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SIGMAA Activities

SIGMAA on Mathematics and the Arts (ARTS SIGMAA)

Minicourse

Visualizing Projective Geometry Through Photographs and Perspective Drawings

Part A: Thursday, August 1, 3:40 p.m. – 5:40 p.m., Duke Energy Convention Center, Room 204
Part B: Friday, August 2, 3:40 p.m. – 5:40 p.m., Duke Energy Convention Center, Room 204

Description

We introduce hands-on, practical art puzzles that motivate the mathematics of projective geometry---the study of properties invariant under projective transformations. On the art side, we explore activities in perspective drawing or photography. These activities inform the mathematical side, where we introduce activities in problem solving and proof suitable for a sophomore-level proofs class. No artistic experience is required.

Organizer:
Annalisa Crannell, Franklin & Marshall College,

 

SIGMAA on the History of Mathematics (HOM SIGMAA)

Contributed Paper Session

History of Mathematics in a Math Circle

Part A: Thursday, August 1, 9:00 a.m. - 10:40 a.m., Duke Energy Convention Center, Room 237 & 238
Part B: Thursday, August 1, 1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m., Duke Energy Convention Center, Room 237 & 238

Description

During this session, presenters will share mathematical topics and problems of a historical nature for use in a math circle. This can include such ideas as, but not limited to, working a class of problems using historical methods, discovering methods of calculation from a former time or culture, discovering how mathematical concepts were discovered or used historically or culturally.

Organizers:
Amy Shell-Gellasch, Eastern Michigan University
Philip Yasskin, Texas A&M University

 

Other Mathematical Session

Reception for Read the Masters Session: Euler's Introductio in Analysin Infinitorum

Thursday, August 1, 3:40 p.m. - 5:40 p.m., Duke Energy Convention Center, Room 201

Description

Leonhard Euler's Introductio (1748) is a key text in the history of mathematics. In it, Euler provided the foundation for much of today's mathematical analysis, focusing in particular on functions and their development into infinite series. At this event, a brief description of what is entailed in engaging historical texts, especially through small reading groups, will precede an open reading session of a portion of the Introductio (in English translation, with guiding questions) by attendees in small groups, followed by a general discussion. No experience with the history of mathematics is required.

Organizers
Erik Tou, University of Washington Tacoma
Daniel Otero, Xavier University
Lawrence D'Antonio, Ramapo College
Robert Bradley, Adelphi University
Amy Shell-Gellasch, Eastern Michigan University

 

SIGMAA on Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL SIGMAA)

Business Meeting, Reception, and Guest Lecture

Why Inclusivity Matters for IBL

Victor Piercey, Ferris State University

Thursday, August 1, 4:30 p.m. - 5:50 p.m., Duke Energy Convention Center, Room 200

Abstract

Many of us recognize the importance of inclusion within the mathematics community, but some might question why it is particularly important for IBL. We will address this question by identifying the challenges and opportunities for an inclusive classroom climate that arise uniquely when IBL is used. We will also share some practical tips to improve the climate for inclusion in your IBL class.

 

Invited Paper Session

Equity and Justice in the Context of Inquiry

Thursday, August 1, 1:50 p.m. - 4:20 p.m., Duke Energy Convention Center, Room 200

Description

Inquiry pedagogies offer rich learning experiences that can support under-served populations in collegiate mathematics. However, elements of these environments can alienate exactly the students instructors are hoping to support. So equity and inquiry must be theorized and researched together in order to offer justice for all students. This session brings research agendas into direct conversation for mathematicians and educators.

Organizer:
Brian Katz, Augustana College

Click here to read the abstracts of the talks in this session

Schedule
Introduction to the Session

1:50 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Brian Katz, Augustana College

Inquiry and Equity: Necessary But Not Sufficient

2:00 p.m. - 2:20 p.m.
Sandra Laursen, University of Colorado Boulder

The IBL Experience When Students of Color Are in the Majority

2:30 p.m. - 2:50 p.m.
Robin Wilson and Stacy Brown, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Examined Inquiry-Oriented Instructional Moves with an Eye Toward Gender Equity

3:00 p.m. - 3:20 p.m.
Jessica Smith, Florida State University
Christine Andrews-Larson, Florida State University
Daniel L. Reinholz,San Diego State University
Amelia Stone-Johnstone, San Diego State University
Brooke Mullins, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

TBA

3:30 p.m. - 3:50 p.m.
Rochelle Gutierrez, University of Illinois

Panel Discussion

4:00 p.m. - 4:20 p.m.

 

Contributed Paper Session

Inquiry-Based Learning and Teaching

Part A: Thursday, August 1, 9:00 a.m. - 10:40 a.m., Duke Energy Convention Center, Room 230 & 231
Part B: Thursday, August 1, 1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m., Duke Energy Convention Center, Room 230 & 231

Description:

Inquiry-based learning (IBL) transforms students from consumers to producers of mathematics. IBL methods aim to develop a deep understanding of mathematical concepts and processes by putting students in direct contact with mathematical phenomena, questions, and communities. This session invites scholarly presentations on the use and effects of IBL methods for teaching and learning.

Organizers:
Victor Piercey, Ferris State University
Susan Crook, Loras College
Brian Katz, Augustana College
Eric Kahn, Bloomsburg University
Amy Ksir, United States Naval Academy

 

Panel Session

Jumping into IBL Teaching: Reflections by First-Time Practitioners

Friday, August 2, 3:00 p.m. - 4:20 p.m., Duke Energy Convention Center, Room 263

Description

Curious about Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) but not sure where to start? So were they! In this panel, faculty who have recently taught an IBL-style course for the first time will reflect on their experiences. Panelists will share a typical day in the classroom along with lessons learned about what worked well and what they would change in the future. Courses represented will range from entry-level to upper divisional.

Organizers:
Angelynn Alvarez, SUNY Potsdam
Sarah Wolff, Denison University
Robert Kelvey, The College of Wooster

Panelists:
Emily Barnard, Northeastern University
Judit Kardos, The College of New Jersey
Sarah Nelson, Lenoir-Rhyne University
Kristen Pueschel, Penn State University New Kensington
Adam Giambrone, Elmira College

 

SIGMAA on Math Circles for Students and Teachers (SIGMAA MCST)

Contributed Paper Session

History of Mathematics in a Math Circle

Part A: Thursday, August 1, 9:00 a.m. - 10:40 a.m., Duke Energy Convention Center, Room 237 & 238
Part B: Thursday, August 1, 1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m., Duke Energy Convention Center, Room 237 & 238

Description

During this session, presenters will share mathematical topics and problems of a historical nature for use in a math circle. This can include such ideas as, but not limited to, working a class of problems using historical methods, discovering methods of calculation from a former time or culture, discovering how mathematical concepts were discovered or used historically or culturally.

Organizers:
Amy Shell-Gellasch, Eastern Michigan University
Philip Yasskin, Texas A&M University

 

Other Mathematical Sessions

Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival

Saturday, August 3, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., Duke Energy Convention Center, Junior Ballroom B

Description

The Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival (JRMF) consists of interactive and varied mathematical games, puzzles, problems, and activities. Participants choose which activity to engage and for how long. Facilitators guide but don't demonstrate or teach so participants can discover, explore, and enjoy mathematics. The event provides an opportunity for faculty and teachers to learn how they could host a JRMF locally.

Organizers
Japheth Wood, Bard College
Thomas Clark, Dordt College

 

SIGMAA on Mathematical and Computational Biology (BIO SIGMAA)

Contributed Paper Session

Mathematics and the Life Sciences: Initiatives, Programs, Curricula

Part A: Thursday, August 1, 9:00 a.m. - 10:40 a.m., Duke Energy Convention Center, Room 207 & 208
Part B: Thursday, August 1, 1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m., Duke Energy Convention Center, Room 207 & 208

Description

The 2015 CUPM Curriculum Guide to Majors in the Mathematical Sciences identified the life sciences as a key path through the mathematics major to graduate programs and the workforce. Topics include scholarly contributions addressing initiatives, programs, curricula, and course materials at the interface of mathematics and the life sciences that have been implemented and tested at institutions of higher education.

Organizers:
Timothy D. Comar, Benedictine University
Raina Robeva, Sweet Briar College
Carrie Diaz Eaton, Bates College

 

SIGMAA on Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT SIGMAA)

Panel Session

Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching as an Integrated Application in Core Mathematics Major Courses

Thursday, August 1, 3:00p.m. - 4:20 p.m., Duke Energy Convention Center, Room 263

Description

Core mathematics majors’ courses often have designated application problems from areas like physics or engineering. The MAA META Math project focuses on explicitly adding “secondary mathematics teaching” to the list of legitimate application areas of mathematics by creating resources for use in undergraduate mathematics courses. Panelists will describe a variety of initiatives that address mathematics courses for teaching.

Organizer:
Doug Ensley, Shippensburg University
Elizabeth Fulton, Montana State University

Panelists:
Elizabeth Burroughs, Montana State University
James Tanton, Mathematical Association of America
Rick Hudson, University of Southern Indiana
Lisa Berger, Stony Brook University

 

SIGMAA on Quantitative Literacy(SIGMAA QL)

Town Hall Meeting

Quantitative Literacy and Social Justice

Friday, August 2, 3:00 p.m. - 4:20 p.m., Duke Energy Convention Center, Room 201

Description

At the 2019 Joint Mathematics Meetings, Dave Kung and Kira Hamman called for a need to teach mathematics and quantitative literacy with an eye toward social justice. As part of their presentation, they not only reiterated the importance of promoting quantitative literacy for social justice (and vice versa), but they also pushed the audience to consider diverse and potentially divisive issues ranging from who “receives” quantitative literacy on their campus to how students are positioned in mathematics classrooms. Their remarks accentuate that the relationship between quantitative literacy and social justice is complex, and that there is much for the mathematics and quantitative literacy communities to consider as we teach in an era of alternative facts, dueling memes, and politically charged classrooms.

SIGMAA-QL would like to invite all members of the mathematics community who are interested in issues of social justice as well as pathways toward a quantitatively literate society to a town hall discussion at MathFest 2019 to follow up on some of these questions. In particular at this session we hope to start a much needed conversation about the roles people of mathematics can play in promoting quantitative literacy for social justice (and vice versa). Issues we would like to discuss range from teaching mathematics for social justice, to the role of QL in charting a path towards a more just society, to the future of SIGMAA-QL as an ambassador of mathematicians interested in these issues. The organizers will come in with questions to initiate and facilitate the conversation, but we invite everyone interested to come and make their voices be heard.

Organizers:
Gizem Karaali, Pomona College
Mark A. Branson, Stevenson University
Catherine Crockett, Point Loma Nazarene University
Victor Piercey, Ferris State University
Luke Tunstall, Trinity University

 

SIGMAA on Recreational Mathematics (REC SIGMAA)

Business Meeting and Reception

Thursday, August 1, 5:00 p.m. - 5:50 p.m., Duke Energy Convention Center, Room 206

 

Invited Paper Session

The Serious Side of Recreational Mathematics

Friday, August 2, 1:30 p.m. - 3:50 p.m., Duke Energy Convention Center, Room 200

Description

More than a pastime, recreational mathematics runs the gamut from the combinatorial questions to the mathematical structures in the game SET to using juggling to create a proof in number theory. In this invited paper session, experts in recreational math show how starting with a fun puzzle, game, or story can take one on a trip to deep mathematics.

Click here to read abstracts for the talks in this session

Organizer:
Robert Vallin, Lamar University

Schedule
Bingo Paradoxes

1:30 p.m. - 1:50 p.m.
Art Benjamin, Harvey Mudd College

Garden of Eden Partitions for Bulgarian and Austrian Solitaire

2:00 p.m. - 2:20 p.m.
James Sellers, Penn State University

Geometry, Combinatorics and the Game of SET

2:30 p.m. - 2:50 p.m.
Liz McMahon, Lafayette College

Throwing Together a Proof of Worpitzky's Identity

3:00 p.m. - 3:20 p.m.
Steve Butler, Iowa State University

Domino Variations

3:30 p.m. - 3:50 p.m.
Bob Bosch, Oberlin College

 

Contributed Paper Session

Recreational Mathematics: Puzzles, Card Tricks, Games, Gambling and Sports

Part A: Thursday, August 1, 9:00 a.m. - 10:40 a.m., Duke Energy Convention Center, Room 206
Part B: Thursday, August 1, 1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m., Duke Energy Convention Center, Room 206

Description

Puzzles, card tricks, board games, game shows, gambling, and sports provide an excellent laboratory for testing mathematical strategy, probability, and enumeration. The analysis of such diversions is fertile ground for the application of mathematical and statistical theory. Solutions to new problems as well as novel solutions to old problems are welcome. Submissions by undergraduates or examples of the use of the solutions of these problems in the undergraduate classroom are encouraged.

Organizers:
Paul R. Coe, Dominican University
Sara B. Quinn, Dominican University
Kristen Schemmerhorn, Concordia University Chicago
Andrew Niedermaier, Jane Street Capital

 

SIGMAA on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education (SIGMAA on RUME)

Invited Paper Session

Equity and Justice in the Context of Inquiry

Thursday, August 1, 1:50 p.m. - 4:20 p.m., Duke Energy Convention Center, Room 200

Description

Inquiry pedagogies offer rich learning experiences that can support under-served populations in collegiate mathematics. However, elements of these environments can alienate exactly the students instructors are hoping to support. So equity and inquiry must be theorized and researched together in order to offer justice for all students. This session brings research agendas into direct conversation for mathematicians and educators.

Organizer:
Brian Katz, Augustana College

Click here to read the abstracts of the talks in this session

Schedule
Introduction to the Session

1:50 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Brian Katz, Augustana College

Inquiry and Equity: Necessary But Not Sufficient

2:00 p.m. - 2:20 p.m.
Sandra Laursen, University of Colorado Boulder

The IBL Experience When Students of Color Are in the Majority

2:30 p.m. - 2:50 p.m.
Robin Wilson and Stacy Brown, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Examined Inquiry-Oriented Instructional Moves with an Eye Toward Gender Equity

3:00 p.m. - 3:20 p.m.
Jessica Smith, Florida State University
Christine Andrews-Larson, Florida State University
Daniel L. Reinholz,San Diego State University
Amelia Stone-Johnstone, San Diego State University
Brooke Mullins, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

TBA

3:30 p.m. - 3:50 p.m.
Rochelle Gutierrez, University of Illinois

Panel Discussion

4:00 p.m. - 4:20 p.m.

 

SIGMAA on Mathematics and Sports (SIGMAA Sports)

Business Meeting, Reception, and Guest Panel

Undergraduate Research in Mathematics & Sports

Friday, August 2, 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m., Duke Energy Convention Center, Room 263

Description

We will discuss ways in which faculty have mentored undergraduate projects related to mathematics and sports. Faculty will describe the various types of student research that was conducted, including interdisciplinary work, applied mathematics, sports analytics, and mathematics education. We hope that this will serve as a springboard for ideas on future work that can be conducted regarding mathematics and sports. We welcome all faculty and students to share their experiences and contribute to our discussion.

Panelists:
Daniel Dobbs, Trine University
R. Drew Pasteur, College of Wooster
Tetyana Berezovski, St. Joseph’s University

Moderator:
Diana Cheng, Towson University

 

Contributed Paper Session

Mathematics and Sports

Saturday, August 3, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., Duke Energy Convention Center, Room 206

Description

The expanding availability of play-by-play statistics and video-based spatial data have led to innovative research using techniques from across the mathematical sciences, with impacts on strategy and player evaluation. Other areas of interest include ranking methods, predictive models, physics-based analysis, etc. Research presentations, expository talks, and contributions related to curriculum or pedagogy are all welcome. With a broad audience in mind, talks should be accessible to undergraduate mathematics majors, and projects involving undergrads are particularly encouraged for submission.

Organizer:
Drew Pasteur, College of Wooster

 

SIGMAA on Teaching Advanced High School Mathematics (SIGMAA TAHSM)

Business Meeting, Reception, Sliffe Award Winners Celebration, & Guest Lecture

Using History and Education Research to Shape the Calculus Curriculum

David Bressoud, Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences

Friday, August 2, 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m., Duke Energy Convention Center, Room 237 & 238

Abstract

This talk will explain how the historical development of calculus should be used to inform its instruction. The standard order of the four big ideas—limits then derivatives then integrals then series—is wrong both historically and pedagogically. In addition, the standard models for derivatives and integrals, slopes of tangents lines and areas under curves, erect obstacles in the path of many students. Drawing on history and recent research in undergraduate mathematics education, this talk will make the case for calculus introduced first as problems of accumulation (integration), then ratios of change (differentiation), then sequences of partial sums (series), and finally the algebra of inequalities (limits).

Biography

David Bressoud is currently Executive Director of the CBMS. He was President of the MAA and the winner of the MAA Yueh-Gin Gung and Dr. Charles Y. Hu Award for 2018 for Distinguished Service to Mathematics and the Leitzel Lecturer, among other awards.

 

SIGMAA on Undergraduate Research (UR SIGMAA)

Guest Panel and Lunch

Saturday, August 3, 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., Duke Energy Convention Center, Room 237 & 238

Description

Choosing good research problems to work on with undergraduate students is an art. In creating a research experience, a mentor must ask themselves a variety of questions. Can my students work in my research area, or do we need to explore a new area together? Will my students be able to start thinking about problems in my chosen field immediately, or will they need to learn some background material first? What kinds of questions will be too hard, leading to a frustrating lack of progress? What kinds of questions will be too easy, leaving my students with too much free time on their hands? In general, what are some good qualities to look for in a research problem for students? A panel of successful undergraduate research mentors will share their experiences to begin a broader conversation on this topic that can continue over food and drinks, provided by the UR SIGMAA.

Moderator:
Anant Godbole, East Tennessee State University

Panelists:
Vinodh Chellamuthu, Dixie State University
Dominic Klyve, Central Washington University
Suzanne Lenhart, University of Tennessee Knoxville
Lara Pudwell, Valparaiso University

 

Year: 
2019