The titles listed below represent the contributed papers
of the Electronic Proceedings of the Twenty-Ninth Annual AMATYC Conference
held on November 13-16, 2003 in Salt Lake City. For each paper, the reader
will find the title and presenter(s) with materials or links provided by the
presenter.
Developing Competence and Confidence
Tom Bassarear, Keene State College
Charles Dietz, College of Southern Maryland
Learn ways to use the problem-solving unit, found in most mathematics for
elementary teachers classes, to develop competence with the NCTM Process Standards.
The speakers will discuss the selection of appropriate problems and the use
of alternative assessment.
Who Is More Bored with
Algorithms, You or the Students? Laura Bracken, Lewis-Clark State
College
Develomental students often have seen many algebraic procedures in previos
classes but have misunderstandings, do not execute the procedures well, and
have difficulty identifying their mistakes. Unfortunately, they also often
"tune out" when the concept is retaught. Effective strategies for
re-teaching these important procedures will be discussed. Reteaching Algorithm | Investigation:
The Order of Operation
Rekindling Geometry, Barbara Brown
Has Euclidean Geometry become an unwanted or forgotten part of your developmental
mathematics curriculum? The AMATYC Standards encourage us to "engage in exploratory
activities that will lead students to form conjectures and test them..." This
session will explore hands-on ideas that can be used to rekindle geometry. AMATYC present pdf 2003 overheads.pdf
| AMATYC present pdf handout2003.pdf
The Retake, Pass, Fail Grading System,
Connie L. Buller, Metropolitan CC-Omaha, NE
The retake, pass, fail grading system with a required 80-percent on each unit
exam for develomental mathematics courses has proven very successful. Learn
how a partnership with the college's support services makes it possible. Story Problems Are Boring - or
Are They?
Suggestions for teaching story problems using humor, visual cues, English,
and emotional ties will be modeled, as well as ways to involve the student.
The Dynamic College Classroom,
Douglas Butler, Oundle School, Peterborough, UK The speaker brings from the United Kingdom a rich combination of humour
and well-researched lesson plans that breathe new life into calculus, trigonometry,
vectors and statistics, using a mix of sources: using Office tools, web-based
JAVA and dynamic software
Uses and Misuses of R2 and r in Curve
Fitting, John Climent, Cecil CC
Algebra and statistics both use R2 and r to fit leasr squares curves to date
sets. How should one use these measures, what are they measuring and where
do they come from? Bring your TI-83 and investigate these questions. Handouts
provided.
An Intermediate Algebra Course That's
Serios about Applications, Zoltan Fisher, Minneapolis Community
and Technology College
A new course with strong emphasis on applications of intermediate algebra,
especially on current uses of function models, will be presented. The relationship
between data, graph, and functions is one important theme. Another is translating
from English into mathematics, solving, and then stating the results in English.
Music and Math-PartI,
Steve Gadbois, Memphis, Tennessee
How does each musical interval correspond to a specific number, which determines
whether the interval sounds "pleasant" or "dissonant"?
Why does math naturally-yet necessarily imperfectly-divide the octave into
12 parts? What single simple mathematical equation governs vibrating strings,
vibrating air columns, and vibrating membranes? This session consists of lecture
and demonstration with limited audience participation. Attendance at both
sessions is recomended but not required.
Foundation/ Developmental
Mathematic Committee Network and Sharing Session, Judy Giffin,
Rod Null, James A. Rhodes State College
Join the Foundation/ Developmental Mathematic Committee in its 10th annual
networking and sharing session. In an informal setting, discuss topics such
as curricular change, cooperative/ collaborative learning, assessment and
technology. Drop in at any time and attend part or all of the session.
Refocusing the Course Below Calculus, Florence S. Gordon Sheldon P. Gordon
AMATYC, MAA, and NCTM are collaborating on a national initiative to refocus
the courses below calculus to better serve the majority of students. The panel
will discuss this effort to encourage courses emphasizing conceptual understanding
and realistic applications, not just developing traditional algebraic skills
needed by only few
Math on the Web. Creating Interactive WebPages with MathML,
Bob Mathews, Design Science, Inc.
MathML is the cutting-edge solution for interactive math in web pages. Message
boards, graphing applets and assessment tools are just some of the many possible
applications. 1 | 2
Managing the Mean Math Blues,
Cheryl Ooten, Santa Ana College
Student behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs can create barriers to student success.
Learn simple tools to re-frame negativity and to facilitate positive, proactive
math classrooms that will maximaze student participation and learning. Math
anxiety reduction, diverse learning styles, and test-taking will be addressed.
Liberal Arts Math For Survival: Internet
and Classroom Formats,
Joseph Sukta, Moraine Valley Community College, 10900 S. 88th Avenue, Palos
Hills, IL 60465
Participants will learn a problem solving approach to realistic problems.
These problems involve car and home purchases, home renovation, personal finance
saving strategies and statistics. Student projects incorporate these concepts.
Stimulating
Critical Thinking in Calculus, Mark D. Turner, Cuesta College,
San Luis Obispo, CA 93403
This session will present some individual and group activities designed to
encourage critical thinking among first-year calculus students. Participants
will work within small groups to experience many activities first-hand. Handouts
suitable for classroom use will be made available. Bring your graphing calculator.
What's Your Carrot? What's Your Carrot? (.pdf)
Barbara Wojciechiwsky, Johnson & Wales University
Kathleen Ebert, Alfred State College
Lenore Vest, Lower Colambia College, Longview, Washington
Faith Dillon, Sussex County Community College, Newton, NJ
Does the use of "carrots" to motivate student success help or hinder
student responsibility? This panel presentation will offer some perspectives
of math instructors from across the country about the pros and cons of strategies
(or carrots) to motivate students to success in mathematics. Come share opinion
and techniques. What are my Carrots?, Faith Dillon,
Sussex County Community College, Newton, NJ Carrots for Vitamin A? Lenore
Vest, Lower Colambia College, Longview, Washington
A Course Assessment Procedure
that Enhances Retention, Kathleen Ebert, Alfred State College
The process of measuring a course's objectives through the use of projects
helps students to be aware of which objectives they have or have not mastered
before the exam. This procedure also reduces math and test anxienty in the
majority of students.
Multiple Presentations, Functions, Applications, and Modeling AMATYC's standards document, Crossroads, supports the use of multiple
representations, functions, applications, and modelingin the mathematic classroom.
This session discusses why these topics are important for student learning,
and how they affect the order in which topics need to be taught in algebra.
Several class-room-tested examples are included.
