The MAA Committee on Contributed Paper Sessions solicits contributed papers pertinent to the sessions listed below. Contributed Paper Session organizers generally limit presentations to fifteen minutes. Each session room is equipped with a computer projector, an overhead projector, and a screen. Please note that the dates and times scheduled for these sessions remain tentative.
The Arts and Mathematics, Saturday afternoon, Douglas E. Norton, Villanova University. The Special Interest Group of the MAA on Math and the Arts continues its successful series on connections between things artistic and things mathematical, with all three terms broadly defined: Arts, mathematics, and connections! Dance and drama and design, music and mathematical metaphor, fabrics and fractals and functions and formulas, OULIPO and do-si-do, calculated and woven and ricocheted with splines or in hyperbolic space or on tori. Whether research, classroom, or hobby; whether from one side or another or from no side at all, bring your interest, knowledge, experience, and/or aesthetic sense, to learn, share, and enjoy.
Developmental Mathematics Education: Helping Under-Prepared Students Transition to College-Level Mathematics, Thursday afternoon, Kimberly J. Presser and J. Winston Crawley, Shippensburg University. The number of students arriving at college today under-prepared for college-level mathematics courses is on the rise. Many colleges and universities are developing new curriculum and programs to help ease the transition for these students into higher level mathematics courses. In order to help these students to be successful there are a number of issues to be considered, such as new strategies for support services, what remedial courses are being offered, and perhaps even the developmental education program university-wide. This session invites papers on all aspects of developmental mathematics education. In particular, what classroom practices are effective with such students and how does research in student learning inform these practices? For students interested in math-intensive majors such as the sciences, how can we best prepare these students for several subsequent mathematics courses? How can we best coordinate support services with the courses offered in our mathematics departments?
Engaging Students with Classroom Voting, Thursday morning, Derek Bruff, Vanderbilt University, Kien Li, University of Texas at El Paso, and Kelly Cline, Carroll College. Classroom voting is a teaching method in which students are asked to respond to multiple-choice or numeric-result questions posed by their instructors during class, often using handheld transmitters ("clickers") that allow for the instant display of distributions of responses. Classroom voting can be used to make on-the-fly teaching choices that are responsive to student learning needs, to generate small-group and whole-class discussion, and to create “times for telling” in which student misconceptions are uncovered and addressed. Clickers allow students to respond to questions independently and without their peers knowing how they have responded while allowing instructors to track student responses and thus expect full participation.
We seek papers on classroom voting that focus on at least one of these areas: teaching objectives (e.g., writing effective questions, engendering cognitive conflicts, addressing misconceptions), instructional strategies (e.g., peer instruction, team-based learning, methods of guiding class discussions), new technologies (e.g., using cell phones as clickers, integration with online resources), impact on students (e.g., enhanced student learning, increased student engagement, improved retention), overcoming constraints (e.g., limited class time for active learning), development of new materials (e.g., new sets of classroom voting questions), and strategies for getting started at the course and department level.
Experiences that Enrich the Education of Mathematics Majors, Wednesday afternoon, Suzanne M. Lenhart, University of Tennessee, Steven J. Schlicker, Grand Valley State University, J. Douglas Faires, Youngstown State University, and Michael J. Dorff, Brigham Young University. This session will feature models of programs that have been successful in enriching the education of mathematics majors beyond the standard curriculum. We are interested in talks that describe such experiences as internship programs, career seminars, research experiences, and similar programs for students that help inform them about the whole spectrum of opportunities within the mathematical sciences community. The session is sponsored by the MAA CUPM Subcommittee on Research by Undergraduates.
How Assessment Results Changed Our Program, Thursday afternoon, Dick Jardine, Keene State College, and Barbara Edwards, Oregon State University. The purpose of assessment in higher education is to improve student learning and to improve our programs. Is there evidence that program assessment has made a positive difference in student learning mathematics? This session will provide faculty teaching mathematics or quantitative literacy/reasoning courses the opportunity to disseminate how they have "closed the loop" in program assessment, making changes that have resulted in improvements in their programs, in their teaching, and ultimately in student learning.
Improving a Second Course in Statistics, Wednesday morning, Nancy J. Boynton, SUNY Fredonia, Patricia B. Humphrey, Georgia Southern University, and Michael A. Posner, Villanova University. This session seeks to provide a forum in which to discuss approaches to a second statistics course. Most colleges have a first course in statistics that introduces many topics including the normal distribution, the t-distribution, hypothesis testing, confidence intervals and regression. The growth in enrollment in AP Statistics means that many college students may never take another course unless we have a good offering. In addition many "quantitatively challenged" students may shy away from majors that require the second course. Second courses may be pure "follow-ons" to the first (introductory) course (like Calculus II is to Calculus I) or something completely different. Of interest in this session are presentations related to the following: How to convince students to take a second course, innovative ideas for curriculum (what makes your course different), as well as successfully implemented activities, projects, and assessment practices particularly aimed at this course.
The session is sponsored by the SIGMAA on Statistics Education. In order to be considered for this session, applicants should submit a one-page summary of the presentation to Nancy Boynton at nancy.boynton@fredonia.edu along with the abstract to JMM website. Presenters in the session will be considered for the SIGMAA on Statistics Education's Best Contributed Presentation Award.
Innovative and Effective Ways to Teach Linear Algebra, Saturday morning, David M. Strong, Pepperdine University, Gilbert Strang, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and David C. Lay, University of Maryland. Linear algebra is one of the most interesting and useful areas of mathematics, because of its beautiful and multifaceted theory, as well as the enormous importance it plays in understanding and solving many real world problems. Consequently, many valuable and creative ways to teach its rich theory and its many applications are continually being developed and refined. This session will serve as a forum in which to share and discuss new or improved teaching ideas and approaches.
These innovative and effective ways to teach linear algebra include, but are not necessarily limited to: (1) hands-on, in-class demos; (2) effective use of technology, such as Matlab, Maple, Mathematica, Java Applets or Flash; (3) interesting and enlightening connections between ideas that arise in linear algebra and ideas in other mathematical branches; (4) interesting and compelling examples and problems involving particular ideas being taught; (5) comparing and contrasting visual (geometric) and more abstract (algebraic) explanations of specific ideas; and (6) other novel and useful approaches or pedagogical tools.
The MAA SUMMA Program Turns 20 — A Retrospective, Wednesday morning, William A. Hawkins Jr., MAA and the University of the District of Columbia, Efraim Armendariz, University of Texas at Austin, Camille A. McKayle, University of the Virgin Islands, and Robert E. Megginson, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. The late Marcia P. Sward created the Strengthening Underrepresented Minority Mathematics Achievement (SUMMA) Program in 1990 a year after she became MAA Executive Director. The goals of SUMMA are to increase minority participation in mathematics, science, and engineering and to improve the mathematics education of minorities. In the 20 years of SUMMA's existence the nation has seen many initiatives and some successes toward achieving these goals.
Speakers will be invited and papers solicited to discuss progress and setbacks. Talks will be grouped into areas such as successful initiatives with pre-college students, undergraduate programs successful in developing and enhancing minority participation, successful REUs, graduate programs, and professional development/mentoring. There will be an invited lead presenter in each category together with shorter contributed papers. This session is co-sponsored by SUMMA and the Committee on Minority Participation in Mathematics.
Mathematical Texts: Famous, Infamous, and Influential, Saturday morning, Fernando Q. Gouvęa, Colby College, and Amy Shell-Gellasch, Pacific Lutheran University. Texts—books, articles, even letters—play a central role in the life of the mathematics community. This session will consist of historical papers discussing such texts, focusing on those that have had significant impact, for good or ill, on mathematics. This session is an extension of the MAA Short Course to be offered at the Joint Meetings.
Mathematics and Sports, Saturday morning, Howard L. Penn, U.S. Naval Academy. Sports provide a host of applications of mathematics. Examples exist that use concepts taught in calculus, differential equations, probability, statistics, and combinatorics. In this contributed paper session, we will showcase interesting applications of mathematics in various sports. The application should be suitable for use in the classroom. The mathematics may be at any level from freshman to senior. Talks may be expository or may highlight research, including undergraduate research.
Mathematics Courses for the Liberal Arts Student, Friday morning, Reva Kasman, Salem State College. Many mathematics departments now offer survey courses specifically designed to introduce the nonmajor to a vast array of mathematical topics and ideas, sometimes called Mathematics for Liberal Arts. These terminal courses frequently satisfy a general education core requirement in mathematics or quantitative reasoning. Textbook topics range from the extremely practical to the highly esoteric, including such subjects as voting theory, cryptography, symmetry, fractals, mathematical modeling, probability, number systems, and infinity. Assessment methods may incorporate creative projects and writing assignments, or encourage the students to connect mathematical topics to their own life experience or major field. This session seeks the presentation of innovative assignments and classroom activities, novel approaches to particular topics, and interdisciplinary projects that have been used successfully in such courses.
Mathematics, Equity, Diversity, and Social Justice, Friday morning, Patricia Hale, California State Polytechnic University Pomona, Shandy Hauk, University of Northern Colorado, and Dave Kung, St. Mary's College, Maryland. Papers presented at this session address topics at the intersection of mathematics teaching and learning and the myriad issues of equity, diversity, and social justice. Papers are sought that address one or more of the following: developing college mathematics curricula that focus on social justice issues, preparing K-20 teachers to teach mathematics equitably to diverse populations, bringing issues of social justice into the mathematics classroom, designing or implementing programs that address issues of equity in mathematics, reviewing policies in various mathematical communities (e.g., school, undergraduate, or research mathematics) that interact with issues of social justice and equity. Potential topics for a paper submitted to this session include: lessons learned about implementing and maintaining an Emerging Scholars Program, defining social justice and mathematics—what it looks like and what the goals are, culturally responsive college mathematics curriculum and instruction, equity in the design of mathematics assessments. Proposals are sought from mathematicians; mathematics education researchers; and mathematics educators, including those involved with K—20 instructional professional development and those who can inform a national audience about current endeavors (e.g., The Algebra Project, the Math for Social Justice Group).
Mathematics Experiences in Business, Industry and Government, Thursday morning, Philip Gustafson, Mesa State College, and Michael Monticino, University of North Texas. This contributed paper session will provide a forum for mathematicians with experience in Business, Industry and Government (BIG) to present papers or discuss projects involving the application of mathematics to BIG problems. BIG mathematicians as well as faculty and students in academia, who are interested in learning more about BIG practitioners, projects, and issues, will find this session of interest. This session is sponsored by the MAA Business, Industry and Government Special Interest Group (BIG SIGMAA).
Mathlets for Teaching and Learning Mathematics, Saturday afternoon, Joe Yanik, Emporia State University, Thomas E. Leathrum, Jacksonville State University, and David M. Strong, Pepperdine University. This session seeks to provide a forum in which presenters may demonstrate and discuss the effectiveness of mathlets and related materials that they have created or further developed. Mathlets are small computer-based (but ideally platform-independent) interactive tools for teaching math, frequently developed as World Wide Web materials such as scripts or Java applets, but there may be many other innovative variations. Mathlets allow students to experiment with and visualize a variety of mathematical concepts, and they can be easily shared by mathematics instructors around the world. The Mathlets introduced in this session will be available at http://cs.jsu.edu/~leathrum/JMMsession2010.html. This session is sponsored by the MAA Committee on Technology in Mathematics Education (CTiME).
My Most Successful Math Club Activity, Wednesday morning, Jacqueline A. Jensen, Sam Houston State University, Deanna B. Haunsperger, Carlton College, and Robert W. Vallin, Slippery Rock University and the MAA. Math clubs enhance the culture of a mathematics department. How does one develop a new group? How about refreshing an existing one? What sets apart effective, active, and engaging mathematics clubs? This session will answer those questions by featuring papers from math club advisors and others who will share their favorite non-standard activity for math clubs. Our goal is to provide ideas and support for mentors of math clubs, especially those trying to begin or reactivate a group. Speakers should focus on a single activity that motivates and engages students, and, when applicable, suggestions for acquiring funding for such activities. It is our hope that these talks will spur immediate discussion between speakers and audience members, and possibly lead to a document to help math club advisors or possibly the development of an electronic forum. This session is sponsored by the MAA Committee on Undergraduate Student Activities and Chapters.
Online Homework—Innovation and Assessment, Thursday afternoon, Michael E. Gage, Arnold K. Pizer, and Vicki Roth, University of Rochester. The use of online homework systems such as the open source system WeBWorK, commercial systems WebAssign, MapleTA and others has increased in recent years. This session gives instructors who are using these systems in an innovative manner and/or studying their educational effectiveness an opportunity to report on their findings. The first theme is innovative uses of online homework systems. Many instructors use these systems simply as a replacement for standard homework, but some employ them, for example, to promote a more interactive classroom. Others use them in conjunction with a workshop or to encourage students to review material before class. In this session, instructors will have an opportunity to share these and other innovative uses of these systems and to report on how successful these new approaches have been.
The second theme is assessment and evaluation of the impact of online homework systems on student learning, both when used simply as a replacement for standard homework and when used in innovative approaches. Topics may include, but are not limited to, changes in student behavior and persistence when using online homework systems, effects on student retention in courses, and the overall impact on student learning and success in courses.
Philosophy of Mathematics for Working Mathematicians, Friday afternoon, Bonnie Gold, Monmouth University, and Carl Behrens, Alexandria, Virginia. Philosophers have a wide range of views on the nature and existence of mathematical objects. How is it that mathematics continues to flourish, year after year, when philosophical questions about the fundamental nature of mathematical objects remain controversial and unsettled? This session invites papers that address, and clarify the relevance of, this issue, and propose views of mathematical objects that are consistent with mathematical practice. Papers on other topics in the philosophy of mathematics will be considered within time constraints. This session is sponsored by POMSIGMAA, the SIGMAA for the Philosophy of Mathematics.
Preparing K-12 Teachers to Teach Algebra, Wednesday afternoon, Elizabeth Burroughs, Montana State University, Angela M. Hodge, North Dakota State University, and William G. McCallum, University of Arizona. Several recent reports (e.g., from The National Mathematics Advisory Panel, Achieve Inc., and The National Council on Teacher Quality) have emphasized that the teaching and learning of algebra plays a central role in the K-12 mathematics curriculum. In recognition of these reports, the MAA's Committee on the Mathematical Education of Teachers (COMET) is sponsoring this session.
COMET promotes "timely renewal efforts of mathematics courses designed for prospective K-12 teachers"; and "thoughtful participation of MAA members in schools and professional development programs that enhance the mathematical understanding of in-service K-12 teachers". Presentations are invited that support COMET's mission by reporting on work with prospective or practicing teachers that has a particular focus on curriculum, learning standards, or teacher preparation in support of the teaching and learning of algebra.
Publishing Mathematics on the Web, Friday afternoon, Thomas E. Leathrum, Jacksonville State University, William F. Hammond, The University at Albany, and Kyle T. Siegrist, University of Alabama in Huntsville. Emerging technologies, such as browser support for MathML, are changing the ways authors will be expected to present mathematical material in online documents. As academic journals move toward online formats, online presentation will become essential to the profession. Many useful tools have become available recently, including visual editors and simplified embedded mark-up. This session seeks to provide a venue for developers of new technologies and tools, and authors familiar with them, to demonstrate their work and share their experiences. This session is sponsored by the MAA Committee on Technology in Mathematics Education (CTiME).
Quantitative Reasoning and the Environment, Friday morning, Maura B. Mast, University of Massachusetts Boston, Karen D. Bolinger, Clarion University, and Cinnamon Hillyard, University of Washington Bothell. The combination of teaching quantitative literacy and environmental issues in the classroom can be a powerful one. Both fields naturally focus on mathematical topics such as understanding basic numeracy, constructing models, and generating and interpreting statistics. Furthermore, both fields emphasize concrete data, real-world applications, and mathematics in context. Courses that integrate quantitative literacy and the study of environmental issues are suitable for students at a range of levels, from those with a limited mathematics background, to calculus students, and beyond. This combination is also timely, given the active national conversation about implementing quantitative literacy requirements and the public's increased awareness of environmental issues. There is a growing source of support material, from textbooks to workshops to web pages, providing further evidence of the interest in developing course materials that draw from both of these fields. We invite presentations addressing the teaching of quantitative literacy and environmental problems. This could include ideas and examples for how to bringing quantitative literacy and environmental mathematics together in the classroom, suggestions for how quantitative literacy can be used in the study of environmental problems, and resources available for this type of work. This session is jointly sponsored by SIGMAA-EM and SIGMAA-QL.
Research on the Teaching and Learning of Undergraduate Mathematics, Friday afternoon, Keith Weber, Rutgers University, Stacy Brown, Pitzer College, Natasha A. Speer, University of Maine, and Karen A. Marrongelle, Portland State University. As part of its ongoing activities to foster research in undergraduate mathematics education and the dissemination of such research, the Special Interest Group of the Mathematical Association of America on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education (SIGMAA on RUME) solicits reports of research on the learning and teaching of undergraduate mathematics for its contributed paper session. We solicit proposals for research reports presenting results from completed research studies on undergraduate mathematics education that address one or more of the following themes: (1) results of current research; (2) contemporary theoretical perspectives and research paradigms, and (3) innovative methodologies and analytical approaches as they pertain to the study of undergraduate mathematics education. We also welcome preliminary reports on research projects in early stages of development or execution.
The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Undergraduate Mathematics, Wednesday afternoon, Edwin P. Herman, and Nathan M. Wodarz, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning is a growing field in which faculty bring disciplinary knowledge to bear on questions of teaching and learning and use student-based evidence to support their conclusions. Work in this area emphasizes pedagogical techniques and questions. The scope of the research can range from small, relatively informal investigations about teaching innovations in the classroom to larger or more formal investigations of student learning.
Reports that address issues concerning the teaching and learning of undergraduate mathematics are invited. Appropriate for this session are reports of classroom- based investigations of teaching methods, student learning difficulties, or curricular assessment. Papers must discuss more than anecdotal evidence. For example, papers might reference the following types of evidence: student work, interviews, surveys, etc.
Goals of this session are to feature scholarly work focused on teaching of undergraduate mathematics; to provide a venue for mathematicians to make public their scholarly work on teaching; and to highlight evidence-based arguments for the value of teaching innovations.
Undergraduate Mathematical Biology, Friday morning, Timothy D. Comar, Benedictine University, and Raina S. Robeva, Sweet Briar College. "Future Research Biologists" (NRC, 2003) and "Math and BIO 2010: Linking Undergraduate Disciplines" (Steen, 2005) emphasize that aspects of biological research are becoming more quantitative and that life science students should be introduced to a greater array of mathematical and computational techniques and to the integration of mathematics and biological content at the undergraduate level. Since these reports, many successful programs and materials have been designed to address these issues.
This session will highlight successful implementations of biomathematics courses in undergraduate curriculum, new course materials for biomathematics courses, efforts to recruit students into biomathematics courses, involvement of undergraduate students in biomathematics research, preparation for graduate work in biomathematics and computational biology, and assessment of how these courses and activities impact the students. Topics may include the issues related to the design of effective biomathematics courses, integration of biology into existing mathematics courses, collaborations between mathematicians and biologists that have led to new courses, course modules, or undergraduate research projects, effective use of appropriate technology in biomathematics courses, and assessment issues. Presenters are encouraged to provide handouts, electronic materials, or online references to their materials. This session is sponsored by the BIO SIGMAA.
Using Computer Algebra Systems in the Calculus Sequence, Thursday morning, William Marion, Valparaiso University. Since the calculus reform movement took hold in the late 1980s, mathematics faculty teaching calculus have used a number of tools to enhance student learning: Writing projects, oral presentations, portfolios, computer labs and computer demonstrations, to name a few. Many calculus courses now include a required laboratory experience. With the aid of mathematical software students solve a variety of well-designed problems in a "closed lab" environment.
This session solicits papers highlighting an innovative lab exercise in a Calculus I, II or III course that requires the use of a computer algebra system. The example to be presented should go beyond or expand upon ones usually found in standard calculus texts. It should have an "aha" quality to it. The paper should include a detailed description of the problem, rationale for why the exercise enhances student learning, the problem solution, a grading rubric, and any suggestions for adaptation by others.
Visualization in Mathematics, Saturday afternoon, Sarah J. Greenwald, Appalachian State University, and Walter Whiteley, York University. The ability to understand and create interesting visuals is essential in mathematics and in interdisciplinary research. Recent research on visualization highlights the extent to which significant portions of the student body bring a visual approach to their mathematics but some studies suggest that teachers may find it difficult to recognize visual reasoning and support the development of visual abilities.
We invite papers related to the following aspects of visualization: What skills are needed for success? What are the visual practices of research mathematicians? What is considered visually pleasing in mathematics? When are visuals helpful or detrimental for student learning? How do teachers develop visualization skills and train students to use visual information? How should we assess visualization skills?
Wavelets in Undergraduate Education, Thursday afternoon, Caroline Haddad, SUNY Geneseo, Catherine Beneteau, University of South Florida, David Ruch, Metropolitan State College of Denver, Patrick Van Fleet, University of St. Thomas. Wavelets are functions that satisfy certain mathematical properties and are used to represent data or other functions. They work extremely well in analyzing data with finite domains having different scales or resolutions. Interesting applications include digital image processing, FBI fingerprint compression, signal processing of audio files, de-noising noisy data, earthquake prediction, and solving partial differential equations. Wavelets have typically been studied at the graduate level, but are making their way into the undergraduate curriculum. We are interested in presentations that effectively incorporate wavelets in an innovative way at the undergraduate level. This may include an undergraduate course in wavelets; a topic on wavelets in some other course using, but not limited to, hands-on demonstrations, projects, labs that utilize technology such as Matlab, Mathematica, Maple, Java applets, etc.; or research opportunities for undergraduates.
General Contributed Paper Sessions, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning and afternoons, Eric S. Marland, Appalachia State University, and Daniel J. Curtin, Northern Kentucky University. Papers may be presented on any mathematical topics. Papers that fit into one of the other sessions should be sent to that session, not to the general session.
Submission Procedures for MAA Contributed Paper Abstracts
Abstracts must be submitted electronically at http://www.ams.org/cgi-bin/abstracts/abstract.pl. Simply select the San Francisco meeting, fill in the number of authors, and then follow the step-by-step instructions. The deadline for abstracts is Tuesday, September 22, 2009.
Participants may submit at most two abstracts for MAA contributed paper sessions at any one meeting. If your paper cannot be accommodated in the session in which it is submitted, it will automatically be considered for the general session. Speakers in the general session are limited to one talk.
The organizer(s) of your session will automatically receive a copy of the abstract, so it is not necessary for you to send it directly to the organizer. However, some sessions require separate submissions directly to the organizer, so check for this detail. All accepted abstracts are published in a book that is available to registered participants at the meeting. Questions concerning the submission of abstracts should be addressed to abs-coord@ams.org.