance and will be provided with a self-standing, trifold tabletop poster approximately 48″ wide by 36″ high. The session is sponsored by the MAA Committee on Early Career Mathematicians. Proposals should be submitted at www.maa.org/mathfest/abstracts. Questions regarding this session should be sent to Michael Dorff at mdorff@math.byu.edu.

• A Reading of the Play Count

  Thursday, August 6, 8:00 – 9:30 pm

  Authors: John Martin, Timothy Craig

  Readers: John Martin, Timothy Craig, Bonnie Shulman, George Heine, Hal Huntsman

  A new play based on the life and work of Georg Cantor, Count dramatizes his transgression past the boundaries separating finite counting from infinite counting and the transformations Cantor's creative work inspires for the staff and other patients confined with him in the sanitarium at Halle Germany, 1902.

• Workshop on Teaching Abstract Algebra for Understanding

  Part 1: Thursday, August 6, 1:00 – 2:20 pm

  Part 2: Friday, August 7, 1:00 – 2:20 pm

  Organizers:

  • Sean Larsen, Portland State University
  • Keith Weber, Rutgers University
  Sponsor: SIGMAA RUME

  In this workshop, participants will read about and discuss some significant findings from the research literature on the teaching and learning of abstract algebra. Participants will learn about results from the ongoing NSF funded project: Teaching Abstract Algebra for Understanding. The Teaching Abstract Algebra for Understanding is a collaborative effort to improve abstract algebra instruction, involving mathematicians, mathematics educators, and community college faculty members. Accordingly, the workshop will be designed to substantively engage each of these different kinds of mathematics professional. Participants will view and discuss classroom video clips from the project that highlight important issues related to teaching and learning. Participants will also engage in a selection of mathematical activities and discuss the challenges and opportunities afforded by these activities.

• Poster Session: First Day of Class Activities

  Friday, August 7, 10:30 am – noon

  Organizers:

  • Cinnamon Hillyard, Chair of SIGMAA QL
  • Dan Lotesto, Chair of SIGMAA TAHSM
  Sponsors: SIGMAA QL and SIGMAA TAHSM

  All mathematics teachers face the challenge of introducing topics in inspiring ways that will engage students. “First Day of Class Activities” is a natural match for a collaborative session between members of SIGMAA QL and SIGMAA TAHSM. SIGMAA QL members are particularly interested in presenting mathematical topics in a variety of contexts. SIGMAA TAHSM members have a special interest in inspiring and engaging high school students so that they will continue to study college mathematics.

  Teachers, at either the high school or college level, need to think carefully about the material and activities they introduce on the first day of class. The first class sets the stage for what will follow in the next thirteen to twenty weeks. Classes need to be engaging throughout the semester, but the first day is critical. College students have the option of dropping a class if they do not perceive its importance in their view of the world. High school students may tune out for the rest of the semester if they do not believe the material and style matches their interests.

  This poster session will encourage high school teachers and college professors to share their best practices for innovative and creative ideas. The goal of this session is to encourage first day activities that engage, inspire and motivate students to produce their best work. We encourage submissions from a variety of courses, levels and contexts. Proposals should be submitted at www.maa.org/mathfest/abstracts. Questions regarding this session should be sent to Cinnamon Hillyard at chillyard@uwb.edu

• Mathematics Illuminated

  Thursday, August 6, 5:30 – 6:30 pm

  Organizer:

  • Susan Wildstrom, Walt Whitman High School

  The Secret World of Numbers is a 13-part television series that popularizes and humanizes mathematics without diluting it. Intended for adult learners, teachers who want to broaden their understanding, and even strong high school students, these episodes show the beautiful interplay of mathematics with naturally occurring phenomena and cutting edge research. Led by Dan Rockmore, and with a grant from the Annenberg Foundation, it was produced in a collaboration of mathematicians, Oregon Public Broadcasting and Red Door Films. Meet some of the mathematicians (such as Daniel Rockmore, Jennifer Quinn, James Tanton, and Fernando Gouvêa), the filmmakers, and PBS luminaries who made this happen and see some excerpts from the shows.

• The Value of Competition: a Discussion on Math Modeling Contests

  Saturday, August 8, 2:30 – 4:00 pm

  Organizers:

  • Doug Ensley, Shippensburg University
  • Ben Galluzzo, Shippensburg University
  Panelists:
  • Ben Galluzzo, Shippensburg University
  • Steve Horton, U.S. Military Academy

  Unquestionably, mathematical modeling competitions provide students the opportunity to apply their math skills to real-world problems. However, they also encourage deep learning in a decidedly non-traditional format; specifically by requiring students to communicate their knowledge of mathematics via oral and/or written exposition within a specific time frame. After a brief introduction of current contests and their structures, the focus of the session will be an audience-driven discussion on how math modeling contests can continue to be developed and used as learning tools for undergraduate students.

• POM SIGMAA Reception and Moderated Discussion

  The Role of The Philosophy of Mathematics in Teaching and Learning

  Thursday, August 6, 5:30 – 7:00 pm

  Moderator:

  • Martin Flashman, Past-Chair POM SIGMAA, Humboldt State University
  Sponsor: POM SIGMAA

  The interaction of philosophical foundations (ontological and epistemological) with the teaching and learning of mathematics has implications worthy of further investigation. This moderated discussion will allow audience participants to explore and exchange multiple viewpoints and experiences.