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Events: 2009 Math/TexMATYC Schedule

Math/TexMATYC Summary

Preconference Workshops:
Thursday, 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
“NSF-supported: The Right Stuff”
Speaker: Rob Kimball, Project Director, The Right Stuff

“Maple Workshop”
Speaker: Robert Lopez, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, Indiana

Friday, 9:30-10:40 a.m.
"What is the National Math Panel and How Does it Affect the Colleges?"
Speaker: Don Allen, Professor of Mathematics, Texas A&M University

Friday, 10:50 a.m. - 11:50 p.m.
Keynote Address
"Islam, Mathematics, and Culture Across the Curriculum"
Speaker: Pat KcKeague, Author and Instructor of Mathematics, Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, California

Friday, 1:15 - 2:00 p.m.
TexMATYC Official Meeting

Friday, 2:10 – 3:00 p.m.
Breakout Sessions:

Session I: "The Square Root of WHAT?"
Speaker: Joanne Peeples, Mathematics Instructor, El Paso Community College

Session II: "Dynamic Models: Integrating Support Services and Classroom"
Speaker: Jamie Blair, Author and Director of the Mathematics Learning Center, Orange Coast College, Coasta Mesa, California

Friday, 3:10 – 4:00 p.m.
Breakout Sessions:

Session I: "Reviewing the Basics While Teaching Beginning and Intermediate Algebra"
Speaker: Sherri Messersmith, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, Illinois

Session II: "Interesting Applications of Base Arithmetic and Modulo Structure"
Speaker: John Edgell, Professor of Mathematics, Texas State University

Saturday, 9:00-10:15 a.m.
"Learning Objects as a Gateway to Student Inquiry and Understanding"
Speaker: Wade Ellis, Retired Mathematics Instructor, West Valley Community College, Saratoga, California

Saturday, 10:30-11:45 a.m.
"Trigonometric Curiosities"
Speaker: John Coburn, Author and Professor of Mathematics, St. Louis Community College-Florissant Valley, Missouri

Thursday, February 18th, 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

A working lunch and afternoon snack will be provided. The cost of the workshop is $25 for TexMATYC members and $30 for non-members. Please see www.texmatyc.org for more details.

“Promising Practices for Undergraduate Mathematics”
Speaker: Rob Kimball, Project Director, The Right Stuff

Project Director for the NSF-supported “The Right Stuff: Appropriate Mathematics for All Students " will present a workshop: "Promising Practices for Undergraduate Mathematics." The workshop will focus on appropriate content, the use of technology, assessment strategies, the use of alternatives to lecture as well as other ways to improve the students' achievement in and attitudes toward mathematics. The guiding principles to be used in designing the Traveling Workshops are found in the Beyond Crossroads: Implementing Mathematics Standards in the First Two Years of College. Participants are asked to bring a laptop (if available) and graphing calculator.

“Maple Workshop”
Speaker: Robert Lopez, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, Indiana

What Would Your CAS-Based Course Be Like If You Didn’t Have to Teach the Tool? With software that’s so simple to use you don’t have to teach the tool, this workshop develops the pedagogical strategy of teaching concepts before manipulative skills. While solving problems from precalculus, trig, and calculus, participants will see how to implement this teaching. Participants will be asked to bring a laptop with Maple 12 loaded. Instructions for a free 30-day download of Maple 12 will be available.

Biography:

Lopez Dr. Robert J. Lopez, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA, is an award winning educator in mathematics and is the author of several books including Advanced Engineering Mathematics (Addison-Wesley 2001). For over a decade, Dr. Lopez has also been a visionary figure in the introduction of Maplesoft technology into undergraduate education. Dr. Lopez earned his Ph.D. in mathematics from Purdue University, his MS from the University of Missouri - Rolla, and his BA from Marist College. He has held academic appointments at Rose-Hulman (1985-2003), Memorial University of Newfoundland (1973-1985), and the University of Nebraska - Lincoln (1970-1973). His publication and research history includes manuscripts and papers in a variety of pure and applied mathematics topics. He has received numerous awards for outstanding scholarship and teaching.

Friday, February 20th, 9:30 - 10:40 a.m.

"What is the National Math Panel and How Does it Affect the Colleges?"
Speaker: Don Allen, Professor of Mathematics, Texas A&M University

We will review the recommendations of the National Math Panel as it applies to curriculum, technology, and preservice education. Following this we will show some of the action plans developed at the National Math Panel Faculty Forum last October. An open discussion will follow.

Biography:

Allen Dr. Allen has been a professor of mathematics at Texas A&M University for more than two decades. He is currently Associate head for Operations and Director of the Center for Technology-Mediated Learning in Mathematics. His mathematical research has been in the areas of probability, functional analysis, numerical analysis, neutronics, and mathematical modeling. His education research is in technology in survey design and other subjects. Currently, he is leading a multi-institutional course redesign project in Math 1324 for the THECB. Allen is editor of the Math/Science-Online Newsletter and a consulting editor for Thomson Learning. Allen, with more than 50 publications, has given nearly 40 professional development workshops and over 100 seminars throughout the U.S. and Europe.

Friday, February 20th, 10:50 - 11:50 a.m.

Keynote Address
"Islam, Mathematics, and Culture Across the Curriculum"
Speaker: Pat KcKeague, Author and Instructor of Mathematics, Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, California

Enter the city of Baghdad in the year 760 and begin an interesting journey that includes Euclid and Fibonacci, allows us to reinforce some of the concepts in developmental algebra, and paints a picture of diverse cultures cooperating to advance mathematics throughout the world.

Biography:

Pat McKeague earned his BA in Mathematics from California State University, Northridge and his MS in Mathematics from Brigham Young University. He began his teaching career at Lompoc High School in Lompoc, California in 1970. In 1973 he became a full-time instructor at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo, California. He has written 16 textbooks in mathematics. Pat is very active in the mathematics community and was on the writing team for the AMATYC Beyond Crossroads project. In 2007 he was awarded the AMATYC Presidential Award for his service to the two-year college mathematics community.

Friday, February 20th, 1:15 - 2:00 p.m.

TexMATYC Official Meeting

Friday, February 20th, 2:10 - 3:00 p.m.

Breakout Sessions:

Session I: "The Square Root of WHAT?"
Speaker: Joanne Peeples, Mathematics Instructor, El Paso Community College

The square root of -1 can be both fascinating and confusing for students. We’ll take a look at the following: some of the history of complex numbers, who almost discovered them, and when did people start using them. We’ll also look at a simple example from physics that uses complex numbers, and see how to find the complex roots of a quadratic equation geometrically.

Biography:

Joanne Peeples received her doctorate at NMSU in numerical analysis in 1989. Since that time she has taught at El Paso Community College. Her interests are history of mathematics and pre-service teachers. She is currently president of NMMATYC and is a past recipient of the TexMATYC Teaching Excellence Award.

Session II: "Dynamic Models:Integrating Support Services and Classroom"
Speaker: Jamie Blair, Author and Director of the Mathematics Learning Center, Orange Coast College, Coasta Mesa, California

Partnerships with Support Services provides extra support within the classroom environment, promotes alternative instructional methods, accommodates diverse learning needs, and prepares students to learn math. This model empowers instructors as content facilitator and designer of group and individual learning plans, thereby empowering students as managers of their own learning process.

Partnerships with Support Services provides extra support within the classroom environment, promotes alternative instructional methods, accommodates diverse learning needs, and prepares students to learn math. This model empowers instructors as content facilitator and designer of group and individual learning plans, thereby empowering students as managers of their own learning process.

Biography:

For the past 17 years, Jamie Blair has directed the Mathematics Learning Center at Orange Coast College. In 1998, she received the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development Medal from the University of Texas at Austin. Jamie Blair received a BA in mathematics and a MA in Mathematics and Computer Education. She is a published author and co-authored a three series textbook. She specializes in teaching students who have never been successful in mathematics. She is an expert in the area of basic skills in relation to the learning needs of students.

Friday, February 20th, 3:10 - 4:00 p.m.

Breakout Sessions:

Session I: "Reviewing the Basics While Teaching Beginning and Intermediate Algebra"
Speaker: Sherri Messersmith, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, Illinois

Rules of exponents, radicals, factoring, and applied problems are difficult topics in algebra courses often because of weak prerequisite skills. This session will present activities that can be done in five minutes or less that will strengthen students’ basic skills and improve their chances of mastering course content. This presentation is very interactive. Extra copies of all of these activities so that they can use them in their own classrooms.

Biography:

Since 1985, Sherri Messersmith has taught full-time at the high school, university, and community college levels. She has taught developmental mathematics through calculus at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, IL since 1994. Listed in the Who's Who Among America's Teachers, she was also voted to the list of Teachers Rated Excellent at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In addition to appearing in videos for several math texts, Sherri is the author of two textbooks, Beginning and Intermediate Algebra, Preliminary and Second Editions.

Session II: "Interesting Applications of Base Arithmetic and Modulo Structure"
Speaker: John Edgell, Professor of Mathematics, Texas State University

Initially, the session will feature interesting modulo base related problems. Then positional-base numerical structures will be applied to a traditional square root algorithm. Participants will be guided to self discoveries which can add interest and depth of understanding of numerical base arithmetic and modulo structure depth in their classroom sessions.

This session will feature interesting modulo base related problems. Then positional-base numerical structures will be applied to a traditional square root algorithm. Participants will be guided to self discoveries which can add interest and depth of understanding of numerical base arithmetic and modulo structure depth in their classroom sessions.

Biography:

John Edgell has 50 years of teaching experience with 25 years of formative field research. In addition, he is the past sectional editor of the AMATYC Review and has contributed several papers which were featured on the TexMATYC website.

Saturday, February 21st, 9:00 - 10:15 a.m.

"Learning Objects as a Gateway to Student Inquiry and Understanding"
Speaker: Wade Ellis, Retired Mathematics Instructor, West Valley Community College, Saratoga, California

With software-based learning objects, students act on mathematical objects, observe the consequences of those actions, and then reflect on the meaning of the consequences. Such learning objects encourage inquiry-based learning. The presenter will demonstrate several development algebra and precalculus learning objects. Participants will create and discuss inquiry questions for these learning objects.

Biography:

Ellis Wade Ellis, Jr. has taught mathematics at West Valley College for over 30 years and has taught at the University of California at Santa Barbara and the United States Military Academy at West Point. Wade earned degrees in mathematics from Oberlin College and The Ohio State University and is the recipient of the AMATYC Mathematics Excellence Award recognizing his lifetime achievement. He is a co-author of over 25 books on the learning and teaching of mathematics using technology and speaks regularly at region, national, and international conferences. He is currently a Senior Mathematics Advisor for Texas Instruments, consulting on calculator technology and professional development materials and workshops.

Saturday, February 21st, 10:30 - 11:30 a.m.

"Trigonometric Curiosities"
Speaker: John Coburn, Professor of Mathematics, St. Louis Community College-Florissant Valley, Missouri

This session will be a fun-filled exploration of trigonometry and its history. Teachers of trigonometry will find this session particularly endearing, although all who attend will be amused and enchanted at the wealth of connections that exist between trig, geometry, algebra, geodesy, and many other sciences. In addition, this session will extend an instructor's mathematical content knowledge, and contain a number of illustrations related to technology use in the classroom.

Biography:

Coburn John Coburn is currently a professor at St. Louis Community College - Florissant Valley (20 yr). His previous teaching experience includes one year at Lyon College (Batesville, Arkansas) and two years at the University of Oklahoma as a Teaching Assistant, where he earned his M.S. degree in mathematics. In 2004, John was voted Post-Secondary Teacher of the Year by the Mathematical Educators of Greater St. Louis (MEGSL). He is also a textbook writer, with titles in College Algebra, Precalculus, Algebra and Trig, and Trigonometry, all currently published by McGraw-Hill. During the past 20 years, he has presented at numerous conferences.

Math Section Chair: Natile Woodrow, Texas State Technical College-West Texas
TexMATYC President: Paula Wilhite, Northeast Texas Community College