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MAA MINICOURSES
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Minicourses are open only to persons who register for the Joint Meetings and pay the Joint Meetings Registration fee in addition to the appropriate minicourse fee. The MAA reserves the right to cancel any minicourse that is undersubscribed.

Advance Registration is now closed. On-site JMM registration will be in the East Registration area on the street level of the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center between 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday (1/11); 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Thursday (1/12), Friday (1/13), and Saturday (1/14); and 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Sunday (1/15).

Minicourse #1: Designing and evaluating assessments for introductory statistics, organized by Beth L. Chance, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; Robert C. Delmas, University of Minnesota; Allan J. Rossman, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Part 1: Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.; Part 2: Saturday, 9:00 a.m.to11:00 a.m. Statistics teachers find it challenging to construct student assessments that focus on conceptual understanding, allow consistent scoring, and provide informative feedback. Participants will be involved in constructing assessment instruments for use in introductory courses using an online assessment resource, ARTIST, and in evaluating the results. We will discuss guidelines of effective assessment, resources for assessment material categorized by concept and level of difficulty, suggestions for evaluating student performance through examinations and performance assessments, and use of a comprehensive first-course exam. Participants will be invited to pilot items, contribute new items, and share outcome data for comparison across institutions through ARTIST. Cost is $95; enrollment limit is 30.

Minicourse #2: SOLD OUT JAVA applets in teaching mathematics, organized by Joe Yanik, Emporia State University, and Michael E. Mays, West Virginia University. Part 1: Thursday, 2:15 p.m.to 4:15 p.m.; Part 2: Saturday, 1:00 p.m.to 3:00 p.m. This minicourse will introduce the participants to the Java programming language and its use in creating mathematical activities. No previous experience in Java programming will be assumed. Through the use of a Visual Development Environment and a MathToolkit that was developed with the support of an NSF grant, this hands-on workshop will lead the participants through the creation of some sample applets and introduce them to the MathToolkit. In addition, they will be provided with a more complete tutorial that they can take home that will teach them the Java programming language and its use in creating mathematical applets. Cost is $95; enrollment limit is 30.

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Minicourse #3: Using and adapting online materials, organized by David A. Smith and Lang Moore, Duke University. Part 1: Thursday, 4:45 p.m. to 6:45 p.m.; Part 2: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. After a general introduction, the minicourse will begin with a discussion and demonstration of the use of Math Gateway and MathDL to identify, explore, and evaluate online mathematics materials. We will also discuss current trends in online mathematics, e.g., writing in MathML, for the presentation and use of mathematical content, and the increasing use of Flash as a way to create mathlets. Participants will be able to experiment with searching for online materials. At the end of the first session, we will collect suggestions for issues to be discussed in the second session. In the second session, we will respond to these issues with more time for participant exploration. The course will conclude with a general summary. Cost is $95; enrollment limit is 30.

Minicourse #4: Creating interactive workbooks using MS Excel, organized by Sarah L. Mabrouk, Framingham State College. Part 1: Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.; Part 2: Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Using the Control Toolbox, one can create interactive workbooks containing scrollbars, buttons, and graphs that can be used for course demonstrations and for course assignments/projects as well as workbooks that allow students to explore concepts. Creating interactive workbooks using MS Excel requires only basic knowledge of graph and data creation, and students need only MS Excel to use these workbooks; no specialized knowledge is needed to create them and the Internet is not required in order to use them. Participants will create interactive workbooks containing graph and data components. Sample topics include analysis of spring-mass system and numerical integration. Cost is $95; enrollment limit is 30.

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Minicourse #5: Finite group behavior: Windows software for teaching beginning group theory, organized by Edward C. Keppelmann, University of Nevada Reno, and Ellen J. Maycock, Depauw University. Part 1: Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; Part 2: Sunday, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. In providing the ability to calculate with examples, FGB allows an instructor to teach beginning group theory in a more effective way than would be possible by the traditional theorem/proof based approach. The software is free from http://unr.edu/homepage/keppelma/fgb.html. This minicourse will provide an overview of the software along with a series of collaborative activities that show the pedagogical power of the program. Users of the FGB are able to construct and visualize subgroups homomorphisms, cosets and factor groups among other features. Participants will receive a handbook of materials along with a limited release superpowered beta version of the program which provides enhanced pedagogical possibilities. Cost is $95; enrollment limit is 30.

Minicourse #6: Technology tools for discrete mathematics, organized by Douglas E. Ensley and Katherine G. McGivney, Shippensburg University. Part 1: Friday, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.; Part 2: Sunday, 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Discrete math courses primarily serve students studying math and computer science. This minicourse will focus on three major areas of discrete math (sets/relations/graphs, combinatorics/probability, and writing mathematical proofs) and how computer technology can be used to make these courses more student centered. We will use Maple for the first day and predesigned Flash movies for the second day, and in each case we will spend some time on special features of the software and some time on design issues for effective classroom use. The minicourse participants will come away with new ideas and customized material for their own discrete math courses. Some familiarity with basic Maple syntax is expected, but no experience with Flash will be assumed. Cost is $95; enrollment limit is 30.

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Minicourse #7: Geometry with history for teaching teachers, organized by David W. Henderson and Daina Taimina, Cornell University. Part 1: Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.; Part 2: Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. This workshop will facilitate a hands-on cooperative experience of the geometries of various surfaces (cones, cylinders, spheres, and hyperbolic planes), studying the intrinsic geometry of these surfaces. We will also explore the interactions (both ways) between geometry and mechanical motions. We will use four historical strands to organize our reflection on the basic geometric notions of Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometry. These explorations enhance our understandings of Euclidean geometry and help to demonstrate a nonaxiomatic, nonformal view of mathematics and mathematics learning. Appropriate for all mathematicians teaching teachers. Teaching materials and references to Web and paper resources will be provided. Cost is $60; enrollment limit is 50.

Minicourse #8: Mathematical and statistical modeling in biology: Competitive exclusion, coexistence, estimation, and control, organized by Azmy S. Ackleh, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and H. Thomas Banks, North Carolina State University. Part 1: Thursday, 2:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.; Part 2: Saturday, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. The participants will learn about differential equation models which validate the competitive exclusion principle and others where coexistence between competing species occurs. Furthermore, we will discuss some aspects of current HIV modeling research including basic multiscale mathematical modeling (cellular to individual to population), the importance of qualitative properties of models, statistical modeling including inverse problem formulations for estimation of distributions, treatment of censored data in both estimation and control, and computational methodology for both open loop and closed loop control in nonlinear systems. No particular background in modeling, inverse problems or control theory will be assumed of participants. The participants will work on short projects which provide them with hands-on experience in using these tools. Cost is $60; enrollment limit is 50.

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Minicourse #9: Discrete dynamical systems and problem solving, organized by Steve Horton, Rodney Sturdivant, and Gary W. Krahn, U.S. Military Academy. Part 1: Thursday, 4:45 p.m. to 6:45 p.m.; Part 2: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Discrete dynamical systems describe changing behavior in the forms of growth, decay, oscillation, velocity, acceleration, and accumulation. Studying and analyzing these changing phenomena is important for undergraduates. In this minicourse, the concepts of dynamical systems are explored and used to solve problems that connect mathematics to other subjects. Important mathematical concepts such as equilibria, stability, and long-term behavior are covered along with an introduction to numerical, graphical, and analytical solution methods. Cost is $60; enrollment limit is 50.

Minicourse #10: A beginner's guide to the scholarship of teaching and learning in mathematics, organized by Curtis D. Bennett and Jacqueline M. Dewar, Loyola Marymount University; Thomas F. Banchoff, Brown University; and John P. Holcomb, Cleveland State University. Part 1: Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.; Part 2: Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) encompasses the work done when a faculty member uses disciplinary knowledge and a scholarly frame of mind to investigate questions about student learning in order to better understand how students learn disciplinary knowledge and to share this new understanding with others. We will present a framework that illustrates the similarities between disciplinary research and SoTL work, offer examples of SoTL projects in mathematics at varying stages of development, and discuss methods for investigation and publication. Participants will be guided in transforming a teaching problem of their own into a problem for scholarly investigation. Cost is $60; enrollment limit is 50.

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Minicourse #11: Teaching a course in the history of mathematics, organized by V. Frederick Rickey, U.S. Military Academy, and Victor J. Katz, University of the District of Columbia. Part 1: Friday, 1:00 p.m.to 3:00 p.m.;Part 2: Sunday, 1:00 p.m to 3:00 p.m. Many schools are introducing courses in the history of mathematics and asking faculty who may never have taken such a course to teach them. This minicourse will assist those teaching history by introducing participants to numerous resources, discussing differing approaches and sample syllabi, providing suggestions for student projects and assessments, and giving those teaching such courses for the first time the confidence to master the subject themselves and to present the material to their students. Cost is $60; enrollment limit is 50.

Minicourse #12: Getting students involved in undergraduate research, organized by Aparna W. Higgins, University of Dayton, and Joseph A. Gallian, University of Minnesota Duluth. Part 1: Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.; Part 2: Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. This course will cover many aspects of facilitating research by undergraduates, such as finding appropriate problems, deciding how much help to provide, and presenting and publishing the results. Examples will be presented of research in summer programs and research that can be conducted during the academic year. Although the examples used will be primarily in the area of discrete mathematics, the strategies discussed can be applied to any area of mathematics. Cost is $60; enrollment limit is 50.

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Minicourse #13: The Fibonacci and Catalan numbers, organized by Ralph P. Grimaldi, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Part 1: Thursday, 2:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.; Part 2: Saturday, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. In introductory courses in discrete or combinatorial mathematics one encounters the Fibonacci numbers and sometimes the Catalan numbers. This minicourse will review and then extend this first encounter as it examines some of the properties these numbers exhibit as well as applications where these sequences arise. A survey of applications dealing with chemistry, physics, computer science, linear algebra, set theory, graph theory, and number theory will show why these sequences are of interest and importance. Cost is $60; enrollment limit is 50.

Minicourse #14: Teaching linear algebra with applications, organized by Gilbert Strang, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Part 1: Thursday, 4:45 p.m. to 6:45 p.m.; Part 2: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Linear algebra is a crucial subject in the teaching and applications of mathematics. We hope to suggest new ideas in its presentation. Among those ideas is a range of problems whose exploration (by hand and mind, not by computer) will lead us to the central ideas of linear algebra. The pure and applied parts of this subject will be intertwined in the minicourse, as they are in reality. In a way, the minicourse itself will try to show the fascination of teaching and learning and using linear algebra. The problems will be distributed (with some solutions!), and we describe our use of the course page. Cost is $60; enrollment limit is 50.

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Mincourse #15: A novel approach to problem solving, organized by Andrew C.-F. Liu, University of Alberta.
Part 1: Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.; Part 2: Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. At the University of Alberta, we have designed a very successful sophomore course on problem solving, using as an innovative text a mathematical novel in which the main character, a mathematical version of Sherlock Holmes, solves important, instructive, and interesting problems for his clients. In this minicourse, we will run a simulated class and examine suitable problems from various sources. We will also provide a brief history and discuss the basic philosophy of our course. There are no prerequisites, and sample notes and problems will be distributed to the participants. Cost is $60; enrollment limit is 50.

Minicourse #16: Fair division: From cake-cutting to dispute resolution, organized by Steven J. Brams, New York University. Part 1: Friday, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.; Part 2: Sunday, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Cutting a cake, dividing up the property in an estate, determining the borders in an international dispute--such problems of fair division are ubiquitous. Rigorous procedures for allocating goods (or "bads" like chores), or deciding who wins on what issues in disputes, will be analyzed, starting with the well-known cake-cutting procedure of "I cut, you choose". Particular attention will be given to procedures that produce "envy-free" allocations, in which everybody thinks he or she received the largest portion and hence does not envy anybody else. Results obtained in the last five years will be highlighted. Applications to real-life conflicts, from interpersonal to international, will be discussed. Cost is $60; enrollment limit is 50.

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