Rutgers Mathematics Teaching Seminar

Founded 2009 by Andrew Baxter and Michael Weingart as the "Teaching Discussion Group"

Welcome to the public page for the Rutgers Mathmeatics Teaching Seminar. Open to all mathematics faculty, teaching assistants, and part-time lecturers, our aim is to meet regularly (currently bi-weekly) to discuss issues related to teaching mathematics to undergraduates.

Our meeting times will be alternating Wednesdays 10:30 am - 11:30 am in Hill 705. The planned meetings for Fall 2010 will be:

• September 15: Pablo Mejia-Ramos, "Research on Proof in Mathematics Education: An expert/novice approach."
• September 29: Pablo Mejia-Ramos, "Researching the presentation and comprehension of proofs in undergraduate mathematics."
          Abstract: I will give an overview of a program of research on different ways of presenting and comprehending mathematical proofs at the undergraduate level. In particular I will discuss ways of researching (1) how people read proofs, (2) what they learn from reading them, and (3) the extent to which the particular way in which proofs are presented influences understanding.
• October 13: Andrew Baxter, "Dealing with Students with Different Levels of Academic Preparedness."
          Abstract: Any class roster has students with a wide range of levels of ability and preparedness. I will present several practical strategies for keeping the bright students interested without overwhelming the weaker students.
          Slides
• October 15: Members of the Seminar may be interested to know that David Bressoud will be the Colloquium speaker, on the topic "Issues of the Transition to College Mathematics."
• October 27: Keith Weber. "Beliefs about teaching advanced mathematics".
          Abstract: This talk describes the teaching and student learning in real analysis. By listing common teaching practices in advanced mathematics courses, I explore the beliefs that underlie these processes. By investigating student learning, I critically examine the validity of these beliefs.
• November 10: Amy Cohen-Corwin. "Deepening Mid-career Middle School Teachers' Understanding of Geometry."
          Abstract: An NSF-funded project prepares experienced math teachers for roles such as Math Coach by offering intense summer math content courses with the goal of "deepening teachers understanding" of the mathematics taught in grades 6-8. Workshop problems engage the teachers in finding several approaches to a problem and several forms of explanation and justification for the results. The talk will present a few such problems and talk about what issues of understanding and explaining arose from the class discussions.
• December 1: Lew Hirsch. "How did this kid get into my class?"
          Abstract: I will discuss the math placement process developed over the last 28 years. We will take a look at the actual math placement exam and discuss what students theoretically should know before taking calculus, and how the limitations of testing and politics affect the placement process

We are changing the the format this semester. We will begin with a short presentation, roughly 40-50 minutes, which is followed by discussion of that topic for the remainder of the time.

For more information on the seminar, you are welcome to check out our site on Sakai. You will need to sign in using your NetID and password. If you do not have a NetID (or do not remember your password), then email either Andrew Baxter (baxter [at] math [dot] rutgers [dot] edu) or Michael Weingart (weingart@math...) to be granted access to the site. Once you are signed into Sakai, go to the Membership tab on the left, then hit the "Joinable Sites" button and search for "Teaching Discussion Group." There is currently only one site fitting that criterion, and that's the one you want.