# Guidelines for MAA Short Courses

## Overview

An important activity supported by the MAA is the offering of Short Courses. Each MAA Short Course consists of a coherent sequence of presentations on a single theme of mathematical interest. A course ordinarily extends over two days immediately preceding the Joint Mathematics Meetings held in January and/or the summer MathFests, and is designed for non-specialists who are seeking professional development, enrichment, and education.

## Selection of Topic and Organizers

The MAA Short Course Subcommittee welcomes suggestions for possible topics, which may be communicated to the chair or any member of the committee. The topic may introduce participants to a new area or new developments in an old area. Topics may come from “pure” areas or may have application in the physical, biological, social, or information sciences, or in technology or business. Topics that include techniques of problem-solving, topics that are of current interest, or topics that could be introduced into undergraduate courses are especially welcome.

Awareness of the audience is an important factor in choosing a topic. One of the most common reasons participants attend is intellectual curiosity.  Also, many college teachers attend to glean new material for their classes.  With regard to background, short course participants can range from undergraduate mathematics majors to research mathematicians. The overlap of expertise of mathematicians occurs generally at the level of advanced undergraduate mathematics. Therefore, the course should be accessible to someone who has studied mathematics at that level. In particular, it cannot be assumed they know the technical terminology and important results of the topic of the Short Course.  The topic should therefore be chosen with these considerations in mind.

## Development of the Proposal

The proposal selection process begins with a review of informal proposals, which consist of a brief description of the topic and name(s) of the organizer(s). Once the committee has approved a topic and organizer(s), the organizer(s) will develop a full proposal as described below, in consultation with the committee.

### Proposal Content

• Description of topic
• Rationale – why is this topic of particular interest or import? Who will benefit?  How will this short course serve the mission of the MAA?  (See http://www.maa.org/about-maa for a description of the mission and goals of the MAA.)  We suggest that the writer think of this portion of the proposal as convincing not only the Committee, but also a potential participant. Indeed, this section could be written so that it can be easily transformed into a suitable Focus advertisement once the proposal is approved. It should, therefore, excite interest in the course, as well as accurately describe goals, content, format, and prerequisites.
• Organizer(s),  their backgrounds, affiliation, and contact information
• Speaker(s),  their backgrounds, affiliation,  and contact information
• Organization of the course. While not required, the Committee encourages opportunities for hands-on experience and participant discussion.
• Timetable for the course (see typical timetable later in these guidelines)  Be sure to allow time for evaluation (discussed below).
• Audio-visual or other equipment needs. All requests for equipment are subject to approval of the Associate Secretary. Please note that computers are not provided for MAA short courses.

### Evaluation of the Course

All short course participants are asked to complete an evaluation prepared by the Committee on Short Courses. A member of the committee will distribute the forms to attendees during the short course and collect them at the end of the course. Attendees who do not turn them in will be requested to mail them to the chair of the committee. The information obtained from these evaluations is used by the committee to improve future offerings and to identify future topics, organizers, or presenters. The evaluation information is also made available to the organizers and to the presenters.

### Course Organization

Organizers have some flexibility as to the format and schedule of the lectures. Although the timetable, number, and length of the talks vary with each course, a typical MAA Short Course consists of six invited presentations, each sixty to seventy-five minutes long. The organizer should pay particular attention to the  need for breaks interspersed throughout the day. Sometimes scheduled breaks (with refreshments) must coordinate with breaks of other events. Short Courses often conclude with a panel discussion by presenters, providing an opportunity for substantial audience participation.

A typical timetable:

#### Day #1

9:00 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. - Introduction and Overview
10:15 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. - Break
10:45 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - Presentation #2
12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. - Lunch
2:00 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. - Presentation #3
3:15 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. – Break
3:45 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. - Presentation #4

#### Day #2

9:00 a.m. -10:15 a.m. - Presentation #5
10:15 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. - Break
10:45 a.m. -12:00p.m. - Presentation #6
12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. - Lunch
2:00 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. - Presentation #7
3:15 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. - Break
3:45 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. - Concluding session

Organizers may obtain more detailed outlines of previous short courses from the MAA Associate Secretary.

## Responsibilities of the Committee

Once the Committee Chair has received the full proposal, s/he will distribute it to the full Committee for review. The Committee will evaluate the proposal content for completeness, timeliness of the topic (for example, has a similar topic been offered recently?), and appropriateness for and appeal to the MAA membership.  As needed, the Committee will consult with the organizer(s) for clarification and revision.   The Committee will inform the organizer(s) and the MAA Associate Secretary of its decision in a timely manner.

The MAA Associate Secretary will schedule the short course for the scientific program for the appropriate meeting and handle the publicity. The MAA Meetings staff handles the on-site needs for the course.  The Committee will work with the organizer(s) to develop a suitable advertisement of the short course for Focus and transmit it to the Associate Secretary.  The Committee will continue to work with the organizer(s) as needed to ensure a successful course. If possible, a member of the Committee will attend the short course; in that case, the Committee representative will welcome the participants and introduce the speaker if the speaker and organizer are the same person.

## Responsibilities of Organizers

Course organizers are responsible for choosing, coordinating, and introducing the speakers whose presentations will comprise the course program. The organizer will receive an honorarium of $300 (to be split among co-organizers) and work with a total budget of$2500 to cover all travel expenses, meals, and lodging for presenters and organizers. Ordinarily, there are no honoraria for the presenters. Financial constraints need to be kept in mind when selecting speakers, who should be encouraged to use other sources of travel support whenever possible, as should the organizers. In general, organizers are asked to aid the MAA staff in identifying all possible ways of minimizing costs. The cost of the refreshment breaks, room rental, any on-site staff, and audio-visual expenses are covered separately by the MAA.

During initial conversations with prospective presenters, the organizer should outline the purpose of the short course and the presenter's responsibilities. The organizer should also discuss the nature and extent of MAA financial support offered to the presenters. Organizers should aim for a balanced group of presenters that will provide an interesting mix of ideas and insights on the theme topic. Throughout, the organizer should keep the committee chair and the Associate Secretary informed of any changes.

After initial conversations and informal agreement by presenters, the organizer contacts each presenter formally by sending a letter that outlines the responsibilities and timetable for all parties. The formal letter should contain:

• Dates, time and place of the MAA short course
• Tentative schedule of presentations
• Guidelines for Presenters (below)
• Request for synopsis of presentation and reading lists
• Request for course materials
• Copy of MAA reimbursement policy
• Information on audio-visual equipment and other supplies

The last two items can be obtained from the Associate Secretary.

The inclusion of this information in the letter of invitation is intended to formalize  the arrangements and to place in writing the understanding of the commitments involved. It also enables the presenters to know how their topic fits in with those of other presenters.

In order to facilitate contacts, the organizer(s) should maintain an up-to-date contact list with information on each presenter, including address, email, telephone, and fax. This list is provided to each presenter, the Chair of the Short Course Subcommittee, and the MAA Associate Secretary.

Organizers coordinate the schedule of presentations so that the course theme is developed in a coherent fashion which avoids excessive overlap. The organizer typically gives the opening overview of the course, introduces speakers, and is responsible for the concluding session of the course. Speakers are expected to share the outline of their presentations with the organizer and with each other well before the meeting. The organizer may wish to provide connective and introductory material prior to each presentation. There should be as much uniformity of notation and terminology as possible in the presentations.

It is also essential that the Associate Secretary be given information on any unusual expenses that might be warranted for the Short Course so that the Executive Committee will have the information it needs to set the fees for the Short Course.

Titles and brief descriptions of all presentations are needed well in advance (See Timetable and Deadlines below). Organizers will request that speakers prepare written course materials that include an outline of the presentation and references for further study; the organizer sends these to the Associate Secretary to  be posted on the MAA website one month in advance of the course.

The MAA welcomes manuscripts based on lecture notes of short courses for possible publication. Organizers may discuss this possibility with the acquisitions editor of the MAA. In addition to course materials, organizers should send a letter of welcome to all registered participants informing them of the time and place of the course, how to obtain the course materials, and any additional items to be supplied by the participant, e.g., laptop computer.

## Guidelines for Presenters

Speakers should begin with something everyone can follow, while going into enough technical detail to enable the audience to see the whole topic in perspective. Speakers should keep in mind that the expected audience comes with diverse backgrounds, depth and breadth of knowledge, however most members of the audience may be assumed to have a graduate-level mathematics education. Participants come with a keen interest in collegiate mathematics and a desire to develop professionally with the aim of enriching their knowledge of mathematics and improving their skills in presenting such material to students.

The following suggestions are the result of experience with participants’ evaluations of previous Short Courses. Speakers should pay careful attention to them.

### Content

• Move quickly to the pearls of the topic.
• Start at an elementary level, such as typically evidenced in an expository article in the American Mathematical Monthly.
• Illustrate main ideas with a single, simple, example or with a well-conceived set of examples given throughout the presentation.
• Use real data when possible. Such examples are often the only thing that is remembered by the audience afterwards.
• Provide a brief history leading up to the topic.
• Define all terms. Use standard notation.
• Review all key elementary results to be used.
• Avoid audience burnout: do not move too fast or give too many details.
• Remember, there has never yet been a talk that was too simple or too elementary.
• Coordinate your talk (through the organizer or directly) with those of other presenters to avoid excessive overlap and acknowledge overlap when it occurs.
• State some open problems or unresolved issues in the field.

### Delivery

• Use multicolored, neatly prepared slides in a format appropriate for the projection equipment. Make sure the text is large enough for everyone to read, and avoid using more than 10 lines per slide.
• Use well-prepared pictures and diagrams.
• Be consistent with material distributed prior to the presentation.
• Use gender-neutral wording as appropriate.
• Include key bibliographic references.

 JMM Short Courses Mathfest Short Courses Informal proposals due to committee December 15 of year - 2 July 1 of year - 1 Approval of full proposal by Committee; proposers notified April 15 of year - 1 October 15 of year - 1 Send formal letter to presenters, including Guidelines for Presenters April 30 of year - 1 October 30 of year - 1 Send presentation titles, brief descriptions, schedule  and Focus ad to Associate Secretary, copies to the committee chair. Also notify of special needs with financial implications May 31 of year - 1 November 30 of year - 1 Communicate with presenters to coordinate presentations October 1 of year - 1 March 1 of year Notify Associate Secretary of audio-visual needs October 15 of year - 1 May 15 of year Send handouts and other course materials to Associate Secretary November 15 of year - 1 June  15 of year Send welcome letter to participants December 1 of year - 1 July 1 of year

## Cancellation Policy

If one month prior to the meetings, there are fewer than 20 persons pre-registered for an MAA short course, it may be cancelled. Before such a cancellation is made, organizers will be notified and alternatives will be discussed, such as offering the MAA short course but reducing the financial reimbursement support for the presenters. If the course must be cancelled, the MAA staff will notify all those registered and reimburse their registration fee.

## Contact Information

The Chair of the Committee on Short Courses and the MAA Associate Secretary are the two primary contacts for information about Short Courses and their organization. The Associate Secretary will be able to inform organizers of any other MAA personnel who will be needed for helping with organizational, technical, or audio-visual details of the course. Current contacts are:

Gerard Venema, MAA Associate Secretary
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI
TEL: (616) 526 6402
venema@calvin.edu

Jennifer Galovich, Chair of the Committee on Short Courses
Department of Mathematics
St. John’s University
Collegeville, MN 56321
TEL: (320) 363-3192
jgalovich@csbsju.edu