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2010

Mathematics

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Reorganizing School Mathematics For Quantitative Literacy, Rick Gillman Jul 2010

Reorganizing School Mathematics For Quantitative Literacy, Rick Gillman

Numeracy

This paper offers an alternative curriculum for high school mathematics. It proposes replacing the Algebra-Geometry-Algebra rush to calculus model with one which focuses on improving student problem-solving skills and general quantitative literacy skills while reinforcing basic manipulative skills. Most of these goals are gained by expanding the current single-year algebra-one course into two years. The model proposes moving “learning to write proofs” from the traditional geometry course into a separate discrete mathematics course. It requires statistics for every student, and requires a senior-level modeling course for every college-going student. In addition, the proposed model creates opportunities for students to move …


Quantitative Reasoning In The Contemporary World, 2: Focus Questions For The Numeracy Community, Bernard L. Madison, Shannon W. Dingman Jul 2010

Quantitative Reasoning In The Contemporary World, 2: Focus Questions For The Numeracy Community, Bernard L. Madison, Shannon W. Dingman

Numeracy

Numerous questions about student learning of quantitative reasoning arose as we developed, taught and assessed the Quantitative Reasoning in the Contemporary World course described in the companion paper in this issue of Numeracy. In this paper, we present some of those questions and describe the context in which they arose. They fall into eight general problem areas: learning that is context-bound and does not easily transfer (i.e., situated learning); the need for a productive disposition regarding mathematics; the connection between QL and mathematical proficiency; the persistence of students, despite our efforts, for using the wrong base for percents; the inconsistent …


Quantitative Reasoning In The Contemporary World, 1: The Course And Its Challenges:, Shannon W. Dingman, Bernard L. Madison Jul 2010

Quantitative Reasoning In The Contemporary World, 1: The Course And Its Challenges:, Shannon W. Dingman, Bernard L. Madison

Numeracy

The authors describe successes and challenges in developing a QL-friendly course at the University of Arkansas. This work is part of a three-year NSF project Quantitative Reasoning in the Contemporary World (QRCW) that supported the expansion of the course. The course, MATH 2183, began experimentally in Fall 2004 as a section of finite mathematics known informally as “News Math” for 26 students from arts and humanities disciplines. Over the past six years, the course has evolved and now MATH 2183 is approved to satisfy the College of Arts and Sciences mathematics requirement for the Bachelor of Arts degree. In 2009-2010, …


Advancing Assessment Of Quantitative And Scientific Reasoning, Donna L. Sundre, Amy D. Thelk Jul 2010

Advancing Assessment Of Quantitative And Scientific Reasoning, Donna L. Sundre, Amy D. Thelk

Numeracy

Advancing Assessment of Quantitative and Scientific Reasoning is a four-year NSF Project (DUE-0618599) in part designed to evaluate the generalizability of quantitative (QR) and scientific reasoning (SR) assessment instruments created at James Madison University to four other four-year institutions with very distinct missions and student demographics. This article describes the methods, results, and findings we obtained in our studies. More specifically, we describe how to conduct content-alignment exercises in which faculty members map each item from a prospective test to the student learning objectives taught at the institution. Our results indicated that 92-100% of the QR and SR items were …


Interview With Chad Topaz, Professor Of Mathematics, Chad Topaz Jun 2010

Interview With Chad Topaz, Professor Of Mathematics, Chad Topaz

Math, Stats, and Computer Science Department Oral Histories

No abstract provided.


Physical Models In Community Detection With Applications To Identifying Structure In Complex Amorphous Systems, Peter Ronhovde May 2010

Physical Models In Community Detection With Applications To Identifying Structure In Complex Amorphous Systems, Peter Ronhovde

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

We present an exceptionally accurate spin-glass-type Potts model for the graph theoretic problem of community detection. With a simple algorithm, we find that our approach is exceptionally accurate, robust to the effects of noise, and competitive with the best currently available algorithms in terms of speed and the size of solvable systems. Being a "local" measure of community structure, our Potts model is free from a "resolution limit" that hinders community solutions for some popular community detection models. It further remains a local measure on weighted and directed graphs. We apply our community detection method to accurately and quantitatively evaluate …


Noncommutative Topology And The World’S Simplest Index Theorem, Erik Van Erp May 2010

Noncommutative Topology And The World’S Simplest Index Theorem, Erik Van Erp

Dartmouth Scholarship

In this article we outline an approach to index theory on the basis of methods of noncommutative topology. We start with an explicit index theorem for second-order differential operators on 3-manifolds that are Fredholm but not elliptic. This low-brow index formula is expressed in terms of winding numbers. We then proceed to show how it is derived as a special case of an index theorem for hypoelliptic operators on contact manifolds. Finally, we discuss the noncommutative topology that is employed in the proof of this theorem. The article is intended to illustrate that noncommutative topology can be a powerful tool …


Preservice Elementary Teachers‟ Pedagogical Content Knowledge Related To Area And Perimeter: A Teacher Development Experiment Investigating Anchored Instruction With Web-Based Microworlds, Matthew S. Kellogg May 2010

Preservice Elementary Teachers‟ Pedagogical Content Knowledge Related To Area And Perimeter: A Teacher Development Experiment Investigating Anchored Instruction With Web-Based Microworlds, Matthew S. Kellogg

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Practical concepts, such as area and perimeter, have an important part in today's school mathematics curricula. Research indicates that students and preservice teachers (PSTs) struggle with and harbor misconceptions regarding these topics. Researchers suggest that alternative instructional methods be investigated that enhance PSTs' conceptual understanding and encourage deeper student thinking. To address this need, this study examined and described what and how PSTs learn as they engage in anchored instruction involving web-based microworlds designed for exploring area and perimeter. Its focus was to examine the influences of a modified teacher development experiment (TDE) upon 12 elementary PSTs' content knowledge (CK) …


A Statistical Analysis Of Defined Benefit, Defined Contribution, And Hybrid Plans, Katie Heeder May 2010

A Statistical Analysis Of Defined Benefit, Defined Contribution, And Hybrid Plans, Katie Heeder

Honors Projects in Mathematics

The purpose of this study is to compare three major types of employer sponsored retirement plans, Defined Benefit (DB), Defined Contribution (DC), and hybrid, and their impact on the employee. Employee careers are simulated to understand the employee’s advantages and disadvantages of each type of plan, especially in the state of an economic depression. The study uses actuarial assumptions and the simulation varies a number of quantities to better understand the impact of employee savings. The variables which are simulated at different levels are: service start age, retirement age, current compensation, salary increase rate, rate of return on market investments, …


Σary, Minnesota State University Moorhead, Mathematics Department May 2010

Σary, Minnesota State University Moorhead, Mathematics Department

Math Department Newsletters

No abstract provided.


Creating And Validating An Instrument To Measure Middle School Mathematics Teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (Tpack), Geri A. Landry May 2010

Creating And Validating An Instrument To Measure Middle School Mathematics Teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (Tpack), Geri A. Landry

Doctoral Dissertations

Due to the pervasiveness of technology, the role and preparation of teachers as they strategically use technology for teaching mathematics needs to be examined. Technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) is a framework for knowledge as teachers develop meaningful learning experiences for their students while integrating strategic use of technology (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). The purpose of this study was to develop a survey for measuring mathematics teachers’ Mathematical Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (M-TPACK). The survey measures the domains of mathematics content, pedagogy and technology. This mixed methods study first examined middle school mathematics teachers’ TPACK through the use of an …


The Impact Of Experience On Elementary School Teacher Affective Relationship With Mathematics, John Salzer May 2010

The Impact Of Experience On Elementary School Teacher Affective Relationship With Mathematics, John Salzer

Ed.D. Dissertations

This study was designed as an exploratory examination of the impact of teaching experience on elementary school teachers’ affective relationships with mathematics. A self-reporting survey was used to examine a wide variety of experience factors, including factors related to quantity of experience, type of experience, and post-certification training opportunities (n = 275). Participants were also asked to identify services that might impact their affective relationships with mathematics. This study resulted in recommendations for seven follow-up studies to gain insight into factors that significantly correlated to teacher attitudes toward math or to their perceived changes in attitudes over time. Recommended practices …


Rate Of Change, Elizabeth Schofield May 2010

Rate Of Change, Elizabeth Schofield

Interface Compendium of Student Work

This piece was created for an introductory course in Differential Equations. The goal of the work is to visually represent the shared context and commonalities of applications of ordinary differential equations. The piece was created with colored pencil on paper. Applications displayed include flow rate of a fluid, a mass-spring system, and a pendulum.


Ordinary Differential Equations, Taylor Mcadam May 2010

Ordinary Differential Equations, Taylor Mcadam

Interface Compendium of Student Work

This painting was the final project for Math 13 -- Introduction to Differential Equations. The aim of the final project was to display the knowledge we had gained throughout the course in a creative way. My painting displays plots of solutions to a variety of specific differential equations we studied in the course, as well as some more general tools we learned for solving ODEs (such as the Wronskian in the background). The piece is acrylic on canvas.


Neutrosophic Physics: More Problems, More Solutions, Florentin Smarandache May 2010

Neutrosophic Physics: More Problems, More Solutions, Florentin Smarandache

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

When considering the laws of theoretical physics, one of the physicists says that these laws – the actual expressions of the laws of mathematics and logics being applied to physical phenomena – should be limited according to the physical meaning we attribute to the phenomena. In other word, there is an opinion that a theoretical physicist should put some limitations onto mathematics, in order to “reduce” it to the observed reality. No doubt, we can do it. However, if following this way, we would arrive at only mathematical models of already known physical phenomena. Of course, this might be useful …


Kindergarten Assessments As A Predictor For A Student’S Need For Intervention, Victoria Ellen Weinketz Hoover May 2010

Kindergarten Assessments As A Predictor For A Student’S Need For Intervention, Victoria Ellen Weinketz Hoover

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if the kindergarten assessment results from the three windows in reading, written communication, and mathematics were a valid predictor of a student’s need for intervention up until the conclusion of second grade. Reynolds (1992) suggested that a student’s overall school success is reflective of the approach taken early in kindergarten. With the demands of the No Child Left Behind Act (2001), districts have set in place strategies to meet the standard of all students reading on grade level at the conclusion of the third grade. If districts are to rise to the …


Unbreakable Codes: Rsa Public Key Cryptosystem, Razia Amzad May 2010

Unbreakable Codes: Rsa Public Key Cryptosystem, Razia Amzad

Honors College Theses

The purpose of this paper is to comprehend the evolution of codes and ciphers; along with understanding how to encode and decode a message using RSA coding. In this paper "Unbreakable Codes" we will highlight the historical advances of communicating secure messages by illustrating the process of RSA coding with an example.


The Life Of Evariste Galois And His Theory Of Field Extension, Felicia N. Adams May 2010

The Life Of Evariste Galois And His Theory Of Field Extension, Felicia N. Adams

Senior Honors Theses

Evariste Galois made many important mathematical discoveries in his short lifetime, yet perhaps the most important are his studies in the realm of field extensions. Through his discoveries in field extensions, Galois determined the solvability of polynomials. Namely, given a polynomial P with coefficients is in the field F and such that the equation P(x) = 0 has no solution, one can extend F into a field L with α in L, such that P(α) = 0. Whereas Galois Theory has numerous practical applications, this thesis will conclude with the examination and proof of the fact that it is impossible …


Survey Of Generalized Contact Structures, James Bland May 2010

Survey Of Generalized Contact Structures, James Bland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A generalized complex structure, as introduced by N. Hitchin, is a common generalization of both symplectic and complex structures. Generalized complex geometry provides a natural geometric framework to understand certain recent developments in string physics, and has developed into an active area of research. Very recently, an odd dimensional analogue of a generalized complex structure, namely a generalized contact structure, has been introduced in the works of Vaizman, Poon and Wade. In this thesis, we survey the recent works on generalized contact structures. More importantly, we prove a local normal form theorem of a generalized contact structure. This result, which …


2010 Sonia Kovalevsky Math For Girls Day Report, Association For Women In Mathematics, Lincoln University Of Missouri, Donna L. Stallings Apr 2010

2010 Sonia Kovalevsky Math For Girls Day Report, Association For Women In Mathematics, Lincoln University Of Missouri, Donna L. Stallings

Math for Girls Day Documents

Report for the Fifth Annual Lincoln University Sonia Kovalevsky Math for Girls Day that was held on April 23, 2010 from 8:00am to 2:00pm on the campus of Lincoln University in Jefferson City, MO.


Determining The Success Of Ncaa Basketball Teams Through Team Characteristics, Raymond Witkos Apr 2010

Determining The Success Of Ncaa Basketball Teams Through Team Characteristics, Raymond Witkos

Honors Projects in Mathematics

Every year much of the nation becomes engulfed in the NCAA basketball postseason tournament more affectionately known as “March Madness.” The tournament has received the name because of the ability for any team to win a single game and advance to the next round. The purpose of this study is to determine whether concrete statistical measures can be used to predict the final outcome of the tournament. The data collected in the study include 13 independent variables ranging from the 2003-2004 season up until the current 2009-2010 season. Different tests were run in an attempt to achieve the most accurate …


Predictive Modeling Of Alumni Donor Behavior, Lauren Prue Apr 2010

Predictive Modeling Of Alumni Donor Behavior, Lauren Prue

Honors Projects in Mathematics

In recent years, college and universities have relied increasingly upon the charitable contributions of its previous graduates; as the costs of tuition rise substantially, development offices are facing the challenge of creating annual fund campaigns that are minimally expensive while providing the maximum potential for return. This study addresses the available constituent database at one University in particular in an effort to identify what criteria are the strongest predictors of donor response at a small, private university located within New England. The analysis utilized predictive modeling and data-mining largely within the software program Rapid Insight to build several models in …


Mathematics Discipline Assessment Report 2009/2010, Mathematics Discipline Apr 2010

Mathematics Discipline Assessment Report 2009/2010, Mathematics Discipline

Assessment of Student Learning Reports

No abstract provided.


Inter Spem Et Metum, Fiat Lux, Michael A. Mota Apr 2010

Inter Spem Et Metum, Fiat Lux, Michael A. Mota

Honors Projects

Explores the design and development of a simple, 3D flight simulator. The resulting application allows users to pilot an abstract human avatar and to create free-hand strokes and physically-based explosions onto the environment through a ball discharge meta-game feature. Uses the C++ language, and the ancillary programming API libraries, OpenGL, GLEW, and Win32.


The Effects Of Implementing Bloom's Taxonomy And Utilizing The Virginia Standards Of Learning Curriculum Framework To Develop Mathematics Lessons For Elementary Students, Kristel Williams Hawks Apr 2010

The Effects Of Implementing Bloom's Taxonomy And Utilizing The Virginia Standards Of Learning Curriculum Framework To Develop Mathematics Lessons For Elementary Students, Kristel Williams Hawks

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine if teachers who developed lessons based on Bloom's Taxonomy and the Virginia Standards of Learning Curriculum Framework saw increased scores on the mathematics benchmark assessment for fourth grade. Two classes taught by different mathematics teachers participated. The mean of the posttest scores for the experimental group in which the teachers developed lessons using Bloom's Taxonomy would be significantly higher than the mean of the group which used textbook bound instruction. An analysis of covariance was conducted, and the hypothesis was rejected. The experimental group would yield significant gains as measured by the …


Sequences Of Positive Integers Containing No K-Term Arithmetic Progressions And Smooth Numbers In Short Intervals., Goutam Pal Dr. Feb 2010

Sequences Of Positive Integers Containing No K-Term Arithmetic Progressions And Smooth Numbers In Short Intervals., Goutam Pal Dr.

Doctoral Theses

In my thesis I have worked on two problems:1. On sequences of positive integers containing no k terms in arithmetic progressions.2. On smooth numbers in short intervals.The first two chapters of my thesis deal with the first problem and in the rest of the thesis I have focused on the 2nd problem.In the first chapter of my thesis I have considered the function rk(N) for a fixed k ≥ 3, where, by definition, rk(N) is the cardinality of a maximal subset of N consecutive natural numbers with the property that nork terms of it are in an Arithmetic Progression (A. …


Eighth Grade Mathematics Curriculum Alignment For School District 27j, Frances Bell Feb 2010

Eighth Grade Mathematics Curriculum Alignment For School District 27j, Frances Bell

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

This project aligns the curriculum taught in eighth grade mathematics courses in School District 27J to the Colorado Academic Standards (CDE, 2009b). This project includes a yearly planning matrix, for implementation in the 2010-2011 school year. The review of literature defined curriculum and the benefits of curriculum alignment. This information helped to create the yearly planning matrix that aligned the current eighth grade resources to the new standards. The main goal of this project is to ensure that all students in eighth grade receive consistent instruction in each standard, which leads to success on the state standardized tests.


Insight Into The Fractional Calculus Via A Spreadsheet, David A. Miller, Stephen J. Sugden Jan 2010

Insight Into The Fractional Calculus Via A Spreadsheet, David A. Miller, Stephen J. Sugden

Stephen Sugden

Many students of calculus are not aware that the calculus they have learned is a special case (integer order) of fractional calculus. Fractional calculus is the study of arbitrary order derivatives and integrals and their applications. The article begins by stating a naive question from a student in a paper by Larson (1974) and establishes, for polynomials and exponential functions, that they can be deformed into their derivative using the μ-th order fractional derivatives for 0<μ<1. Through the power of Excel we illustrate the continuous deformations dynamically through conditional formatting. Some applications are discussed and a connection made …


Stem Talent: Moving Beyond Traditional Boundaries, Stephanie Pace Marshall Jan 2010

Stem Talent: Moving Beyond Traditional Boundaries, Stephanie Pace Marshall

Publications & Research

The future well-being, prosperity and sustainability of our nation, the global community and our planet resides in igniting and nurturing decidedly different STEM minds that can advance both the new STEM frontier and the human future.


Developing Fourth Graders' Proficiency In Basic Multiplication Facts Through Strategy Instruction, Stacey Braddock Jan 2010

Developing Fourth Graders' Proficiency In Basic Multiplication Facts Through Strategy Instruction, Stacey Braddock

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research study was to evaluate my own practice of teaching basic multiplication facts to fourth graders. I wanted to see how focusing my instruction on strategies would help my students develop proficiency in basic multiplication facts. I chose this topic because Florida was in the process of shifting to new standards that encourage teaching for deeper meaning. I hoped this research would give my students the opportunity to make sense of multiplication on a deeper level, while giving me insight into how students learn multiplication. Through this study, I learned that students initially find multiplication …