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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.
The fees for these courses are:
Minicourses 1-6 (Computer minis): US
$95
Minicourses 7-10 & 12-16 : US $60
Minicourse 11 (Origami): US $70
All
fees apply before and during the meeting. To register for the meeting
and these courses, click here.
SOLD
OUTMinicourse #1 Introduction to the mathematics
of modern cryptography, organized by Colm K. Mulcahy
and Jeffrey Ehme, Spelman College; Part A: Friday, 9:00 a.m.to
11:00 a.m. and Part B: Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. The mathematics
of modern cryptography is for anyone with an interest in mathematics
today, especially if that person also registers for classes (or
submits grades) online, or pays bills or shops on the Internet.
Since that includes most of our students and most of us, it is a
perfect subject for adding to the standard undergraduate curriculum,
either in a regular or special topics course, or as a subject for
directed research. There can be no better way of illustrating the
application to everyday life of abstract mathematics and clever
modern ideas. This minicourse will focus on the basics, assuming
only a rudimentary knowledge of number theory and abstract algebra
(e.g., Fermat's Little Theorem and the concept of an abelian group),
and cover topics ranging from 1970s breakthroughs such as Diffie
Hellman key exchange and RSA cryptography, to the more recent methods
of ElGamal, elliptic curves, and Groebner bases. Participants will
have a chance to cement and deepen their understanding of several
aspects of the material covered with directed Maple explorations.
A CD containing all of the notes/transparencies, associated Maple
worksheets, and an annotated bibliography will be distributed. Cost
is US$95; enrollment limit is 30.
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SOLD
OUTMinicourse #2 Some deterministic models
in mathematical biology and their simulations, organized by
James F. Selgrade, North Carolina State University, Cammey
E. Cole, Meredith College, and Hüseyin Koçak,
University of Miami, Coral Gables; Part A: Friday, 2:15 p.m. to
4:15 p.m. and Part B: Sunday, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. This course
will present and analyze discrete and continuous models from physiology
(e.g., the Hodgkin-Huxley model), pharmacokinetics, and population
biology (e.g., the chemostat model). The class will be conducted
in a computer lab where participants will use the software Phaser
to simulate model behavior. Each of the four topics will be discussed
for 30 minutes followed by 30 minutes of computer experimentation.
The participants will be provided electronic copies of the Web-based
notes, simulations, and the software. Familiarity with the material
in undergraduate courses in ordinary differential equations and
linear algebra will be helpful. Cost is US$95; enrollment limit
is 30.
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Minicourse #3 A
tool to implement quantitative literacy (QL): Spreadsheets across
the curriculum, organized by Semra Kiliç-Bahi,
Colby-Sawyer College, Gary T. Franchy, Davenport University,
and Cheryl Coolidge and William A. Thomas, Colby-Sawyer
College; Part A: Friday, 4:45 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. and Part B: Sunday,
3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. In this minicourse, participants will explore
a wide range of spreadsheet modules centered on quantitative literacy
concepts and skills. These modules were developed with the support
of an NSF grant, Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum, Principal Investigator:
Len Vacher, University of South Florida, and Project Director: Emily
Lardner, The Washington Center. Each module aims to have students
explore one or more problems in disciplinary contexts by building
their own spreadsheets. These modules are tested and ready to be
used in the classroom along with classroom assessment suggestions.
The necessary support and guidance will be given to participants
to start developing their own spreadsheet modules. This minicourse
is designed for people who are at the initial stages of implementing
QL as well as for people who would like to enhance their existing
QL courses by integrating the use of spreadsheets. Cost is US$95;
enrollment limit is 30.
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SOLD
OUTMinicourse #4 Creating visual mathematics
applets using Flash programming, organized by Douglas E.
Ensley, Shippensburg University, and Barbara Kaskosz,
University of Rhode Island; Part A: Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to 10:00
a.m. and Part B: Monday, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Due to its intuitive
authoring environment and the ubiquitous, free Flash Player, Macromedia
Flash is a superior product for the creation of interactive material
on the Web. This course will teach essential Flash programming in
the context of mathematics classes developed by the presenters through
NSF DUE 0535327. These freely available classes allow for the easy
construction of webpages that graph functions, surfaces, and even
slope fields. Participants will receive a thirty-day trial version
of the Flash product for use with this material. No previous experience
with Flash is required, but participants should have some familiarity
with computer programming. Cost is US$95; enrollment limit is 30.
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Minicourse #5 Wavelets
and applications: A multi-disciplinary undergraduate course
with emphasis on scientific computing, organized by Patrick
J. Van Fleet, University of St. Thomas; Part A: Saturday, 10:30
a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and Part B: Monday, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. This
minicourse provides a basic introduction to wavelets and applications.
The wavelet transform is developed in an ad hoc manner. It is then
used in applications such as data compression. Participants develop
the necessary software and are encouraged to bring their own digital
images or audio files to use. Our construction is easy to understand
but is limited in applications. Thus we have the motivation for
developing wavelets in a general context. The minicourse content
provides an excellent template for an undergraduate class in wavelets
and applications. We discuss how the course can be offered to undergraduates.
Participants receive software and lecture materials that can be
used to offer the course at their home institution. For more information,
please visit http://cam.mathlab.stthomas.edu/wavelets.
Cost is US$95; enrollment limit is 30.
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Minicourse #6 WeBWorK
2: An Internet-based system for generating and delivering homework,
organized by Arnold K. Pizer, Michael E. Gage, and
Vicki Roth, University of Rochester; Part A: Saturday, 1:00
p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and Part B: Monday, 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. This
minicourse introduces participants to WeBWorK 2, the new version
of the open software system for presenting and grading homework
problems. Supported by grants from NSF, WeBWorK has already been
adopted by over 100 colleges and universities. WeBWorK can handle
most homework problems found in a typical calculus text and is distributed
with an extensive library of over 4,000 problems covering college
algebra and trigonometry, precalculus, single and multivariable
calculus, differential equations, linear algebra, statistics, and
probability. There is also a larger national library of problems.
It's easy to modify current WeBWorK problems or to write new ones.
Participants will actively participate in using WeBWorK to select
and edit problems, set up and administer a course, etc. More information
about WeBWorK is available at http://webwork.rochester.edu/.
Cost is US$95; enrollment limit is 30.
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Minicourse #7 Directing
undergraduate research, Aparna W. Higgins, University
of Dayton; Part A: Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and Part B: Sunday,
1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. This course will cover many aspects of facilitating
research by undergraduates, such as getting students involved in
research, finding appropriate problems, deciding how much help to
provide, and presenting and publishing the results. Similarities
and differences between research conducted during summer programs
and research that can be conducted during the academic year will
be discussed. 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 US$60; enrollment limit is 50.
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Minicourse #8 Mathematics
and geometry of voting, organized by Donald G. Saari,
University of California Irvine; Part A: Friday, 2:15 p.m. to 4:15
p.m. and Part B: Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. By now, most of
us know that voting rules can cause unexpected outcomes and delicious
paradoxes. It is possible for the standard plurality ranking, for
instance, to be Alice >Barb >Connie while the "vote for two"
outcome is precisely the opposite. The mathematical issues--which
constitute the theme of this course--are to identify everything
that can possibly happen and the mathematical reasons why they occur,
how to construct any number of illustrating examples, how to identify
which voting rule is the "best", and to learn how to convert portions
of this recent research into rich course offerings for our undergraduates.
Cost is US$60; enrollment limit is 50.
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Minicourse #9 Evaluating
student presentations in mathematics, organized by Suzanne
Dorée, Augsburg College, Richard J. Jardine, Keene
State College, and Thomas J. Linton, Central College; Part
A: Friday, 4:45 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. and Part B: Sunday, 3:30 p.m.
to 5:30 p.m. Do your students give in-class presentations or present
their undergraduate research project at a conference or senior seminar?
While most mathematics professors can tell a great mathematics talk
from a truly horrible one, when it comes to grading student presentations
we are often at a loss. In this course we'll examine what makes
a good student mathematics talk, offer concrete advice on helping
students prepare to speak, discuss the use of rubrics for evaluating
presentations, and explore the role of presentations in departmental
curriculum and assessment. Participants will practice using rubrics
to evaluate presentations on video and at the meetings themselves.
Sponsored by the MAA Committee on Teaching Undergraduate Mathematics
(CTUM). Cost is US$60; enrollment limit is 50.
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Minicourse #10 A
beginner's guide to the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL)
in mathematics, organized by Curtis D. Bennett and Jacqueline
M. Dewar, Loyola Marymount University; Part A: Saturday, 9:00
a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and Part B: Monday, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. This
course will introduce participants to the scholarship of teaching
and learning in mathematics. 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,
discuss methods for investigation, and help participants begin projects
of their own. Participants will be guided in transforming a teaching
problem of their own into a problem for scholarly investigation.
Suggestions for how to make this work public will also be given.
Cost is US$60; enrollment limit is 50.
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Minicourse #11
Origami in undergraduate mathematics courses, organized by
Thomas C. Hull, Merrimack College; Part A: Saturday, 1:00
p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and Part B: Monday, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Those
who have studied origami may have unfolded their creations and marveled
at the pattern of creases in the paper that result. Lovely mathematics
lurks behind these creases, incorporating topics throughout the
entire undergraduate mathematics curriculum. This material is easily
understood by undergraduate majors, leads to numerous open questions,
and offers a great opportunity for hands-on, discovery-based learning.
This workshop will offer participants hands-on experience with the
main areas of "origami-math" (including modular origami, geometric
constructions, and combinatorial modeling) to incorporate into their
own classes. Requests will also be solicited from participants for
topics they'd like to see applied to origami. This version of the
minicourse will include new material from previous years. Experience
either in paper folding or in teaching geometry, algebra, or combinatorics,
would be useful. Cost is US$70; enrollment limit is 30.
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Minicourse #12
Combinatorially thinking, organized by Arthur T. Benjamin,
Harvey Mudd College, and Jennifer J. Quinn, Association for
Women in Mathematics; Part A: Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and
Part B: Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Faced with an identity,
how do you create a combinatorial proof? This hands-on minicourse
will provide you with some useful combinatorial interpretations,
well-selected examples, and the challenge of finding your own combinatorial
proofs. Along with numbers that are defined through counting (binomial
coefficients, Stirling numbers, Catalan numbers), you will acquire
a combinatorial appreciation for quantities like harmonic numbers,
continued fractions, determinants, Fibonacci numbers, and the golden
ratio. An extensive list of identities--some with known interpretations
and others without--will serve as the basis for your exploration.
Of course, you are welcome to bring along your personal favorites
to add to the excitement. Cost is U$60; enrollment limit is 50.
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Minicourse #13
Teaching a course in the history of mathematics, organized
by Victor J. Katz, University of the District of Columbia,
and V. Frederick Rickey, U.S. Military Academy; Part A: Friday,
2:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. and Part B: Saturday, 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 US$60; enrollment limit
is 50.
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Minicourse #14
Contemporary college algebra: A refocused college algebra course,
organized by Donald B. Small, U.S. Military Academy, and
Laurette B. Foster, Prairie View A&M University; Part
A: Friday, 4:45 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. and Part B: Sunday, 3:30 p.m.
to 5:30 p.m. The "refocused" aspect of the course refers first to
developing students to become exploratory learners, and second to
preparing students for the quantitative needs they will encounter
in school, the work place, and society. Elementary data analysis,
functions, and problem solving/modeling are the major components
of the course. Participants will engage in small-group class activities,
small-group projects, modeling (graphically, recursive sequences),
and discussions on pedagogy, content (What are the basic skills
for college algebra?), and assessment. Participants will receive
a collection of small-group activities and projects. Familiarity
with a graphics calculator will be helpful, but is not a prerequisite.
See http://contemporarycollegealgebra.org
for more information. Cost is US$60; enrollment limit is 50.
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Minicourse #15
Geometry with history for teaching teachers, organized by
David W. Henderson and Daina Taimina, Cornell University;
Part A: Sunday, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and Part B: Monday, 1:00
p.m. to 3:00 p.m. This minicourse will facilitate a hands-on cooperative
experience of the geometries of various surfaces (cones, cylinders,
spheres, and hyperbolic planes) and 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 non-axiomatic, non-formal 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 US$60; enrollment limit is 50.
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Minicourse #16
More music and mathematics, organized by Leon Harkleroad,
Wilton, Maine; Part A: Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and Part
B: Monday, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. An all new set of topics from
the interface of math and music will be explored including subjects
such as historical geometric methods to approximate equal tempering
in instrument design, group theory in contradancing, and music from
space-filling curves and fractals. This minicourse will not repeat
material from the previous one (held in Atlanta, GA, in January
2005), and it will not assume that participants attended that earlier
installment. Cost is US$60; enrollment limit is 50.
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