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Call for Papers Contributed Paper Sessions at MathFest 2004

The Mathematical Association of America will hold its annual MathFest, Thursday, August 12 through Saturday, August 14, 2004 in Providence, Rhode Island.

 

The complete meetings program will appear in the April 2004 issue of FOCUS. This announcement is designed to alert participants about the contributed paper sessions and their deadlines. Please note that the days scheduled for these sessions remain tentative.

The organizers listed below, indicated with an (*), solicit contributed papers pertinent to their sessions. Sessions generally limit presentations to ten or fifteen minutes. Each session room contains an overhead projector and screen. Persons needing additional equipment should contact the organizer of their session as soon as possible, but prior to Tuesday, May 4, 2004.

 


Submission Procedures for Contributed Paper Proposals

Send the name(s) and address(es) of the author(s), and a one-page summary of your paper directly to the organizer indicated with an (*). In order to enable the organizer(s) to evaluate the appropriateness of your paper, include as much detailed information as possible within the one-page limitation.

A proposal should not be sent to more than one organizer. If your paper cannot be accommodated in the session it was submitted, it will be automatically considered for the general contributed paper session. E-mail submissions are preferred.

Your summary must reach the designated organizer by Tuesday, May 4, 2004. Early submissions are encouraged. The organizer will acknowledge receipt of all summaries. If your paper is accepted, the organizer will provide you with an e-mail template and directions on how to submit an abstract for your presentation.

 


 

Contributed Paper Sessions

 

MAA CP A1

Uses of the WWW that Enrich and Promote Learning

Thursday and Friday afternoons

This session seeks to highlight uses of the Web and its tools that engage students in the learning process. Tools such as course management systems, digital resources, tutorial systems, and hybrids that combine these functions on the Web can make a difference in student engagement, understanding, and performance. Talks should demonstrate how these technologies are being integrated into the learning process. The session is sponsored by WebSIGMAA and the MAA Committee on Computers in Mathematics Education (CCIME).

Roger Nelson*
Department of Mathematical Sciences
Ball State University
Muncie, IN 47306-0490
Phone: 765-285-8653 (Office)
765-747-7921 (Home)
FAX: 765-285-1721
Email: rbnelson@bsu.edu

Marcelle Bessman, Jacksonville University Kirby Baker, UCLA

MAA CP B1 

Extracurricular Mathematics

Thursday afternoon

Most MAA sessions are focused on different ideas and strategies to incorporate into various classes. On the other hand, some of the most creative and diverse aspects of our work with students are the ways in which we incorporate mathematics outside the classroom. This session invites presentations of mathematical activities outside of the classroom. This includes, but is not limited to, MAA student chapters’ activities, field trips, activities with schools and in the general community, presentations and workshops. Submissions are encouraged not only from faculty, but also from students who have organized extracurricular mathematical activities.

Jeff Johannes*
SUNY Geneseo
1 College Circle
Geneseo, NY 14454-1401
Phone: 585-245-5403
FAX: 585-245-5128
email: johannes@geneseo.edu

Melissa Sutherland, SUNY Geneseo

MAA CP C1 

Putting Some Analysis Into Introductory Real Analysis

Thursday afternoon

Introductory Real Analysis is a required course for most mathematics majors. As such, it offers unique opportunities to generate real student interest in advanced mathematics by challenging their intuition and pushing them to think at a higher level. All too often this goal is not reached and the course ends up as one that presents the theory behind the results in first year calculus—essentially a course in epsilons and deltas. Papers submitted for this session should present approaches that generate student interest and encourage them to explore mathematics further while at the same time focusing on the key theoretical components underlying first year calculus

Richard J. Maher
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Loyola University Chicago
6525 N. Sheridan Road
Chicago, Illinois 60626
Phone: 773-508-3565
FAX: 773-508-2123
rjm@math.luc.edu

MAA CP D1

Cooperative Projects Between the Mathematical Sciences and the Life Sciences

Saturday afternoon

Emerging areas in the life science are opening up new careers for biology and mathematical sciences majors. Both groups of students need preparatory undergraduate experiences. This session will consist of talks by faculty who, within the existing structures of their departments and schools, have developed such experiences with colleagues in the life sciences. The presentations will describe the type of experience, how it was initiated, how it has evolved and, most importantly, evidence of its impact on students. This session is sponsored by the Subcommittee on Mathematics Across the Curriculum.

Catherine M. Murphy
Purdue University Calumet
Mathematics, Comp Sci, & Stat
Hammond, IN 46323-2094
Office: 219-989-2273
FAX: 219-989-2165
Email: murphycm@calumet.purdue.edu,

Bill Marion, Valparaiso University

MAA CP E1

Innovative Approaches in Mathematics Education

Thursday afternoon

This session invites papers dealing with innovations in mathematics education courses for both pre-service and in-service teachers K–12. Topics of interest might include: new courses; use of technology or web-based modules; online tools and activities; courses aligned to national or state standards; courses for master’s of arts in teaching programs; relevant assessment techniques; interactions with local school districts; usefulness of such topics as history of mathematics or collaborative learning strategies; difficulties encountered in teaching math ed courses. We look forward to interesting responses and hope that discussion will enhance our future teaching.

*Carol Vobach
Department of Computer and Mathematical Sciences
University of Houston-Downtown
One Main Street
Houston, Texas, 77002
Phone: 713-221-8550
FAX: 713-221-8086

MAA CP F1

Advances in Recreational Mathematics

Friday afternoon

There have been many recent advances in recreational mathematics, some of which have involved the use of computers. This session is designed to give you an opportunity to explain your recent work in the field. While the organizer encourages submissions that involve computers, that is not essential for consideration. For the purposes of this session, the definition of recreational mathematics will be a broad one. The primary guideline used to determine suitability of subject will be the understandability of the mathematics. For example, if the mathematics in the paper is commonly found in graduate programs, then it would generally be considered unacceptable. Supplemental computer programs can be written in any language, however they must be clean and WELL documented. Any source code used to create the paper must also be submitted for verification. Papers where existing programs such as Mathematica® were used will also be considered.

Charles Ashbacher*
Charles Ashbacher Technologies
Box 294
Hiawatha, IA 52233
Phone: 319 378-4646
FAX: 928-438-7929
E-mail: cashbacher@yahoo.com

MAA CP G1

Model Lessons from First-Year Calculus

Friday afternoon

This session will explore best practices in teaching first-year calculus. In their book, The Teaching Gap: Best Ideas from the World’s Teachers for Improving Education in the Classroom, education researchers James W. Stigler and James Hiebert point to “lesson-study” as the driving force behind educational reform in Japan. Lesson-study is a “research-and-development system” in which teachers collaborate to design, implement, and refine mathematics lessons. The premise is that continual teaching improvement results from understanding how the daily lesson promotes student understanding and learning. This session invites presenters to contribute to the scholarship of teaching by sharing a lesson given in the last three years on a single topic from first-year calculus. Presenters should describe their student profile and address these questions: What is the topic of your lesson? What is (are) the main idea(s) behind the topic? How do you present the topic? How do students learn the topic? What are the student mistakes and confusions in learning this topic? Where do the teaching difficulties lie? How did your lesson evolve over time? How did you measure the success of this lesson in promoting student learning?

Donna Beers*
Department of Mathematics
Simmons College
300 The Fenway
Boston, MA 02115
Phone: 617-521-2389
FAX: 617-521-3199
Email: donna.beers@simmons.edu

MAA GP H1

Mathematical Modeling Modules and Materials

Saturday afternoon

Courses in mathematical modeling have grown in popularity in recent years, encompassing a diverse range of offerings. The interdisciplinary nature of modeling courses allows for the creative use of a wide range of materials ranging from writing and reading in the curriculum to innovative uses of technology. Modules, self-contained instructional lessons, have been popularized by the Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications (COMAP) and have been disseminated in several publications. This session will focus on modules and other materials that would be useful for a modeling class.

Kyle L. Riley*
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
501 East Saint Joseph Street
Rapid City, SD 57701-3995
Phone: 605-394-2471
FAX: 605-394-6078
Email: kyle.riley@sdsmt.edu

Laurie J. Heyer, Davidson College

MAA CP I1 

Theory and Applications of Graph Theory

Saturday afternoon

This session solicits papers on the teaching of undergraduate courses in graph theory as well as papers on research in the field of graph theory. Research papers should be accessible to a reasonably wide audience. Both papers in theoretical and applied graph theory are welcome. Papers on teaching should present new and innovative methods of teaching the course.

Howard L. Penn*
Mathematics Department
United States Naval Academy
572C Holloway Road
Annapolis, MD 21402-5002
Phone: 410-293-6768
FAX: 410-293-4883
Email: hlp@usna.edu

Carol G. Crawford, United States Naval Academy
T. S. Michael, United States Naval Academy

MAA CP J1

Getting Students To Explore Concepts Through Writing In Mathematics

Friday afternoon

This session invites papers about assignments/projects that require students to write about mathematical concepts, to express concepts and to interpret symbolic mathematics in their own words, and to write about mathematics, in general. These assignments can include conceptual papers such as having the students explain a concept in their own words as an answer to a question, in the form of a letter to a friend, a poem, or even a short story, project reports that require students to explain fully all concepts used as if to someone who knows little or nothing about the mathematics used in solving the project problem, assignments that require students to express theorems in plain English so that one of their friends could understand, or even simple assignments that require students to explain the meaning and the use of the variables and notations that they use.

Each presenter is encouraged to discuss how the use of the assignment/project helped students to improve their understanding of course concepts and how the use of writing in the course helped students to understand and to learn mathematics. Of particular interest is the effect of such projects/assignments throughout the semester on the students’ understanding of course concepts and notations, the ability of students to communicate mathematics using words and symbols, and the attitude of students toward mathematics.

Sarah L. Mabrouk*
Mathematics Department
Framingham State College
100 State Street, PO Box 9101
Framingham, MA 01701-9101
Phone: 508-626-4785
FAX: 508-626-4003
Email: smabrouk@frc.mass.edu

MAA CP K1

Strategies for Teaching Multiple Audiences in One Class

Saturday afternoon

Mathematics classes across the curriculum are often populated by students who have different levels of preparation, widely diverse mathematical goals, or both. Providing a meaningful and appropriate learning experience to multiple audiences simultaneously presents a unique challenge to the instructor. One example is an Abstract Algebra class with traditional graduate school bound students as well as prospective high school teachers. Another example is College Algebra whose students typically have a very wide range of preparations as well as diverse goals varying from general education credit to preparation for a long sequence of mathematics classes.

This session solicits presentations that address how multiple student audiences can be served in one class. Presentations might include: details of particular courses that have dealt with diverse student audiences, descriptions of programs targeted to meet the needs of different groups of students in the same class, or examples of tactics or approaches that can be used in a variety of mathematics classes. Presentations that include assessment of desired outcomes (whether successful or not) are strongly encouraged.

Carl Lienert*
Fort Lewis College
1000 Rim Drive
Durango CO 81301
Phone: 970-247-1067
FAX: 970-247-7127
Email: lienert_c@fortlewis.edu Christopher Goff, University of the Pacific

MAA CP L1 

General Contributed Paper Session

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday afternoons

This session is designed for papers that do not fit into one of the other sessions. Papers may be presented on any mathematically related topic. Papers that fit into one of the other sessions should be sent to that organizer, not to this session. Lucy Kimball

Bentley College
175 Forest Street
Waltham, MA 02452
Phone: 781-891-2467
FAX: 781-891-2457
Email: lkimball@bentley.edu

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News Date: 
Friday, January 23, 2004