Education Commons^™

Farlie-Gumbel-Morgenstern Family: Equivalence Of Uncorrelation And Independence, G. Barmalzan, F. Vali

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

Considering the characteristics of the bivariate normal distribution, in which uncorrelation of two random variables is equivalent to their independence, it is interesting to verify this problem in other distributions. In other words, whether the multivariate normal distribution is the only distribution in which uncorrelation is equivalent to independence. In this paper, we answer to this question and establish generalized Farlie-Gumbel-Morgenstern (FGM) family is another family of distributions under which uncorrelation is equivalent to independence.

Apathy And Concern Over The Future Habitability Of Earth: An Introductory College Assignment Of Forecasting Co2 In The Earth’S Atmosphere, Benjamin J. Burger

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Non-science, first year regional undergraduate students from rural Utah communities participated in an online introductory geology course and were asked to forecast the rise of CO₂ in the Earth’s atmosphere. The majority of students predicted catastrophic rise to 5,000-ppm sometime over the next 3,100 years, resulting in an atmosphere nearly uninhabitable to human life. However, the level of concern the students exhibited in their answers was not directly proportional with their timing in their forecasted rise of CO₂. This study showcases the importance of presenting students with actual data and using data to develop student forecasted models. …

Voices: Conference On Teaching Stem With Music, September 27-28, 2017, Gregory J. Crowther

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This first-of-its-kind, online-only conference will explore the use of music to teach STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) at the college level (including AP courses). Presentations will be live-streamed from the conference website, https://www.causeweb.org/voices. Online registrations (for only $10 apiece!) will be accepted at the conference website until the conclusion of the conference on September 28, 2017.

Special Issue Call For Papers: Mathematics And Motherhood, Pamela E. Harris, Becky Hall, Carrie Diaz Eaton, Emille Davie Lawrence

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

The Journal of Humanistic Mathematics is pleased to announce a call for papers for a special issue on Mathematics and Motherhood. Please send your abstract submissions via email to the guest editors by October 1, 2017. Initial submission of complete manuscripts is due January 1, 2018. The issue is currently scheduled to appear in July 2018.

A Mathematician’S Journey From Mentee To Mentor: Reflections On The Edge Program, Sarah Bryant, Alejandra Alvarado

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

The programs supporting diversity in mathematics are as important as ever. So why are they losing funding? And what hope do they have of thriving in the current political climate? In this collaborative interview, two past participants of EDGE (Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education) explore these questions; Sarah probes and narrates as Alejandra thinks out loud about the ways that the program has shaped her life and how she hopes to see the program continue.

I Love You Fifty, Nat Banting

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This article chronicles the merging of my roles of teacher and learner of mathematics with that of a relatively new pursuit: parenthood. Amidst my attempts to dutifully provide opportunities for my son to interact with various mathematical ideas and artifacts, it was an unanticipated moment of epiphany that allowed me to enter into his emerging world of mathematical significance and rediscover what first drew me to the teaching and learning of mathematics. My son’s innocent, yet potent, understanding of number provides an image of the power of mathematics to organize experience, structure significance, and communicate meaning.

Inquiry Based Learning From The Learner’S Point Of View: A Teacher Candidate’S Success Story, Caroline Johnson Caswell, Derek J. Labrie

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

The goal of this paper is to review current research on Inquiry Based Learning (IBL) and shed some light, from a student's perspective, on the challenges and rewards of this pedagogy. The first part of the article provides an extensive review of the literature on IBL. The second part focuses on one student's experiences in an IBL classroom.

In particular, a graduate secondary mathematics student reflects upon his experiences in a college mathematics class where the instructor implemented an Inquiry Based Learning model. His experience is validated by current research on IBL educational methodology which structures the classroom environment for …

Figures And First Years: An Analysis Of Calculus Students' Use Of Figures In Technical Reports, Nathan J. Antonacci, Michael Rogers, Thomas J. Pfaff, Jason G. Hamilton

Numeracy

This three-year study focused on first-year Calculus I students and their abilities to incorporate figures in technical reports. In each year, these calculus students wrote a technical report as part of the Polar Bear Module, an educational unit developed for use in partner courses in biology, computer science, mathematics, and physics as part of the Multidisciplinary Sustainability Education (MSE) project at Ithaca College. In the first year of the project, students received basic technical report guidelines. In year two, the report guidelines changed to include explicit language on how to incorporate figures. In year three, a grading rubric was added …

Mathematical Competencies Of Third Level Students: A Review, Colm Mcguinness

The ITB Journal

Many lecturers of mathematics and related disciplines in Ireland and internationally believe there has been a gradual decline in mathematical competencies of students presenting for first year at third level educational establishments. Some of the evidence to support this view is reviewed, along with the types of solutions being applied in Ireland and the UK. Attention is drawn to the explicit and implicit decline in standards potentially associated with some of the solutions, particularly for short courses involving mathematics.

"Returning To The Root" Of The Problem: Improving The Social Condition Of African Americans Through Science And Mathematics Education, Vanessa R. Pitts Bannister, Julius Davis, Jomo Mutegi, Latasha Thompson, Deborah Lewis

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

The underachievement and underrepresentation of African Americans in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) disciplines have been well documented. Efforts to improve the STEM education of African Americans continue to focus on relationships between teaching and learning and factors such as culture, race, power, class, learning preferences, cultural styles and language. Although this body of literature is deemed valuable, it fails to help STEM teacher educators and teachers critically assess other important factors such as pedagogy and curriculum. In this article, the authors argue that both pedagogy and curriculum should be centered on the social condition of African Americans – …

Polygons, Pillars And Pavilions: Discovering Connections Between Geometry And Architecture, Sean Patrick Madden

Journal of Catholic Education

Crowning the second semester of geometry, taught within a Catholic middle school, the author's students explored connections between the geometry of regular polygons and architecture of local buildings. They went on to explore how these principles apply famous buildings around the world such as the monuments of Washington, D.C. and the elliptical piazza of Saint Peter's Basilica at Vatican City within Rome, Italy.

16, Dan Mcquillan

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This 15 word poem suggests that the reader count the words of the poem. Since every line has half as many words as the previous line, and since the poem urges the reader to keep counting forever, one imagines a total of 16 words.

The Battle Against Malaria: A Teachable Moment, Randy K. Schwartz

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Malaria has been humanity’s worst public health problem throughout recorded history. Mathematical methods are needed to understand which factors are relevant to the disease and to develop counter-measures against it. This article and the accompanying exercises provide examples of those methods for use in lower- or upper-level courses dealing with probability, statistics, or population modeling. These can be used to illustrate such concepts as correlation, causation, conditional probability, and independence. The article explains how the apparent link between sickle cell trait and resistance to malaria was first verified in Uganda using the chi-squared probability distribution. It goes on to explain …

The Graduate Student Blues, Marion D. Cohen

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This is a memoir about my rather unconventional path to a mathematics Ph.D. There were difficulties, due partly to university politics, partly to my youth and immaturity, and partly to the thesis material itself – it was, in the words of some of my fellow students, “not what’s being done now”. I had written the thesis entirely on my own, without help from my Master’s thesis advisor or any other professor at my school. This is not the usual procedure of course. Nobody in my department could understand the thesis or was willing to vouch for it. There followed three …

A Madison-Numeracy Citation Index (2008-2015): Implementing A Vision For A Quantitatively Literate World, Nathan D. Grawe, H. L. Vacher

Numeracy

This editorial recognizes the contributions made by Bernard Madison to the field of quantitative literacy with a bibliographic index of his papers, edited volumes, and works contained therein that were cited in the first eight volumes (2008-2015) of Numeracy. In total, 61 citing papers ("sources") cite 42 Madison works ("citations") a total of 218 times. The source and citation indexes provided in the appendix at the end of this editorial make it easy to see the direct contribution of Madison's work to the arguments and debates contained in the founding years of the journal. For those who are new …

Building A Community Of Christ In A Mathematics Classroom, Robert Bonner

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

The prevalence of mathematics anxiety and math phobia is an accepted phenomenon in our culture today (Boaler, 2013; Kimball & Smith, 2013). Multiple research studies have been conducted investigating the levels of mathematics anxiety present in both preservice and in-service elementary education teachers (Bekdemir, 2010; Mizala, Martínez, & Martínez, 2015). This article describes how the creation of a learning community within a two-course sequence of mathematics content courses for elementary teachers addressed the fears and anxieties of a cohort of prospective female teachers. The learning community was founded on three perspectives: Palmer’s (1989) community of truth, Paul’s description of the …