Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Operation Comics: The Story Continues, Bruce Kessler, Janet Tassell, Tressa Tullis

Mathematics Faculty Publications

During the 2008-2009 academic year, the author K. wrote three issues of Operation Comics, a comic book with embedded mathematics content appropriate for 4th through 6th grade students. Several printed comics were placed in Cumberland Trace Elementary in the Warren County School System in Bowling Green, Kentucky, US. The author Ta. was enlisted to measure the impact of the comics on the attitudes and motivation of the students using the comics. A preliminary report was given by K. at the 2009 Bridges Banff Conference, and the written report appeared in the proceedings. Since then, data has been collected on the …

Operation Comics: The Story Continues, Bruce Kessler, Janet Tassell, Tressa Tullis

Bruce Kessler

During the 2008-2009 academic year, the author K. wrote three issues of Operation Comics, a comic book with embedded mathematics content appropriate for 4th through 6th grade students. Several printed comics were placed in Cumberland Trace Elementary in the Warren County School System in Bowling Green, Kentucky, US. The author Ta. was enlisted to measure the impact of the comics on the attitudes and motivation of the students using the comics. A preliminary report was given by K. at the 2009 Bridges Banff Conference, and the written report appeared in the proceedings. Since then, data has been collected on the …

Comic Books That Teach Mathematics, Bruce Kessler

Bruce Kessler

During the 2008--2009 academic year, the author embarked on an extremely non-standard curriculum path: developing comic books with embedded mathematics appropriate for 3rd through 6th grade students. With the help of an education professor to measure impact, an elementary-school principal, and talented undergraduate illustrators, this project came to fruition and the comics were implemented in elementary classrooms at Cumberland Trace Elementary in the Warren County School System in Bowling Green, Kentucky. This manuscript gives the history of this idea, the difficulties of developing the content of the comics and getting them illustrated, and the implementation plan in the school.

A …

Using Works Of Visual Art To Teach Matrix Transformations, James Luke Akridge, Rachel Bowman, Peter Hamburger, Bruce Kessler

Bruce Kessler

The authors present a modern technique for teaching matrix transformations on $\R^2$ that incorporates works of visual art and computer programming. Two of the authors were undergraduate students in Dr. Hamburger's linear algebra class, where this technique was implemented as a special project for the students. The two students generated the images seen in this paper, and the movies that can be found on the accompanying webpage www.wku.edu/\~bruce.kessler/.

Using Works Of Visual Art To Teach Matrix Transformations, James Luke Akridge, Rachel Bowman, Peter Hamburger, Bruce Kessler

Mathematics Faculty Publications

The authors present a modern technique for teaching matrix transformations on $\R^2$ that incorporates works of visual art and computer programming. Two of the authors were undergraduate students in Dr. Hamburger's linear algebra class, where this technique was implemented as a special project for the students. The two students generated the images seen in this paper, and the movies that can be found on the accompanying webpage www.wku.edu/\~{\space}bruce.kessler/.

Comic Books That Teach Mathematics, Bruce Kessler

Mathematics Faculty Publications

During the 2008--2009 academic year, the author embarked on an extremely non-standard curriculum path: developing comic books with embedded mathematics appropriate for 3rd through 6th grade students. With the help of an education professor to measure impact, an elementary-school principal, and talented undergraduate illustrators, this project came to fruition and the comics were implemented in elementary classrooms at Cumberland Trace Elementary in the Warren County School System in Bowling Green, Kentucky. This manuscript gives the history of this idea, the difficulties of developing the content of the comics and getting them illustrated, and the implementation plan in the school.

My Trig Book, Bruce Kessler

Mathematics Faculty Publications

This is the MATH 117 Trigonometry text developed by Dr. Bruce Kessler for the Gatton Academy of Math and Science at Western Kentucky University for the Academy sections of the course. The text has also been used in two online course offerings.

A "Sound" Approach To Fourier Transforms: Using Music To Teach Trigonometry, Bruce Kessler

Mathematics Faculty Publications

If a large number of educated people were asked, ``What was your most exciting class?'', odds are that very few of them would answer ``Trigonometry.'' The subject is generally presented in a less-than-exciting fashion, with the repeated caveat that ``you'll need this when you take calculus,'' or ``this has lots of applications'' without ever really seeing many of them. This manuscript addresses how the author is trying to change this tradition by exposing casual students from kindergarten to college to Joseph Fourier's secret, that nearly any function can be built out of sine and cosine curves. And music serves as …

A "Sound" Approach To Fourier Transforms: Using Music To Teach Trigonometry, Bruce Kessler

Bruce Kessler

If a large number of educated people were asked, ``What was your most exciting class?'', odds are that very few of them would answer ``Trigonometry.'' The subject is generally presented in a less-than-exciting fashion, with the repeated caveat that ``you'll need this when you take calculus,'' or ``this has lots of applications'' without ever really seeing many of them. This manuscript addresses how the author is trying to change this tradition by exposing casual students from kindergarten to college to Joseph Fourier's secret, that nearly any function can be built out of sine and cosine curves. And music serves as …