Reception, Saturday, 5:45 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. (see the Social Events).
Mathematics Experiences in Business, Industry and Government,
Sunday afternoon (see the MAA
Contributed Paper Session)
New Orleans and the Environment Trip, Sunday, 1:30 p.m. to p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Depart in front of the Marriott), organized by Ben A. Fusaro, Florida State University. We will acquaint ourselves with some of the hydrological and other features that exacerbated the Katrina hit and will visit various locations in the New Orleans area that were covered in Paul Kemp's presentation. If you wish to go, please send an e-mail to Ben at fusaro@math.fsu.edu or, call Ben Fusaro or Don Miller at the Marriott (504) 581-1000.
The cost is $5 for EM SIGMAA members ($15 for non-members). Please pay at the MAA Membership booth.
Special Guest Lecture, Saturday, 5:45 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., In honor of the tercentenary of Euler's birth Edward Sandifer, Western Connecticut State University, will speak on Euler and his word problems.
Annual Meeting and Guest Lecture, Saturday, 5:45 p.m. to 7:15 p.m., organized by Bonnie Gold, Monmouth University, and Kevin M. Iga, Pepperdine University. The lecture will be given by Klaus Peters, AK Peters, Ltd on Does a proof exist if nobody has read it?.
Philosophy of Mathematics, all day Saturday (see the MAA Contributed Paper Session)
Annual Business Meeting and Reception, Saturday, 5:45 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., organized by Maura B. Mast, University of Massachusetts Boston.
Current Practices in Quantitative Literacy: An Interdisciplinary Perspective, Saturday, 2:30 p.m. to 3:50 p.m., organized by Maura B. Mast, University of Massachusetts Boston. The issue of achieving quantitative literacy (QL) is one that spans disciplines. This panel will take a closer look at how very different institutions have used a cross-disciplinary approach to teach QL. Faculty at Farmingdale State University, a state university with a focus on technology, participated in a regional project on interconnected learning in the quantitative disciplines. As a result, mathematics and QL have been incorporated into many courses in other disciplines. At North Dakota State University, a comprehensive doctoral-granting institution, QL is assessed in interdisciplinary settings by reviewing experiences in subsequent courses. The Quantitative Literacy Center at Hamilton College, a small liberal arts school with a focus on teaching effective writing and speaking, provides peer tutoring and support for students in introductory level courses containing a mathematics/QL component. Each of these programs was featured in the recently published MAA Notes book Current Practices in Quantitative Literacy. Panelists include John A. Winn Jr., SUNY Farmingdale, William O. Martin and Dogan Comez, North Dakota State University, and Robert Kantrowitz and Mary O'Neill, Hamilton College.
Featured Presentations from the Ninth Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education, Saturday 2:30 p.m. to 4:10 p.m., organized by Chris Rasmussen, San Diego State University, and David E. Meel, Bowling Green State University. The RUME SIGMAA holds an annual conference attended mostly by active researchers in undergraduate mathematics education. We have selected three presentations that received widespread acclaim from our most recent conference that we also anticipate will be of widespread interest to participants at the Joint Meetings. The panel members will give brief presentations on research related to (1) the application of a data analysis technique inspired by quantum mechanics to research on undergraduate mathematics student thinking and learning, (2) calculus and introductory analysis students' understanding of formal limit definitions and proofs, and (3) shifts in undergraduate students' knowledge and beliefs about mathematical justification and pedagogical factors that impact them. Panelists include Michael Oehrtman, Arizona State University, Susan Nickerson, San Diego State University, and Kyeong Hah Roh, Arizona State University.
Research on the Teaching and Learning of Undergraduate Mathematics, Saturday morning (see the MAA Contributed Paper Session)
Business Meeting and Presentation of the 2006 RUME Best Paper Award, Saturday, 5:45 p.m. to 8:15 p.m., organized by Chris Rassmussen, San Diego State University, David E. Meel, Bowling Green State University, and Michael Oehrtman, Arizona State University.
Innovative Examples of Using Graphs in Statistics, Saturday morning (see the MAA Contributed Paper Session).
SIGMAA on Statistics Education
Panel on Preparing Majors for the Nonacademic Workforce: Projects and Internships in Applied Mathematics and Statistics. Please click here.
Innovative and Effective Ways to Teach Linear Algebra, Saturday morning (see the "MAA Contributed Paper Sessions" section).
Business Meeting, Saturday, 5:45 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., organized by Ginger Holmes Rowell, Middle Tennessee State University
What Mathematical Content Should Future Mathematics Majors Learn While in High School?, Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 10:50 a.m., organized by Daniel J. Teague, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. This SIGMAA would like to continue discussing the mathematical preparation of talented high school students with a Town Hall Meeting on the essential mathematical content in high schools for future majors in mathematics. In our session on AP Calculus last January, the issue of students bypassing important mathematics (combinatorics, probability, 3-dimensional geometry, vectors, etc.) to insure they reach AP Calculus before leaving high school was central to the discussion. At MathFest we discussed what future mathematics majors should learn about proof in high school. In this session we would like the membership to consider the content of high school mathematics for the future mathematics major. What content would the membership of the MAA recommend talented students learn while in high school? Are combinations more important than differentiation? Are matrix operations more important than techniques of integration at this stage of the student's development? Where do data analysis and mathematical modeling fit into the preparation of future mathematicians? Panelists include Ben Klein, Davidson College, Susan S. Wildstrom, Walt Whitman High School, and Daniel J. Teague.
Best Practices for Expository Mathematics in the Digital Age, Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 11:20 a.m., organized by Kyle T. Siegrist, University of Alabama, Huntsville. In the age of the Internet, expository mathematics no longer means just text on a printed page, but increasingly hyper-linked and "non-linear" Web-based text with embedded graphics, audio, video, interactive mathlets, data sets, worksheets, and other elements. Authors of expository mathematics are no longer just those who publish commercially, but increasingly ordinary teachers and students. Best practices for general exposition (widely accepted by experts but largely unknown by ordinary authors) include the separation of presentation and content, attention to accessibility and reusability, and the use of standard, open-source formats when possible. Specific best practices related to mathematical exposition (such as mathlet design and document structure) have yet to be formulated. This panel will discuss and debate best practices for expository mathematics, and the tradeoffs involved in implementing these practices. The discussion will increase the awareness of general best practices, and encourage further debate on best practices specific to mathematics. Panelists will include Thomas E. Leathrum, Jacksonville State University, Douglas E. Ensley, Shippensburg State University, Franklin A. Wattenberg, U.S. Military Academy, David A. Smith, Duke University (retired), and Kyle T. Siegrist. The session is cosponsored by the MAA Committee on Technologies in Mathematics Education (CTME) and WEBSIGMAA.
Business Meeting and Reception, Saturday, 5:45 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., organized by Eric Marland, Appalachian State University.
There will be SIGMAA-ARTS material at the Art Exhibit at the JMM. In particular, there will be a map of Arthur Silverman's sculptures located in downtown New Orleans. Arthur will speak 6-6:45 pm on Saturday at the Marriott in room Mardi Gras D followed by a reception and a SIGMAA-ARTS business meeting 7-8pm. Arthur is hosting a studio visit on Sunday 6-8 pm. We will meet at the Marriott entrance at 5:30 and share taxis to the studio. Let me know if you plan on visiting the studio just so we have an idea of the group size. However, a reservation for the studio visit is not required.