Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Fall 2019, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition Projects

Part of every UNLV engineering student’s academic experience, the senior design project stimulates engineering innovation and entrepreneurship. Each student in their senior year chooses, plans, designs, and prototypes a product in this required element of the curriculum. A capstone to the student’s educational career, the senior design project encourages the student to use everything learned in the engineering program to create a practical, real world solution to an engineering challenge. The senior design competition helps focus the senior students in increasing the quality and potential for commercial application for their design projects. Judges from local industry evaluate the projects on …

Digital Simulations For Grade 7 To 10 Mathematics, Ma. Louise Antonette N. De Las Peñas, Debbie Marie Verzosa, Maria Alva Q. Aberin, Len Patrick Dominic M. Garces, Flordeliza F. Francisco, Evangeline P. Bautista, Mark Anthony C. Tolentino, Winfer C. Tabares

Mathematics Faculty Publications

This article describes a Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology (DOST-PCIEERD) project aimed to facilitate the implementation of the mathematical objectives raised by the Department of Education’s (DepEd) K to 12 program in the Philippines through the use of innovative digital technologies. In particular, a selection of application software (“apps”) were created for Grade 7 to 10 mathematics that covered topics indicated in the five strands outlined in the K to 12 program – namely (1) number, (2) geometry, (3) measurement, (4) patterns and algebra, and (5) statistics and probability. The design …

Alignment Of Theoretically Grounded Constructs For The Measurement Of Science And Chemistry Identity, Kathryn Nicole Hosbein, Jack Barbera

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Identity has been theorized to aid in student persistence within STEM disciplines. In this study, science and chemistry identity were defined as being recognized as a science or chemistry person within the classroom. To generalize the effects that identity has on student persistence, a measurable construct must be defined, operationalized, and tested in multiple settings with different populations. This project addressed the first step in the process, defining the construct and grounding it in an established theoretical framework. This qualitative project utilized a previously described physics identity framework, with sub-constructs of performance/competence, recognition, and interest, as a starting point for …

Student Perceptions Of Learning Introductory Mathematics In An Online Environment In Higher Education, Jamie Lynn Brooks

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the essence of student perception of learning introductory mathematics courses in an online environment at the college level. The central research question was, “What are the lived experiences of students who have completed introductory college mathematics courses in the online learning environment?” The phenomenon described was that of the beliefs and attitudes of the students who participated in introductory mathematics courses on the college level. The ideas explored were if students believe they learn effectively in this environment and how they believe they can best learn. Student beliefs and attitudes …

The Role Of Introductory Geoscience Courses In Preparing Teachers—And All Students—For The Future: Are We Making The Grade?, Anne E. Egger

Geological Sciences Faculty Scholarship

Introductory geoscience courses enroll hundreds of thousands of students a year, most of whom do not major in the geosciences. For many, including future K–12 teachers, an introductory course is the only place they will encounter Earth science at the college level. New standards for K–12 science education have profound implications for teacher preparation, particularly in Earth science. The new standards call for taking a systems approach, highlighting how humans interact with Earth, making use of science and engineering practices, and engaging students in discourse. Analysis of responses to the National Geoscience Faculty Survey (n = 813 in 2004; …

Organic Chemistry Ii Lab Manual, Caitlyn Bailey

Senior Honors Theses

This project aims to supply a full lab manual and grading key for Organic Chemistry II, a class often taken by sophomores in Liberty University’s science degree programs. Properly applied laboratory experiments create a beneficial learning environment for science students by using hands-on procedures to transform intangible lecture concepts into concrete demonstrations. Lab work also fosters the development of problem-solving and critical-thinking skills that students need in research and the workplace. Thus, having a comprehensive lab manual is critical to students’ success and understanding in this upper-level class. This project adds to the experiments of Organic Chemistry II lab through …

Seeing And Understanding Data, Beverly Wood, Charlotte Bolch

Publications

Visual displays of data are commonly used today in media reports online or in print. For example, data visualizations are sometimes used as a marketing tool to convince people to purchase a certain product, or they are displayed in articles or magazines as a way to graphically display data to emphasize a certain point. In general, it is hard to imagine the majority of disciplines in science and mathematics not using data visualizations. However, before standard data visualization techniques were developed (and accepted by the community), mathematicians and scientists very rarely used graphical displays or pictures to represent empirical data.

Traffic Noise And Sexual Selection: Studies Of Anthropogenic Impact On Bird Songs And Undergraduate Student Reasoning Of Evolutionary Mechanisms, Sarah Spier

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Humans have transformed much of the natural landscape and are continuing to do so at an accelerated rate, compromising natural areas that serve as important habitat for many species. Roads impact much of the environment as they fragment habitat and introduce traffic noise into the acoustic environment, deferentially affecting wildlife in roadside habitat. I explored how traffic noise affects the detection of birds based on whether their vocalizations were masked by traffic noise. Masked species detection was not affected by an increase in traffic noise amplitude, while there was a negative effect of traffic noise amplitude on unmasked species detection, …

Traffic Noise And Sexual Selection: Studies Of Anthropogenic Impact On Bird Songs And Undergraduate Student Reasoning Of Evolutionary Mechanisms, Sarah Spier

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Humans have transformed much of the natural landscape and are continuing to do so at an accelerated rate, compromising natural areas that serve as important habitat for many species. Roads impact much of the environment as they fragment habitat and introduce traffic noise into the acoustic environment, deferentially affecting wildlife in roadside habitat. I explored how traffic noise affects the detection of birds based on whether their vocalizations were masked by traffic noise. Masked species detection was not affected by an increase in traffic noise amplitude, while there was a negative effect of traffic noise amplitude on unmasked species detection, …

Smoller And King: California Should Have Its Own Solar Decathlon, Fred Smoller, Richard King

Political Science Faculty Articles and Research

"While the Federal Government has pulled back on the reins, California is vigorously going green. California’s legislature has passed ambitious climate change legislation while governors of both parties have made tackling climate change a priority. Last month, the City of Los Angeles released its own ambitious Green New Deal.

To increase its impact, the California competition could be expanded to include a sustainability exposition which would include professional development and consumer workshops, as well as K-12 education events. Sustainability vendors would display and explain their products, services and new technologies. As many as 100,000 visitors per day could visit the …

Using Forensics To Introduce Ir Spectroscopy & Molecular Modeling, Joseph T. Golab

Faculty Publications & Research

A student activity is reported that analyzes “medical evidence” with experimental and computational methods. The lesson demonstrates benefits of solving practical problems with integrated tools.

Regression To The Mean, Dominic Klyve

Statistics and Probability

No abstract provided.

Nuclear Engineering At The Air Force Institute Of Technology: A Unique Graduate School Experience For A Unique Set Of Students, Michael B. Shattan

Faculty Publications

In August 2018, the Air University Commander formed a task force to review the Air Force’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) graduate education programs that are delivered and administered through the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT). The study was rooted in strategies to support the 2018 National Defense Strategy, and provided the necessary technologically equipped personnel for the 21st century. The study was commonly referred to as “reimagining AFIT”. Several themes emerged from the study, which include reaching a broader community of Airmen through alternate educational modes (e.g. distance learning, short course etc.), forming strategic educational and research …

Closing Banquet Eulogies, Russell Howell, C. Ray Rosentrater

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

A tribute to David Lay; A tribute to John Roe

From Perfect Shuffles To Landau's Function, Brian D. Beasley

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

If we view a given shuffle of a deck of cards as a permutation, then repeatedly applying this same shuffle will eventually return the deck to its original order. In general, how many steps will that take? What happens in the case of so-called perfect shuffles? What type of shuffle will require the greatest number of applications before restoring the original deck? This talk will address those questions and provide a brief history of the work of Edmund Landau on the maximal order of a permutation in the symmetric group on n objects. It will also note some recent progress …

Developing Mathematicians: The Benefits Of Weaving Spiritual And Disciplinary Discipleship, Patrick Eggleton

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

Part of the goal of discipleship at the Christian university is for faith development to seep into the hearts of the students. Similarly, the goal of the development of future mathematicians is for the mathematical proficiencies, the practices like problem solving and analytical reasoning that permeate each of the courses, to seep into the hearts of our majors. This presentation shares how the weaving of our spiritual and disciplinary discipleship efforts benefits the faith development of our students while also helping them to think like a mathematician.

The Applicability Of Mathematics And The Naturalist Die, Ricardo J. Cordero-Soto

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

Philosopher and Christian apologist William Lane Craig has proposed a valid deductive argument for God’s existence that is rooted in the applicability of mathematics to the physical universe. This argument was presented by Craig during a debate with philosopher and atheist Alex Rosenberg. During the debate, Rosenberg presented a rebuttal to the soundness of this argument by appealing to chance as an explanation to the applicability of mathematics to the physical universe. In this talk, the presenter will discuss how the naturalist die is unable to produce “chance application” of mathematics while defending the soundness of the argument in light …

Analyzing The Impact Of Active Learning In General Education Mathematics Courses, Amanda Harsy, Marie Meyer, Michael Smith, Brittany Stephenson

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

This talk shares the preliminary results of a study that explores the general perceptions and attitudes of students in general education mathematics courses taught using primarily active learning- based methods (like group work, projects, and discovery learning), and compares them with those enrolled in a general education mathematics course taught in a more traditional and lecture-based method. We present an analysis of survey data collected throughout the semester, which explores the disposition and mindset of students, their mathematical confidence and anxiety, and perceptions of pedagogical methods used for the teaching of mathematics. We also explored how these perceptions and dispositions …

Faith, Mathematics, And Science: The Priority Of Scripture In The Pursuit And Acquisition Of Truth, Bob Mallison

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

This research will examine some approaches for identifying truth as well as some issues involved in recognizing reliable sources of information. We will proceed from a decidedly Christian perspective including the conviction that God created an orderly universe (and that studying nature provides valuable information about Him) and that His Word, the Bible, even more clearly expresses in- formation about Him. We will discuss some of the essential tools used by mathematicians and scientists for the discovery of truth – namely, models. We will examine some valuable models from history, and briefly discuss that as additional scientific information became available, …

Lagrange's Interpolation, Chinese Remainder, And Linear Equations, Jesús Jiménez

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

Consider a finite set of points {(x1, y1), (x2, y2), . . . , (xk , yk )} in R2. The Lagrange’s interpolation problem is to find a polynomial p(x) of degree k − 1 satisfying p(xi) = yi for 1 ≤ i ≤ k. We will recall the solution to Lagrange’s interpolation problems as an instance of the Chinese Remainder Theorem. Next, we will show that a similar approach can be used to construct solutions to a system of linear equations.

Factors That Motivate Students To Learn Mathematics, Dave Klanderman, Sarah Klanderman, Benjamin Gliesmann, Josh Wilkerson, Patrick Eggleton

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

What motivates some students to want to learn mathematics while others do not share similar motivation? Are these factors intrinsic, extrinsic, or a combination of both? To answer these questions, we adapted a survey originally developed by Tapia (1996) and later shortened by Lim and Chapman (2015). We administered the survey in multiple middle schools, a high school, and multiple colleges and universities. We obtained over 100 completed surveys for each of these educational levels. This presentation offers an analysis of these data, including descriptive statistics and confidence intervals for each educational level. For the college and university sample, we …

Marin Mersenne: Minim Monk And Messenger; Monotheism, Mathematics, And Music, Karl-Dieter Crisman

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

If you have taught a number theory course or even watched the mathematical news, you know that occasionally a new (and enormous) “Mersenne prime” is discovered. Those who have introduced students to the prehistory of calculus may know of a certain Marin Mersenne as the interlocutor who drew Fermat and Descartes (and others) out to discuss their methods of tangents (and more). But who was Mersenne, and what did he actually do? This presentation will give an overview of his times, his role in the history of science, and his own writings. We’ll especially look into why a monk from …

Addressing Challenges In Creating Math Presentations, David Schweitzer

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

When it comes to composing presentation slides with extensive mathematical content, each of the slide creation platforms has at least one significant drawback. Whether it is Beamer and its steep learning curve, PowerPoint and its relative inefficiency with math, Google Slides and its complete lack of math capabilities, or some other platform, no one tool single-handedly offers an ideal solution. Additionally, if users desire creative flexibility, such as the ability to easily change fonts or colors, the platforms’ respective limitations can become even more pronounced. In a project that has been well suited for undergraduate research, the presenter and his …

Is Mathematical Truth Time Dependent? Comments From A Paper By Judith Grabiner, Richard Stout

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

Judith Grabiner, a renowned historian of mathematics, has written many papers related to signifi- cant changes in the content and nature of analysis, from the 17th through the 19th century. In her paper “Is Mathematical Truth Time Dependent?” Professor Grabiner gives several reasons for the changing nature and requirements in rigor that occurred over this period of two hundred years. In this talk I will briefly summarize her conclusions, particularly in light of how they might influence a Christian perspective on mathematics.

Numerical Range Of Toeplitz Matrices Over Finite Fields, Derek Thompson, Maddison Guillaume Baker, Amish Mishra

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

We characterize the kth numerical range of all n×n Toeplitz matrices with a constant main diagonal and another single, non-zero diagonal, where the matrices are over the field Zp[i], with p a prime congruent to 3 mod 4. We find that, for k ∈ Z∗, the kth numerical range is always equal to Zp[i] with the exception of the scaled identity. We also use similar techniques to discover a general connection between the 0th numerical range and the kth numerical range. Lastly, we conclude with a conjecture regarding the general numerical range of all triangular Toeplitz matrices.

Charles Babbage And Mathematical Aspects Of The Miraculous, Courtney K. Taylor

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

Charles Babbage is widely known as the father of the computer, but he is lesser known for his contributions to natural theology and apologetics. In 1837 Babbage wrote the Ninth Bridgewater Treatise in response to a series of writings concerning faith and science that had been commissioned by the Royal Society. Among the remarkable features of the Ninth Bridgewater are mathematical analogies concerning the miraculous. We will explore these ideas, which range from the difference engine to a family of fourth degree curves, illustrating that for Babbage, miracles are not exceptions to natural law, but rather instances of a larger …

Replacing Remedial Mathematics With Corequisites In General Education Mathematics Courses, Alana Unfried

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

Many colleges and universities offer courses, such as Remedial Mathematics or Elementary Algebra, that underprepared students must complete before they can take a college-level mathematics course. However, nationally there is a push to replace remedial mathematics courses with corequisite courses instead. This design allows students to enter directly into their general education mathematics course instead of first overcoming the barrier of a remedial course. Corequisite mathematics courses were implemented across the 23-campus California State University system during the 2018-19 academic year. I will discuss the design and implementation of a corequisite structure at California State University, Monterey Bay, in particular …

Maximum Elements Of Ordered Sets And Anselm's Ontological Argument, Doug Ward

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

I will present a simple theorem concerning maximal elements of a set T endowed with an ordering “>” that is antisymmetric, i.e., if A and B are elements of T , we cannot have both A > B and B > A. A special case of this theorem is a simple version of the ontological argument, one of the classical proofs for the existence of God.

Models, Values, And Disasters, Michael H. Veatch

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

Decision-support models have values embedded in them and are subjective to varying degrees. Philosophical and ethical perspectives on operations research models are used to describe this subjectivity. Approaches to model building are then suggested that take into account subjectivity and values. For the decisions to reflect the right values, the model must align with the decision-maker’s values. I argue that it is appropriate and important for Christians applying mathematical models to be keenly aware of decision-maker’s values and seek to reflect them in the model. Disaster response planning is presented as an example where incorporating values is challenging. The responding …

Computer Science: Creating In A Fallen World, Russell Tuck

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2019

When God created people in his image, he gave us the gift of sub-creation. One of the great joys of Computer Science is exercising that gift to create tools : software and computer systems that serve people and solve problems. Like all God’s gifts, he charges us to exercise the gift of sub-creation wisely and for good. While there are many obvious implications and challenges, being good stewardship of users’ time and reducing discrimination are particularly relevant and perhaps less obvious examples. Although computer scientists exercise the gift of sub-creation, we do so as fallen people in a fallen world. …