Mathematician Handout Checklist
Did the handout:
- get turned in at the beginning of class on the day of your presentation
containing enough copies?
- use correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation? This is worth more.
- flow
smoothly when read out loud? Have someone else read it to you,
or read it to someone else. You may create a list of bulleted points
or a writeup in paragraph form (whichever you prefer).
This is worth more.
- look professional and contain graphs within
the text (not as appendices)? This is worth more.
- contain a picture of the mathematician somewhere (except for Fuller)?
- contain correct historical facts that relate to the
themes below? (Do NOT create a biography).
Influences, Support, Barriers and Diversity
Issues
- address the influences that led them to becoming
a mathematician, by answering some (or all, if possible) of the following:
What influences led them to becoming a mathematician?
Did they have support from family and society?
Why did they become a mathematician?
What kind of barriers did they face while becoming a mathematician?
- deeply explore this issue?
- address
gender, racial or
multicultural/ethnic issues in this mathematician's experiences?
If your mathematician is a woman, be sure to also address whether
they are married and have a family, and whether their husband is also
a mathematician or scientist.
If your mathematician is a white man with no apparent diversity issues,
be sure to address whether they have mentored women or other traditional
minorities in
mathematics.
- deeply explore this issue?
Mathematical Style
- address this issue by answering as many of the following
as possible?
How do they describe the process of doing mathematics and/or
mathematical research?
How do they get the flashes of insight that they need to do research?
How do their
mathematical minds work? Do they have a photographic memory?
Are they really good with numbers? Are they good at visualization?
Does the mathematician often collaborate (ie write papers with
other mathematicians) or instead mostly work by themselves?
- deeply explore this issue?
Annotated References
- give acknowledgment to references where it is due
and contain comments summarizing what was in each reference and
how you used it? This is worth more.