Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Teaching Mathematics With Poetry: Some Activities, Alexis E. Langellier

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

During the summer of 2021, I experimented with a new way of getting children excited about mathematics: math poetry. Math can be a trigger word for some children and many adults. I wanted to find a way to make learning math fun—without the students knowing they’re doing math. In this paper I describe some activities I used with students ranging from grades K-12 to the college level and share several poem examples, from students in grades two to eight.

A Mini-Seminar: Teaching Ethics In Mathematics In An Hour A Week, Allison N. Miller

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This article describes a one-credit class on ethics in mathematics, which met once a week for an hour and discussed topics in cryptography, algorithms and big data, and the role of mathematics in public life. I offer anecdotal evidence that even a course with relatively little time commitment for both students and faculty can have a significant impact on students' understanding of and interest in ethics in mathematics. I also collect recommendations and resources in the hopes of encouraging others to consider teaching such a course.

The Hamster Diaries, Pamela B. Pierce

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

When the pandemic hits, the author acquires a hamster, who provides some humorous anecdotes and some much-needed inspiration.

Work-Life Imbalance In The Time Of Covid-19, Rachel Epstein, Caroline Haddad, Emek Kose, Melissa Sutherland

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Four women mathematicians at various stages of their careers at public liberal arts institutions share their struggles and challenges in their professional and personal lives during the pandemic.

Permission To Add: Math-Teaching Limericks, Marion D. Cohen

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Throughout my years and decades of being a teacher, I have written limericks about every course I’ve taught, and sometimes courses I haven’t taught but reviewed textbooks in. Here I share several of these limericks.

Teaching From The Unknown, Jon Jacobsen

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

The goal of teaching is to transform our students' understanding, much as the goal of acting is to transform the audience's reality. In this article we use the context of mathematics to explore connections between teaching and acting and how such connections can help our students learn not only mathematics, but about the nature of mathematics.

On Not Teaching Addition: A Homeschooling Parent Teaches And Researches Math, Marion D. Cohen

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Interactions with the humans in one’s life can have bearings on the way one interacts with one’s work – and vice versa. In particular, the ways in which a math person who is also a parent interacts with their children can correlate with the ways that person interacts with students, colleagues, and with math itself. This article describes some of that correlation in one mathmom’s life. In particular, this mathmom worked toward balancing, both as a mom and as a teacher, her beliefs and feelings with societal mindsets and practices.

A Life Of Equations Shifting To A Life Of Words, Thomas R. Willemain

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

As my technical life diminishes, my writing life increases. Since 2017 I have been writing, first a memoir of my time in the Intelligence Community, then poetry and flash fiction.

One of the missions I have assigned to my poetry is to expose to `regular' people the inner life of the mathematical person. The poems in this poetry folder develop three themes. "Formulations'' pokes a bit of fun at the bloated (and in this case almost musical) titles that can grow from our research; more seriously, it documents the change in self-definition that flows from recognizing the inevitable drift away …

Everyman's Climb, Charles A. Coppin

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Hal and Verity represent two different philosophies of learning, one used by most of us. In today’s world, authentic teaching is indeed a heroic act, but may not be the most popular. This piece draws distinctions between these choices, each time we teach a course, each day we walk into the classroom, and even when working with an individual student; they are ever present.

Teaching History Of Mathematics: A Dialogue, Benjamin Braun, Eric Kahn

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Many colleges and universities offer a course in the history of mathematics. While the potential benefits for students taking such a course might be apparent, it is often less clear how teaching a history of mathematics course can be a transformational experience for faculty. We present a dialogue between the authors regarding their experiences teaching history of mathematics courses, including their motivation for doing so, the impact these experiences have had on their classroom practices and assessment methods, and the opportunities history of mathematics courses offer for incorporating social justice, equity, and inclusion into the study of mathematics. Our goal …

Four Times Exceptional: Reflections On Motherhood And Teaching College Mathematics, Maria Fung

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This essay discusses the challenges of mothering four very different children--one adopted, one gifted, one anxious and one dyslexic child--and the impact of this experience on teaching mathematics at the college level.

Motherhood And Teaching: Radical Care, Ksenija Simic-Muller

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This essay is a personal reflection on how I leverage my positioning as a caregiver in my roles of a mathematician, teacher, and mother, to advance a vision for a more just and equitable society. I argue that care at home and in the classroom takes similar forms, and can be liberating instead of oppressive.

Freedom Through Inquiry, Francis Su

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

I delivered this speech at the Inquiry‐Based Learning Forum & 19th Annual Legacy of R.L. Moore Conference on August 4, 2016. It is partly an homage to an influential teacher, partly an excuse to articulate what makes some styles of teaching so effective, and partly an excuse to talk about difficult issues facing our nation and our classrooms today.

Teaching Differential Equations Through A Modeling First Approach, Brian Winkel

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

No abstract provided.

The Lesson Of Grace In Teaching, Francis Su

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

I want to talk about the biggest life lesson that I have learned, and that I continue to learn over and over again. It is deep and profound. It has changed the way I relate with people. It has reshaped my academic life. And it continually renovates the way I approach my students.

Adventures In Teaching: A Professor Goes To High School To Learn About Teaching Math, Darryl H. Yong

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

During the 2009–2010 academic year I did something unusual for a university mathematician on sabbatical: I taught high school mathematics in a large urban school district. This might not be so strange except that my school does not have a teacher preparation program and only graduates a few students per year who intend to be teachers. Why did I do this? I, like many of you, am deeply concerned about mathematics education and I wanted to see what a typical high school in my city is like. Because I regularly work with high school mathematics teachers, I wanted to experience …

What Does It Take To Teach Nonmajors Effectively?, Feryal Alayont, Gizem Karaali, Lerna Pehlivan

Pomona Faculty Publications and Research

Most MAA members teach mathematics at the college level, and many often teach courses intended for nonmajors. Indeed this is one of the main responsibilities of a mathematics department: offering service courses for client departments and general education courses for nonmajors. The three of us have been thinking about the question of how to teach nonmajors successfully for a while now. Finally we decided on a time-tested method of figuring things out: if you don't know what to do, ask the experts. We organized a panel titled "Effective Strategies for Teaching Classes for Nonmajors" for MAA MathFest 2012 and invited …

Humanistic Mathematics: An Oxymoron?, Gizem Karaali

Pomona Faculty Publications and Research

Mathematics faculty are trained as mathematicians, first and foremost. If we did not experience the soul-expanding possibilities of liberal education during our own undergraduate years, we may hesitate to bridge disciplinary divides when pursuing our core human need to inquire and understand. Although most mathematicians I know are amazing teachers, communicators, and mentors, many still teach the same material that their professors and their professors’ professors taught. This time-tested approach can be powerful, fascinating, and even quite entertaining. But it can also seem far removed from the world we inhabit. Yes, we teach “real world applications” of mathematical concepts. Yet …

Teaching Research: Encouraging Discoveries, Francis E. Su

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

What does it take to turn a learner into a discoverer? Or to turn a teacher into a co-adventurer? A handful of experiences—from teaching a middle-school math class to doing research with undergraduates—have changed the way that I would answer these questions. Some of the lessons I’ve learned have surprised me.

Calculus And The Computer: A Conservative Approach, Melvin Henriksen

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

This paper describes a program for making the use of numerical methods an integral part of the freshman college course in single variable calculus.