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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