Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Expanding The Database Curriculum, Meg Murray, Mario Guimaraes

Faculty Articles

As database concepts and technologies continue to evolve there exists a need to expand the topics included in database curricula. This is challenging given the restraints on the number of courses that can be included in a typical CS or IS program. While a set of commonly identified core concepts and principles exists, there is little consensus on what supplemental materials should be included in database courses. Through an NSF proof-of-concept grant, we designed and developed courseware incorporating the use of animations to deepen and enrich standard presentations of core database concepts and to complement database teachings as found in …

Learner-Centered Assignments In Computer Literacy, Martha E. Myers, Meg C. Murray, Mario Guimaraes, Debra B. Geist

Faculty Articles

Literacy is a concept that is understood to be the identifier of an educated populace. In today's world, literacy includes computer literacy, as well as language and quantitative literacy. This paper describes exercises developed to improve first year students' computer literacy through more learner-centered engagement. Exercises are designed to support learner-centered goals of independent and responsible learners, appropriate breadth and depth of content, teacher as facilitator, and assessment woven into learning. Exercise topics include purchase of a personal computer, basic logic via spreadsheets, an annotated bibliography built with electronic resources, and an integrated assignment customized by and for each student.

How Geometer’S Sketchpad Improves Student Learning, William George Awe

Mathematics Graduate Theses

This study investigated whether dynamic software improves learning and reviews different types of dynamic software. The study then narrows its focus to one type of dynamic software, Geometer’s Sketchpad and studies how Geometer’s Sketchpad, in itself, improves student learning. The researcher identified what dynamic software is, the importance of dynamic software and different types of dynamic software. The researcher also identifies how dynamic software is utilized in schools and researches how to improve the use of dynamic software in schools. Dynamic software, and Geometer’s Sketchpad, In particular, was found to improve learning across grade levels and with different levels of …

Teach A Course In The Math Of Voting And Choice, Karl-Dieter Crisman

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

Many mathematics instructors at the college level are looking for a curricular option that has the potential to serve a number of different constituencies. It could be to encourage more students to take math courses, or to give worthwhile options to students who need to take math but who are not ready for calculus (or its sequence). On the other hand, one may wish to add a new course for majors outside of the typical offerings, or even to prepare students for undergraduate research. The mathematics of voting and choice is ideally suited to meet all these needs in the …

Bach (To The Calculus Of) Variations, Charles R. Hampton

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

While it is quite common for professionals (doctors, lawyers, academics, etc) to be talented in many ways, including musical talent, there is a special connection between music and mathematics. Musicians collectively are not more talented in mathematics than other professionals and other academics. This paper examines the connections between math and music, particularly calculus and the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.

Chaos Theory And Metaphysical (In) Determinism, Tim Rogalsky

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

This paper will begin by introducing the issues that arise from chaos theory for the Christian mathematician and scientist: What is at stake in this debate? It will then briefly review chaos theory, by means of two examples. It will then introduce the metaphysical interpretations given to chaos theory by three different scientist-theologians. The paper will conclude with a brief introduction to open theists, and analyze their use of chaos theory to supper their theological claims.

Trigonometry Without Sines And Geometry Without Angles, Phillip Lestmann

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

In his book, Divine Proportions, N. J. Wildberger advocates for a "rational" trigonometry by substituting the squares of the common trigonometric ratios for those ratios themselves. This presentation examines and critiques the claims of the book by evaluating its presented methods.

Portrayls Of Mathematics In Culture, Jeremy Case

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

This paper looks at various portrays of mathematicians in culture, and how that can influence perceptions of mathematics.

Integrating Moral And Spiritual Themes In Middle School And High School Mathematics Teaching Units, Dave Klanderman, Sean Bird

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

In 2006, the Kuyers Institute published a total of nine math lessons for the middle school and high school which incorporate a Christian perspective. This paper examines the impact of teaching all of these lessons at a the high school level as well as selected lessons at the college level with preservice elementary and secondary mathematics teachers.

An Augustinian Perspective On The Philosophy Of Mathematics, James Bradley

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

Enlightenment thinkers saw the universe as mechanistic and mathematics as the language in which the universe is written. They viewed mathematics as eternal, as transcending human minds, and as comprehensible by human beings. Thus mathematics, from their perspective, is our best tool for understanding the secrets of nature. This outlook was nicely summarized by Morris Kline: (Kline, 1953) In brief the whole world is the totality of mathematically expressible motions of objects in space and time, and the entire universe is a great, harmonious, and mathematically designed machine. From a Christian perspective, however, the Enlightenment outlook is flawed. It privileges …

Rules And Insights: Connecting The Mathematical And Linguistic Abilities Of C.S. Lewis, Kim Jongerius

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

While most biographical works on C.S. Lewis give passing reference to Lewis' problems with elementary mathematics, few have made an attempt at diagnosing the difficulty or exploring its impact on his writing. A careful study of family correspondence, however, makes it clear that his learning difficulties were not with mathematics alone and suggests connections between attitudes toward and abilities in both mathematics and language. This paper will make these connections clear and will illustrate their ties to Lewis' effective mathematical references.

Counting Tulips: Three Combinatorial Proofs, Eric Gossett

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

A gardener has r ≥ 1 red tulips and b ≥ 1 blue tulips, each in its own pot. She plans to plant them in a line along the edge of her driveway. In how many visually distinguishable ways can she arrange them?

Tanzania, Mathematics, And Me: Reflections From My Work With Tanzanian Teachers, Mandi Maxwell

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

In June 2006 I had the privilege of participating in a four-day teacher training workshop in Mumba, Tanzania. In this paper I will discuss the challenges and triumphs of working with Tanzanian Secondary Mathematics teachers. We will discuss the educational environment, teaching strategies, and curricular issues that affect mathematics teachers in rural areas of Tanzania and contrast that with the American educational experience. We will also discuss some of the goals of the Teacher Training workshop that my colleagues and I led and look at some of the specific mathematical ideas and applications that I shared with the Mathematics teachers …

Mathematical Knowledge And Leibniz' Epstemology, Jonathan Zderad

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

No abstract provided.

Integrating Ethics Into The Database Course With A Focus On Data Modeling And Normalization, James F. Glasgow, Ph.D

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

No abstract provided.

Optimize Your Matth Services Through Networking, Patrice Conrath

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

No abstract provided.

Modeling Growth In Christian Evangelism, Marvin Bittinger

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

No abstract provided.

Breathing Life Into The Liberal Arts Math Course: Ten Teaching Tips, Mark Colgan

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

Teaching the liberal arts math course for general education students presents unique challenges, but the course also offers exciting life applications and opportunities for integrating faith with a variety of creative topics. I try to make the course interesting by actively involving students and relating mathematical topics to their lives. In this paper I will discuss some things I have tried in the liberal arts math course I teach at Taylor University: using students' names, use of undergraduate teaching assistants (T As), group guessing games, handout booklets, hangman, group projects, memory verses, reflection papers, and life lessons.

Six Ways, Yea Seven, That Scripture Is Integral To Our Science And Math Classes, Sean Bird

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

This paper looks at the ways the Bible informs mathematics and its role in guiding our stewardship of God’s creation.

Voltaire: A Study In Finding A Needle In A Haystack, Andrew Simoson

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

In Euler’s popular notes to a German Princess of 1837, he describes Voltaire as laughing about the idea of a hole going to Earth’s center. Did Voltaire actually write about this idea? Herein we describe the answers to be found upon searching through the huge opus of Voltaire’s written work. The result has links to Newton’s 1687 Principia discoveries and the French Academy’s early eighteenth century international scientific expeditions to Lapland and Peru establishing the veracity of those discoveries.

The Beautiful And Sublime In Mathematics, Paul Zwier

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

A précis of Paul Zwier's talk presented at the meetings of the ACMS Conference at Messiah College on June 1, 2007.

Connection-Oriented Computer Science Education, Kim Kihlstrom

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

Computers play an important role in every area of our society and are integral in every academic discipline. Today's computer science students need a background that will prepare them for the expanding range of computing opportunities. The opportunities for computer professionals are varied and increasing in diversity. However, undergraduate computer science programs tend to be narrowly focused on programming and related technical skills. Female students in particular tend to be highly interested in exploring connections between computer science and other fields.

How can we leverage these observations at a liberal arts college, where interdisciplinary connections are highly desirable, and where …

Exploring Loci In Geometry, Owen Byer, Deirdre Smeltzer

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

No abstract provided.

Introduction (2007), Angela Hare

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

Sixteenth Conference of the Association of Christians in the Mathematical Sciences

Table Of Contents (2007), Association Of Christians In The Mathematical Sciences

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

Sixteenth Conference of the Association of Christians in the Mathematical Sciences

Schedule (2007), Association Of Christians In The Mathematical Sciences

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

Sixteenth Conference of the Association of Christians in the Mathematical Sciences

An Augustinian Perspective On The Philosophy Of Mathematics, James Bradley

ACMS Journal 2007

From a Christian perspective, both modern and post-modern approaches to the philosophy of mathematics have significant shortcomings. This paper explores an alternative. It summarizes Augustine of Hippo’s views on the four classical themes of the philosophy of mathematics-the ontology of mathematical objects, their epistemology, the nature of truth in mathematics, and how we account for the effectiveness of mathematics in describing the natural world. It then traces what has happened to Augustine’s perspective in the roughly 1600 years since it was written concluding with a discussion of some spiritual and intellectual problems with the currently dominant secular perspective.

Electronic Mathematics, Aidan O'Donoghue

Theses

Recent times have seen an explosion in the use of interactive technologies in the delivery of learning content to students in all educational sectors in Ireland. This expansion has led to the creation of modem day phenomenons such as global and ‘teacherless’ classrooms.

The research study I have undertaken is to determine if students perform to the same standard when learning through an interactive educational software application as opposed to a more traditional setting of learning ’through’ a teacher in a classroom. The application being developed for this study enables students to learn the ordinary level leaving certificate mathematics course …

Personality And Programming, Amy B. Woszczynski, Tracy C. Guthrie, Sherri Shade

Faculty Articles

Information systems students continue to struggle to successfully complete computer programming classes. Learning how to program is difficult, and failure and attrition rates in college level programming classes remain at an unacceptably high rate. Since many IS students take a programming course as part of their program of study, IS educators should better understand why IS students tend to achieve low success rates in programming courses and what can be done to improve success rates. Little research to date has addressed potential reasons for student failure in programming principles courses. Many educators simply assume that high failure rates are acceptable …

Object Information Repository In A Christian Theory Of Technology, Longy O. Anyanwu

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2005

It has not been easy to formulate a stable Christian theory of technology. Nonetheless, some ideas and Christian theories of technology have been fielded by a handful of distinguished Christian scientists and technology experts. Although some of these ideas and theories are substantively at variance, others have sizeable common base. Important, though, is the seeming agreement on the visualization of technology as an object with embedded values and information. With object information repository as the primary focus, this study, therefore, attempts to provoke the consideration of a possible synthesis and agreement on the foundational essence of Christian theory of technology …