Too Much Content?

A friend of mine recently posted a link on Facebook to the following blog post:

http://garyrubinstein.teachforus.org/2013/10/19/death-of-math/

This has the provocative title "The Death of Math."  Side note:  The use of the word "math" tends to bug me.  In formal writing and public writing, I always try to use the term "mathematics."

This is a fairly long post and what I want to focus on now is one of the two recommendations Mr. Rubenstein makes to "fix mathematics."  This one is:  Greatly reduce the number of required topics and to expand the topics that remained so they can covered more deeply with thought provoking lessons and activities.  (The second recommendation is to make mathematics beyond the 8th grade into electives.)

Version 1.1 of Mathematical Reasoning: Writing and Proof

With the fall semester now in full swing, I am finding it very difficult to find time to think about topics for this blog and to write posts for this blog.  So this one is short.

I have released Version 1.1 of the textbook Mathematical Reasoning: Writing and Proof.  There is no difference in content between this version and Version 1.0.  I have made only two changes:

I have added a "Note to Students" that comes before the preface.  I do not know why this took me so long, but it is quite clear that students do not read the preface.  So I wrote a short note that explains the features of the textbook to the students and what they can do to effectively use the book.  Please use the link above to download this note and let me know what you think.

Study Guides for Mathematical Reasoning: Writing and Proof

In a post on August 25, I indicated that I was working on study guides for each section of Mathematical Reasoning: Writing and Proof.  I have now completed study guides for the book through Chapter 5.  These can be downloaded on the website for the book at https://sites.google.com/site/mathematicalreasoning3ed/.

I hope students will find these useful tools to help them with their study.

LaTeX Workshop in Class

In a post on this blog on August 14, I indicated that I was going to require my students in the introduction to proofs course to use LaTeX.  This is the first time I have done this.  I am quite nervous about requiring the use of LaTeX because I am not sure how the students will react to this.  Students seem to be quite comfortable using a word processor and it is usually not too difficult for them to then incorporate the use the equation editor.  Most students have used MS Word and some used Open Office.  I am not fond of the equation editors in these two word processors, and I often encourage my students to use MathType, especially with MS Word.

Flipped Classroom Documents

In a few of my recent posts, I have made reference to using a flipped classroom model for teaching the introduction to proofs course.  To get a sense of what this means, following are links to some documents I use.  These documents were intended for use in class on Wednesday August 28 for a 2-hour session.

• Study Guide (distributed on Monday August 26).
• Quiz (taken at the start of class on Wednesday August 28).
• Classroom Problems (Students worked on these in class in groups of 3 students on Wednesday August 28).

Study Guides for Mathematical Reasoning

Classes start tomorrow.  I will be teaching one section of MTH 210 - Communicating in Mathematics (and two sections of Trigonometry).  As I have indicated, I used a flipped or inverted classroom model last winter for MTH 210 and I will do so again.  To help students with this method, I wrote study guides for each section of Mathematical Reasoning: Writing and Proof.  I wrote them specifically for my class including due dates, etc.  For some reason, I wrote them using Word.  I have now started to rewrite these using LaTeX in a more generic form that other people (including students) can use.  So if you are interested, you can download a pdf file with study guides for the first six sections of the book.  I will soon be adding these to the web site for the book and will be able to make the LaTeX source files available.  Please contact me at mathreasoning@gmail.com if you are interested.

Compassion and Imagination

"To be a good teacher, exercise your compassion and imagination; to be a good pupil, exercise your capacity to learn independently."

As we get close to the start of classes, I realize that my time on the golf course will significantly decrease.  Now what does that have to do with the quote above?  I wish this was my quote but it is by M. Scott Peck from his book Golf and the Spirit: Lessons from the Journey.  With classes and golf on my mind, I recalled that one chapter from the book was on teaching and learning.  I have not read the book for several years and so I decided to take it out and this was the first chapter I read.  The book deals mainly with teaching golf professionals and their students but also relates this to psychotherapists and their patients.  (M. Scott Peck, M.D., is a psychiatrist.)  

Alice in Wonderland

The following quote from Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll is pertinent to the so-called forward-backward method for direct proofs.  I thought you might find it interesting and perhaps useful.

One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a
C h e s h i re cat in a tree.
"Which road do I take?" She asked.
His response was a question: "Where do you want to go?"
"I don't know," Alice answered.
"Then," said the cat, "it doesn't matter."

Interesting Methods of Proof

This is a cartoon by Sydney Harris and shows a proof technique that I do not accept in my courses, even though I wish I could use it from time to time.  Check out a collection of cartoons related to mathematics by Sydney Harris.

Screencasts and the Inverted Classroom

A very important supplement to my textbook, Mathematical Reasoning: Writing and Proof, is an extensive collection of screencasts developed by Robert Talbert, a colleague of mine at Grand Valley State University.  Although these screencasts are structured around this book, they can be used in conjunction with any introduction to proofs course.  Please review these screencasts and see if they are suitable for use in your course.  Most of the screencasts deal with one topic or example and are approximately 10 minutes long.  They are a great supplement to a course and give the students a chance to have examples done outside of the classroom.  You can find the complete collection of screencasts in the MTH 210 Playlist in the GVSU Math YouTube Channel.

Writing Proofs

Issues dealing with the writing of mathematical proofs should be addressed throughout an introduction to proofs course.  Completing a proof does bring personal satisfaction, but mathematicians also have the responsibility to be able to communicate their results to others.  For a long time now, I have emphasized the importance of writing in courses I teach for mathematics majors, and I have been actively involved in helping students develop their writing abilities in the introduction to proofs course.  

This is also important to others in the Department of Mathematics at Grand Valley State University as is shown the following two paragraphs, which are based on a document developed by the Department of Mathematics at Grand Valley State University for use in the Writing Center at the university.

Free Textbooks

Perhaps one of the more important resources for a course is a textbook.  One difficulty with choosing a textbook for an introduction to proofs course is that there is no "standard" syllabus for the course.  Many colleges and universities develop their own version of this course.  That being said, there are several textbooks from which to choose and there are a growing number of free or low-cost textbooks.

Welcome

In this blog, I plan to share:

• My thoughts about introduction to proofs courses for the mathematics majors.
• Information about the text that I have written for this course, Mathematical Reasoning: Writing and Proof.
• Information about other free resources for an introduction to proofs course including other free textbooks for the course.

Please feel free make suggestions for blog in the comments, or you can send a messageto me at mathreasoning@gmail.com.