MAA Ancillary Workshops

Note: These workshops take place on Friday, January 9, before the JMM actually begins.

National Research Experiences for Undergraduates Workshop, organized by Dennis Davenport, Howard University; Friday, 9:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Room 207A, Convention Center. This workshop will teach participants how to write a competitive grant proposal. This workshop is a hands-on experience where participants write a summary of a proposal and rate an NSF awarded proposal in a mock panel review. Participants will also learn many helpful hints and fatal flaws to proposal writing. This workshop is appropriate for current PIs of MAA’s NREUP grants and for those who were denied funding for an MAA grant.

Advanced registration is required. Send an email to the organizer at dennis.davenport@howard.edu to register for the workshop.

Embedding Undergraduate Research into a Living-Learning Community, organized by Mark Daniel Ward, Purdue University; Friday, 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Room 206B, Convention Center. The goal is to enable participants to incorporate their undergraduate research programs into a living-learning community. This is especially appropriate for courses in calculus, linear algebra, combinatorics, mathematical modeling, and introductory proof-based courses, or for early statistics courses such as exploratory data analysis, probability, or introduction to statistics. We will discusses best-practices for going far beyond the curriculum in training students, e.g., having a holistic program that integrates the student (1) curriculum, (2) research, (3) residential life, and (4) professional development experiences. We will share examples, activities, projects, syllabi, calendars, and research topics from Purdue’s NSF-funded Living-Learning Community. We will discuss how to integrate computational aspects of the curriculum and research into a living-learning community, using software such as Maple, Mathematica, Matlab, Sage, and/or R or SAS. The workshop is an outreach activity of NSF grant DMS-1246818.

Advanced registration is required. Send an email to the organizer at mdw@purdue.edu to register for the workshop. Space in the workshop is limited. Participants are encouraged to bring a laptop to the workshop.

Teaching the Statistical Investigation Process with Randomization-Based Inference, presented by Beth Chance, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo; Robin Lock, St. Lawrence University; Soma Roy, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo; and Todd Swanson, Hope College. Friday, 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Bowie B, Grand Hyatt San Antonio. This full day workshop is intended for faculty members who have experience with or soon will be teaching introductory statistics. The goals of this workshop are to help participants to revise their introductory statistics course in two ways:

1. Using randomization-based methods, as opposed to methods based on the normal distribution, to introduce concepts of statistical inference, and

2. Emphasizing the overarching process of conducting statistical investigations, from formulating a question and collecting data through exploring data and drawing inferences to communicating results, throughout the course.

The workshop will provide direct experience with hands-on activities designed to introduce students to fundamental concepts of inference using randomization-based methods. The learning activities involve using freely available applets to explore concepts and analyze real data from genuine research studies. The presenters will also offer implementation and assessment suggestions during these activity-based sessions and discussion sessions based on the experiences of the presenters with randomization-based curricula in their own classrooms. More information about some of the materials on which this workshop is based can be found at www.math.hope.edu/isi.

Advance registration (but no fee) is required. Go to https://www.causeweb.org/workshop/jmm15/ to register.