Math 4010

MAT 4040 Mathematics Capstone - Spring 2011

Dr. Sarah's Office Hours
Dr. Marland's Office Hours

Date	WORK DUE at the beginning of class unless otherwise noted!
3 May	Our assigned meeting time during finals week is Tuesday, May 3, 2011 from 3:00 PM - 5:30 PM and includes part 4 of the course project - the final draft of the paper.
25 Apr	Course project beamer presentations conclude See 21 and 28 Feb and 4 Apr dates for beamer templates, themes and
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18 Apr	Course project beamer presentations begin See 21 and 28 Feb and 4 Apr dates for beamer templates, themes and advice on presentations.
11 Apr	Homework Due Read Davis, P. (1993). Thirty Years After the Two Cultures Controversy: A Mathematician's View. In Essays in Humanistic Mathematics. A.M. White, ed. MAA Notes, 22 and prepare a reflection with your take on the controversy [to turn in to Dr. Marland's door]. Continue working on the course project.
4 Apr	Homework Due First draft of the course project paper is due. Turn in the pdf (but not the LaTeX code). Use the paper template: LaTex code and pdf version, which is in a LaTeX article format. If you have a laptop, bring that to class. During Class Explore Mathematics Awareness Month while we take turns meeting about the course project.
28 Mar	Homework Due: Prepare the following as a reflection: The four educational goals for all students at ASU are: 1) Thinking Critically & Creatively 2) Communicating Effectively 3) Making Local to Global Connections 4) Understanding Responsibilities of Community Membership For each goal, provide 2 examples - one from your mathematics courses and one from your other courses - that illustrate that you have met these goals. For instance, inside of mathematics local to global might refer to mathematicians here and abroad or to small scale/large scale concepts [like in calculus - Euclidean geometry or rectangular coordinates being useful on a local/arbitrarily small scale but on a global scale other geometry and coordinate systems being important. For example, a dx term is the local scale but the global function shape is also important for a calculation like the integral over a region. Continue working on the course project. During Class: Discuss homework. Go over library and other searches. Review article and beamer formats.
21 Mar	Homework Due: First read Mathematics in a General Education which was emailed to you. Prepare to discuss this during class. Next work on the assignment on ASULearn relating to an educational goal for mathematics majors: Students should possess an understanding of the breath of the mathematical sciences via an understanding and appreciation of connections between different areas and with other disciplines. Note: You may use outside sources, but your responses must be in your own words. During Class: Discuss mathematics in a general education as well as goals for mathematics majors.
14 Mar	Homework Due: 1) Reflection on your own success and talents in mathematics and your plans after graduation from Appalachian. 2) Prepare to discuss the Encyclopedia of Mathematics and Society: Careers reading that was emailed to you. 3) Continue working on the course project. During Class Discuss careers in mathematics. BYU Success. Smarter Math Builds Equations for a Smarter Planet. Discuss homework for next week.
7 Mar	Spring Break
28 Feb	Homework Due: Part 2 of the course project - create an introductory and second slide in Beamer, and a preliminary bibliography list in LaTeX. See the library and web research suggestions. Print and turn in your LaTeX code and the documents. Preliminary bibliography template: LaTex code and pdf version Beamer slides template: LaTex code and pdf version Beamer theme gallery During Class: Success in mathematics, talent and sanity pdf of slides and LaTeX Beamer code.
21 Feb	Homework Due: Research one of the professional associations and LaTeX some aspect you found interesting along with a bibliographic reference for the website of the organization and a publication by them. Print and turn in your LaTeX code and the document. A LaTeX template: LaTeX code and the pdf version. During Class: Share from the Professional Association homework assignment. Discuss ethics from the two readings from last week. Hand out library and web research suggestions for the final project bibliography. More on LaTeX, LaTeX Beamer and presentations in mathematics. How to Talk Mathematics by Paul Hamos, Notices of the AMS (v. 21, 1974, pp. 155-158) Giving a Good Presentation by Joseph A. Gallian. How To Give a Talk: Advice on Preparing and Presenting Technical Talks in the Mathematical Sciences by Tamara G. Kolda, Sandia National Labs
14 Feb	Homework Due: 3 readings sent via email on ethics and professional associations. Encyclopedia of Mathematics and Society: Professional Associations Encyclopedia of Mathematics and Society: Ethics Mathematics and Ethics, Hersh, R. The Mathematical Intelligencer, 1990 12(3), pp. 13-15. Discussion questions: For each reading, name at least two aspects from the reading that surprised you, that you found interesting, disagreed with, or had a question on. In addition, what, if any, ethical issues have arisen in your mathematics experiences at Appalachian? During Class: Discuss ethics and professional societies, including AMATYC, AMS, AMSTAT, AWM, IMU, MAA, NAM, NCTM and SIAM and the responsibilities of community membership.
7 Feb	Homework Due: Part 1 of the course project - choose a preliminary topic for the course project. LaTeX an initial topic idea, which includes your name and your experience with the topic. Print and turn in your LaTeX code and the document. A LaTeX template: LaTeX code and the pdf version. See the links under class on January 31st for more information on the program. To run LaTex on campus Macs, TexShop should be available and we recommend that you use the Macs - for example in 203. Jeremy mentioned downloading MiKTeX on his personal p.c. To run LaTeX on campus PCs, you can download TeXworks-setup, a free 'front-end' for LaTeX. Click on the 'TeXworks-setup' link above to download the installer. Run the installer, then launch TeXworks and use PDFlatex. During Class: The Proof video and questions
31 Jan	Homework Due: Read through the guidelines for reflections and the course project guidelines. Reflection Due: Sync and Spontaneous Order During Class: Discuss the course project, library sources and databases, and an introduction to LaTeX. Provide a few sample [short] latex templates including an article, abstract and a bibliography sample. To run LaTex on campus Macs, TexShop should be available. To run LaTeX on campus PCs, you can download TeXworks-setup, a free 'front-end' for LaTeX. Click on the 'TeXworks-setup' link above to download the installer. Run the installer, then launch TeXworks. Installing TeXworks on a 'thumb drive' lets you use it on any campus PC without reinstalling each time. Dr. Hirst's TeX resources LaTeX Mathematical Symbols Use of math symbols and equations Additional latex symbols Dr. Bauldry's Brief Introduction to LaTeX A Sample Article with a Bibliography and the pdf version
24 Jan	Homework Due: Google Dr. Sarah and read the syllabus. Reading and discussion questions (to turn in) due on Chapter 1 from SYNC: The Emerging Science of Spontaneous Order by Steven H. Strogatz. New York: Hyperion (2003). 1) Research the web for the credentials of the author and summarize what you found. 2) What cause/effect [if/then] relationships were stated or implied in the chapter? 3) Name at least two aspects from the reading that surprised you, that you found interesting, disagreed with, had a question on, and/or relates to something in your own life. During Class: Discuss Sync. Watch the TED video. Discuss the difference between impressions from the article and from TED.
17 Jan	MLKJ Day
10 Jan	During Class: Discuss the syllabus and course project. The art of equations activities. LaTeX code.