Title: Professional Masters Programs at Arizona State University, M.S. Statistics, M.N.S. High School Certification, and the M.N.S.
Presenter:
Dieter Armbruster and Rosemary A Renaut, Arizona State UniversityAbstract:
The department of mathematics at ASU has an established interdisciplinary masters program in statistics which is overseen by the Committee on Statistics. We will present evidence of the success of this program. The Master of Natural Sciences is a very flexible interdisciplinary masters degree program that is utilized by many departments for a nonthesis degree. Students take one third of courses in a partner department and the remainder in their home department. We will describe some of the options available to students. In recent years the department has become increasingly involved in the mathematics education program of the institution, and the improved training of its graduate students as teachers for its programs. Under the guise of the MNS degree, and in cooperation with faculty from the College of Education, we have designed a graduate level program which provides recommendation for state level teacher certification. In this presentation we will discuss some of the administrative hurdles encountered in the set up of a new degree program, and particularly a professional program. Current efforts are directed toward a Computational Biosciences professional program. Hopefully we will be able to report positive progression through the administrative maze for this degree.Title: The Curriculum Foundations Project: What Do Our Partner Disciplines Need?
Presenter:
William H Barker, Bowdoin CollegeAbstract:
The vast majority of students in the mathematics courses of the first two undergraduate years are planning for majors in disciplines other than mathematics. Given this fact, CRAFTY ("Calculus Reform And the First Two Years") has organized an ambitious series of workshops with representatives of our partner disciplines. Known collectively as the Curriculum Foundations Project, the series began in October 1999 with a workshop at Bowdoin College centered on physics and computer science, and will finish with a workshop in February 2001 at MSRI on preparation for graduate study in mathematics. In all, there will be eleven workshops, most funded locally, and all producing reports on the mathematical principles needed during the first two undergraduate years by students in the featured disciplines. This talk will present an overview of the Curriculum Foundations Project, and will serve as an introduction for the numerous workshop representatives who will deliver presentations and serve on panels during the Joint Meetings.Title: MST@UNH: A Mathematics Degree for Mathematics Teachers.
Presenters:
Steven R Benson and Karen J Graham, Education Development CenterAbstract:
The University of New Hampshire's Master of Science for Teachers in Mathematics Program (MST) originated as an NSF Summer Institute in the early 1960's and has served hundreds of high school and middle school mathematics teachers from around the country and internationally. MST is a residential Summer program featuring a strong emphasis on mathematics content, while also providing opportunities for teachers to consider alternative approaches to pedagogy. The MST degree requires: Thirty credits approved by the Department of Mathematics which normally include the six core courses (2 courses each in Geometry, Algebra, and Analysis) along with an additional 12 credits. Successful completion of a Concluding Experience, which includes the development of a mathematical portfolio and successful completion of a comprehensive problem set in conjunction with a problem solving seminar.Title: Studying Mathematics to Improve Teaching.
Presenter:
Al Cuoco and Nancy Antonellis, Educational Development CenterAbstract:
Effective professional development for practicing teachers comes in many forms. One promising model is to provide teachers with an "immersion experience" in mathematics: an exerience in which participants investigate one area of mathematics in depth. Why should such an experience improve one's day-to-day teaching practice? In this talk, we will propose several answers to this question, and we will analyze the effects of immersion in mathematics on teaching practice. We will also introduce the other talks in this strand, which will give concrete (and different) examples of how such professional development programs have been implemented.Title: UCLA Teacher Preparation Program in Mathematics
Presenter:
Philip C Curtis, Jr., University of California, Los AngelesAbstract:
Initiated in 1986 as a response to the growing severe shortage of well trained mathematics teachers in middle and high schools, especially those with large minority or educationally disavantaged populations, the UCLA program offers paid observation and tutoring positions to junior level mathematics majors in conjunction with a mathematics education seminar. A paid senior two quarter closely supervised internship in school classrooms in conjunction with appropriate education classes during the year and following summer prepare the student for the fifth year. This consists of a full year's paid teaching experience under an emergency credential and a parallel seminar. Following completion of additional course work the following summer, students receive a University Recommended Single Subject Teaching Credential wiht a Cross-cultural Language and Academic Emphasis and a Master of Education Degree. Since June 1999, the program has placed over 110 majors in Los Angeles area schools. Over 80% of these students are still teaching. This session will provide an overview of the strategies employed to achieve the goals of the program.Title: The Mathematical Preparation of Teachers:Issues for Mathematics Departments
Presenter:
Joan Ferrini-Mundy, Michigan State UniversityAbstract:
Lively discussions are underway nationally about the nature of the mathematical preparation needed for teachers of mathematics, K-12. Documents such as Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics (L. Ma) in 1999, NCTM's Principles and Standards for School Mathematics, the NRC's Educating Teachers of Science, Mathematics, and Technology: New Practices for the New Millennium , the forthcoming CBMS report on the Mathematical Education of Teachers and the MSEB's report of its 1999 Teacher Preparation Mathematics Content Workshop, as well as research about mathematics teaching and learning, have further stimulated the conversation. In the past several months, the issues of teachers' mathematical preparation have been addressed at a CUPM Workshop on the Mathematical Preparation of Teachers at Michigan State University, and in a CUPM meeting at the MAA in September. - will provide some synthesis and commentary on the directions of these conversations, and offer a small set of focused issues for consideration by the mathematics community in its efforts to provide the best mathematical preparation possible for teachers.Title: Improving Secondary School Mathematics with NSF-funded Curricula: What Are They Trying to Accomplish?
Presenters:
Jim Fey, University of Maryland, College Park and Eric Robinson, Ithaca CollegeAbstract:
As an introduction to several MER sessions dealing with high school mathematics, this talk will focus on models of new high school mathematics curricula that are being implemented across the country and that impact what students learn, how they learn it, how they use technology and how they are assessed. An overview of the general design of these programs as well as underlying reasons for changing high school mathematics education will be discussed.Title: The Professional Master's Degree in Graduate Education.
Presenter:
Naomi D. Fisher, University of Illinois at ChicagoAbstract:
Dozens of mathematics departments are offering Professional Master's Degrees in a wide range of fields-- applied mathematics, industrial mathematics, financial mathematics, scientific computation, bioinformatics, statistics, mathematics teaching,Ö These programs benefit students by preparing them for positions in business and industry, government, and K-12 schools and two-year colleges. But they also extend mathematicians' knowledge of mathematical applications in other disciplines and beyond the academic setting. Drawing on the discussions from the NSF funded workshops at New York University in November, 1998 and at Arizona State University in November, 1999, and a national survey of mathematics departments, this talk will present an overview of the issues in planning and running a professional master's degree program, and the role of professional master's programs in graduate study in mathematics.Title: The Interactive Mathematics Program.
Presenter:
Sherry Fraser, San Francisco State University Foundation, and Edward F Wolff, Beaver CollegeAbstract:
The Interactive Mathematics Program (IMP) is a reform Standards-based secondary school mathematics curriculum. Approximately 150,000 students from 500 high schools in 25 states are currently enrolled in or have graduated from IMP classes. In our session, participants will work on a problem from a unit in the Interactive Mathematics Program. We will then discuss the mathematical ideas in the problem and see how they are developed. The session will highlight features of the content, the curricular design, and the instructional strategies of IMP.Title: Ten Years of Calculus Renewal: A report on evaluation efforts and national impact.
Presenter:
Susan L. Ganter, Clemson UniversityAbstract:
More than 500 mathematics departments at postsecondary institutions nationwide are currently implementing some level of calculus renewal. These "reformed" courses are affecting an estimated 300,000 calculus students each year, approximately 32% of the students enrolled in calculus. Many of the objectives stressed in these courses represent a change in the fundamental principles that have long guided undergraduate mathematics education. It is critical that evaluation studies be conducted so that the academic community can understand the impact of these changes on learning within and across disciplines, throughout a student's experience at the undergraduate level, and beyond. One such a study has been conducted on calculus renewal as a part of a larger effort by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to evaluate the impact of changes in undergraduate education. This study was designed to investigate what was learned in the ten years from 1988 to 1998 about the effect of calculus renewal on (1) student achievement and attitudes, (2) faculty and the mathematics community, and (3) the general educational environment. This session will present highlights from the study, which was recently published as part of the MAA Notes series.Title: "Mathematics: Modeling Our World" -- Reforming High School Curricula Via a Modeling Immersion Approach.
Presenters:
Solomon Garfunkel, COMAP, and Jerry Lege, Columbia UniversityAbstract:
This session highlights the standards-based high school curriculum "Mathematics: Modeling Our World". Included in the talk are the design features and rationale, a overview of the contexts and mathematical content covered in the four years, a sampler of the style developed by students in exploring new problems and developing mathematical models, and preliminary results.Title: Mathematically Enabling students in the Boston Public Schools.
Presenter:
Maurice Gilmore, Northeastern UniversityAbstract:
Several programs at Northeastern University cooperate in bringing access to mathematics into the lives of Boston students. The gateway of high school algebra will be discussed, calculus has been successfully brought into the district high schools, access programs for entering freshmen are in place at the University and a new Ed School with majors based in content areas is a reality. The challenges and vulnerability of these programs will be discussed.Title: Technical Mathematics for Tomorrow: Recommendations and Exemplary Programs.
Presenters:
Mary Ann Hovis, Lima Technical College; John C Peterson, Chattanooga State Technical Community College; and Robert L Kimball, Wake Technical Community CollegeAbstract:
The role and nature of mathematics needed for advanced technology programs are analyzed, successful models are recognized, and recommendations for mathematics content are developed. Project objectives are to identify issues and make recommendations concerning the nature and role the mathematics needed in the larger context of science, technology, and engineering technology programs; select and recognize up to ten exemplary programs; promote and disseminate the recommendations and exemplary programs; collaborate with other organizations to facilitate curriculum changes. Two regional (CRAFTY) workshops were held October 2000. Participants addressed the mathematical content students must ``master'' during the first two years in order to complete their AAS program, enter the job market, advance up the career ladder, continue their education. Workshop reports will be used to develop criteria for selecting exemplary programs that include the mathematics needed for advanced technology programs. A national conference in Fall 2001 will promote dialogue on mathematics needed for advanced technology programs, develop recommendations, showcase the exemplary programs. Following the national conference, a report will describe exemplary programs and present recommendations.Title: Are students learning the necessary concepts of calculus? A comparative study of Japanese and American High School Students.
Presenters:
Thomas W Judson and Toshiyuki Nishimori, University of PortlandAbstract:
In this study we examined and interviewed American and Japanese high school students to determine their conceptual understanding of calculus. We selected 18 students from an above average high school in the United States and 26 students from an above average high school in Japan for our study. During the spring and summer of 2000, we gave two written examinations to the students. The purpose of the first examination was to determine each student's conceptual understanding of calculus. For this examination we used problems like one might encounter in many reform calculus textbooks. The problems on the second examination were of a more traditional nature, much like one might expect on the university entrance examinations in Japan or the BC version of the AP Calculus Exam in America. We then conducted individual interviews with each student in order to determine their conceptual understanding of calculus, their career goals, their mathematical background, and their thinking on the examination. We will present the findings of our research in this talk.Title: A Collaborative Approach to Professional Development Through Problem Solving
Presenter:
Kenneth M. Levasseur, University of Massachusetts LowellAbstract:
Building Regional Capacity (BRC), a collaboration of Education Development Center (EDC) and UMass Lowell (UML), is a professional development program for mathematics department heads, lead teachers at 7-12, and professional developers. The goal is for the participants to increase their own mathematical activity and that of their colleagues in order to support learning. Participants reflect on how they, their students, and their colleagues approach mathematics.BRC participants attend two consecutive summer institutes at the UML where they engage in graduate level mathematics courses and prepare to deliver effective professional development programs to teachers of mathematics in their own districts.
Summer activities include: As part of a course in problem solving, each participant works on a problem of his/her choice from a recent MAA journal. A poster session at the end of the institute is a culmination of their work. Participants learn how to organize and run inservice professional development programs in their districts, using student work and work done in the study group to explore mathematical thinking. A discrete mathematics course in the second summer builds on the problem solving course. Details on these and other activities will be discussed.
Title: Hints on Establishing an Industrial Mathematics Program.
Presenter:
Charles R MacCluer, Michigan State UniversityAbstract:
We will share the lessons learned over three years in establishing our now robust Professional Masters degree in Industrial Mathematics at Michigan State University. In addition to courses in mathematics and related areas, the program involves both a team project with local industry and a certification program in business and communications. We will summarize valuable advice from Dan Maki, Steven McKelvey, Avner Friedman, Fadil Santosa, Charles Newman, and others about curriculum, industrial contacts, speeding the approval process, damping faculty skepticism, and so forth.Title:
Project ENACT: An MAA program to increase the number of Native American mathematics teachers.Presenter:
Robert E. Megginson, University of MichiganAbstract:
Most certified mathematics teachers of Native American students are not themselves Native Americans. Although many such teachers are highly motivated individuals who are committed to providing their students with the best mathematics education possible, it is still the case that such teachers are often not familiar with the particular cultural imperatives that are important considerations in the education of Native Americans, and do not provide role models to help the students see that a career in a mathematically-based field is a possibility for persons like themselves. Since 1997, the Mathematical Association of America has been conducting a program in cooperation with the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, Project ENACT, that has as its goal the increase of the number of Native American teachers of mathematics by enhancing the mathematics skills of Native American teacher aides and encouraging them to become certified teachers. This talk will describe Project ENACT.Title: CAMP/CTFMS Mathematics Teaching Internships.
Presenter:
Kenneth C Millett, University of California, Santa BarbaraAbstract:
In collaboration with the California Alliance for Minority Participation (an NSF supported LSAMP), the UC funded Community Teaching Fellowship in Mathematics and Science engages three community colleges, a liberal arts college and UCSB in the recruitment and support of roughly 175 fellows during the academic year and summer programs. About 60% of the participants are from underrepresented groups. Roughly 90% pursue teaching careers after graduation from college. The program goals are: (1) provide paid apportunities for outstanding students to explore teaching careers, (2) to provide strong role models for secondary students, especially those from underrepresented groups, and encourage college preparation in mathematics and science and, (3) to promote professional collaborations among secondary teachers, college and university students and faculty members. The strategies empolyed to achieve these goals and some of the challenges encountered in the course of the project will be discussed.Panel: Some Programs that Promote Mathematics Teaching Careers.
Moderator:
Kenneth C MillettPanelists:
Philip C. Curtis, Jr., University of California, Los Angeles; Pete Gilmore, Northeastern university ; Robert Megginson, University of MichiganAbstract:
This panel will address questions arising out of their presentations at this AMS-MAA-MER special session on programs to increase the participation of underrepresented groups in the teaching of mathematics.Panel: Implementation Issues Surrounding New Directions in High School Mathematics
Moderator:
Eric RobinsonPanelists:
Midge Cozzens, University of Colorado; Edward Wolff, Beaver College ; and Paul Zorn, St. Olaf CollegeAbstract:
Using NSF-funded high school curricula as models, panelists will discuss some of the issues that accompany new directions in high school curriculum. Issues to be discussed include: articulation between high school and higher education, teacher preparation, the value of new curricular approaches for college bound students, and measuring success with new curricula. Panel presentations will be followed by a question and answer period.Title: Professional M.S. Programs in Mathematics at Texas A&M.
Presenter:
Thomas B Schlumprecht, Texas A&M UniversityAbstract:
Since fall of 1994 the Department of Mathematics at Texas A&M offers three professional masters option: the Applied and Computational Mathematics M.S. Option, the Business and Financial Mathematics M.S. Option, and the Mathematics Teaching M.S. Option. Furthermore the Mathematics Teaching Option is also offered through long distance learning. All three options are highly interdisciplinary requiring the students to take at least a third of the thirty-six hours of coursework outside of the Department of Mathematics. We intend to discuss the success as well as some of the problems one has to overcome.Title: Curriculum Foundations Workshop in Interdisciplinary Instruction at West Point
Presenters:
Don Small and Kathleen Snook, U.S. Military AcademyAbstract:
In November 1999 the United States Military Academy at West Point hosted the second in a series of Curriculum Foundations Workshops intended to gather information from partner disciplines about what their students need to learn in their first two years of college mathematics. The West Point workshop focused on interdisciplinary instruction. The workshop addressed this topic from the point of view of the mathematics intensive partner disciplines of engineering and physics. Workshop participants examined issued from four perspectives - Interdisciplinary Core Mathematics, Goals and Content, Technology, and Instructional Techniques. This talk will summarize the recommendations and conclusions of the West Point workshop.Title: Professional Master's Program in Math at New Mexico Tech.
Presenter:
William D Stone, New Mexico Institute of Mining and TechnologyAbstract:
The Math department at the New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology offers three different options for the M.S. degree. We have our traditional M.S. and also professional programs in Operations Research & Statistics, and in Industrial Mathematics. The OR/Stat option has been in existence since 1983 and has been very successful in placing students into professional positions. The Industrial Math option is a new program this year. It includes a core of courses in Applied Mathematics and modeling, a summer internship, and a concentration of courses tailored to a student's particular interdisciplinary interest. Since both programs are designed to prepare students for industry, we share an outside advisory board.Title: PROMYS for TEACHERS: Learning in the Spirit of Exploration
Presenter:
Glenn H. Stevens, Boston UniversityAbstract:
PROMYS for TEACHERS offers high school mathematics teachers an intense experience of learning mathematics in the spirit of exploration, followed by a more leisurely discussion of the many methods teachers might use to bring this spirit to their own classrooms.For six weeks each summer since 1989, PROMYS has invited sixty highly talented high school mathematics students to Boston University to engage in intensive mathematical investigations within the field of Number Theory. In 1999, with funding from the National Science Foundation, PROMYS expanded these activities by inviting ten local high school teachers to experience the PROMYS program along with the students and in particular to work together with them on a selection of open-ended mathematical investigations. During the following academic year 1999-2000, the teachers attended five full-day workshops at the Education Development Center (EDC) in Newton to discuss and support exploration-based activities they may be using in their high school classrooms. The second cycle of PROMYS for TEACHERS began in the summer of 2000, when a total of 19 teachers came to the program. This report will describe some of the adventures - both the challenges and the successes - that we have experienced together with the teachers.