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The Founding of CUPM 1958-1978: Part III

1970-71

  • Recommendations for the Undergraduate Mathematics Program for Students in the Life Sciences. An Interim Report of the Panel on Mathematics for the Life Sciences, September, 1970. Following extensive consultation with biologists and other life scientists, this panel recommended a core of mathematics for all undergraduate majors in the life sciences and outlined how this core could be related to courses suggested by CUPM in its 1965 GCMC report.
  • A Course in Basic Mathematics for Colleges. CUPM. January, 1971. Recommends a substantial change in the increasingly enrolled college mathematics courses below the level of college algebra since "this second exposure is [often] no more successful than the first." In order to provide "enough mathematical literacy for adequate participation in the daily life of our present society," this report urges that flow-charting, algorithmic, and computer-related ideas be introduced early and used throughout a flexible, laboratory-based course.
  • A Basic Library List for Two-Year Colleges. CUPM. January, 1971.
  • Preparation for Graduate Work in Statistics. CUPM Panel on Statistics. May, 1971. Citing the 1965 COSRIMS report of the National Academy of Sciences, this report notes that "both computer science and statistics have dual sources of identity and intellectual force, only one of which is mathematical." It goes on to recommend (for colleges without separate programs in statistics) a mixed curriculum including probability, statistics, mathematics, and computing as appropriate preparation for graduate training in statistics.
  • Recommendations for an Undergraduate Program in Computational Mathematics. CUPM Panel on Computing. May, 1971. In contrast to the Panel's 1964 report concerning preparation of students planning careers in computer science, this report addresses the needs of future mathematicians who will be expected to exhibit expertise in computational mathematics and scientific computing. Includes course descriptions as well as observations about staff qualifications and facility requirements.
  • A Course in Basic Mathematics for Colleges. Amer. Mathematical Monthly, 78:6 (June-July 1971) 703. Brief announcement of the CUPM report that was issued in January, 1971.
  • Recommendation on Course Content for the Training of Teachers of Mathematics. CUPM Panel on Teacher Training. August, 1971. Revision of the panel's 1961 Recommendations and Course Guides for teachers of elementary and secondary mathematics.
  • Report of a CUPM Conference on Computational Mathematics. Committee on the Undergraduate Program in Mathematics. 1971.

1972-73

  • Commentary on "A General Curriculum in Mathematics for Colleges". Ad hoc Committee on the Revision of GCMC. Committee on the Undergraduate Program in Mathematics. January, 1972. An analysis of how three major issues are impacting mathematics departments as they seek to implement the recommendations of the 1965 GCMC report: "the evolving nature of mathematics curricula" (e.g., mathematics vs. mathematical sciences); "the service functions of mathematics" (e.g., the demand for diverse tracks); and "the initial placement of students" (e.g., the increased variance in mathematical preparation of high school graduates). Rather than attempting a "definitive restatement" of GCMC, this Commentary offers recommendations for "the half-dozen courses that include a substantial part of the mathematics enrollment in almost all colleges."
  • Applied Mathematics in the Undergraduate Curriculum. CUPM Panel on Applied Mathematics. January, 1972. Recommendations for enhancing the role of applied mathematics in response to "new mathematical ideas and new ways of using mathematics" associated with the increased use of mathematical methods in the social and life sciences "and even in some areas of the humanities."
  • Suggestions on the Teaching of College Mathematics. CUPM Panel on College Teacher Preparation, Donald W. Bushaw, chairman. January, 1972. Largely a synthesis of hints and handouts provided by university graduate departments to their teaching assistants. Includes a special Foreword by Peter J. Hilton on the importance of effective mathematics teaching.
  • Introductory Statistics Without Calculus. CUPM Panel on Statistics. June, 1972. Analysis, advice, and recommendations to improve a course that is taught by many different departments but is met with widespread dissatisfaction by statisticians because, among other ills, the courses "fail to provide intellectual stimulation" or "insight into statistical concepts."
  • Recommendations on Undergraduate Mathematics Courses Involving Computing. Panel on the Impact of Computing on Mathematics Courses. October, 1972. The first attempt by CUPM to address the role of computers in the basic mathematics curriculum where a consensus "has not yet evolved." The report offers ideas for experimenting with various proposed changes in order, for example, to help students learn "constructive methods for solving problems and means to ascertain the efficiency as well as the correctness of these methods."
  • Some Illustrative Examples of the Use of Undergraduate Mathematics in the Social Sciences. CUPM, 1973. A joint NSF-funded project of CUPM with the Mathematical Social Sciences Board.