ANNOUNCEMENTS
MTH 599 — 2011/2012

5/29/12

Tomorrow's seminar will focus on summer teaching. Here are some resources you may find helpful:

• The university has established some minimum syllabus requirements, which can be found here.
• Syllabi for Baccalaureate Core courses must satisfy some additional requirements, which can be found here.
• Students in some courses have purchased access to an online homework environment. Further information is available from the Associate Chair.
• Electronic copies of Study Guides for most lower-division courses are available from the department office. These guides provide a reasonable indication of the expected content of each course, and in many cases suggest the number of class meetings needed for each topic.

5/21/12

It is now Week 8. This is a reminder that there are 2 writeups due this term.

• Teaching visits to fellow classmates count as a writeup without the need to turn anything in. However, please do send me an email indicating whose classes you visited.
• The guidelines for other writeups are the same as in past terms. Please turn in (or email) any such writeups by the last day of class.

5/2/12

As we discussed in class, please arrange to visit the (recitation) classroom of at least one other member of the class by 5/16/12.

• You are encouraged to bring written notes of your visit to our seminar meeting that day.
• You do not need to turn anything in.
• Each such visit will count as one of the required "writeups".
• Only 2 writeups are required this term.

3/9/12

We will meet next week in Weniger 212.

3/7/12

There will be a physics colloquium tomorrow at 4 PM in Wngr 304 by a job candidate in physics education.

Further details are available here.

2/21/12

Next week's speaker will be OSU Professor Emerita Barbara Edwards, who will talk about her experiences trying to reform college algebra, both at OSU and nationally. Please see the note below dated 1/27 regarding resources and requests for her talk.

2/20/12

We are now more than halfway through the term. It's time for you to be thinking about your second research or teaching writeup — but most of you have not yet done your first...

2/1/12

A direct link to the library home page created for us is available here.

A similar page for the Mathematics Department can be found here.

1/27/12

Next week's speaker will be OSU Science Librarian Uta Hussong-Christian, who will talk about available research tools that you might find useful. She has asked that you fill out a (short!) survey about your knowledge of such tools by next Tuesday afternoon if possible.

1/24/12

Professor Edwards' scheduled talk tomorrow has been canceled.

The talk will be rescheduled later in the year; the reading assignment (see below) is postponed until then.
A replacement speaker has been found; see the updated schedule.

1/20/12

Next week's speaker will be OSU Professor Emerita Barbara Edwards, who will talk about her experiences trying to reform college algebra, both at OSU and nationally. She has asked that you take a look at her (first) two articles in the recent MAA monograph
     Partner Discipline Recommendations for Introductory College Mathematics and the Implications for College Algebra prior to her presentation.

This monograph was produced by CRAFTY, the MAA subcommittee on Curriculum Renewal Across the First Two Years, whose website you may also find of interest.

1/19/12

A set of old seminar notes we wrote on the octonions is available here.

Comments welcome, as I am about to start rewriting these notes for publication as a book.

1/18/12

Professor Cozzi's scheduled talk today has been canceled.

I will speak instead; see the updated schedule.

11/9/11

You may be interested in Monday's physics colloquium, entitled Learning and Forgetting in Large Introductory Courses.

Further information is available here.

11/7/11

You are reminded that the Pacific Northwest Geometry Seminar will meet this weekend at OSU to honor the 60th birthday of Jim Isenberg at the University of Oregon.

Some further details appear below in the announcement dated 9/25.

11/3/11

We are now more than halfway through the term. It's time for you to be thinking about your second research or teaching writeup — but most of you have not yet done your first...

Several of the writeups submitted to me are, shall we say, not very polished. Yes, I did say "informal". Nonetheless, I expect you to make a reasonable effort to eliminate spelling and grammar errors, and to write clearly. Perhaps a second draft is worth the effort...

11/2/11

Some comments from today's class for further reflection:

• Students believe that "math is about the answer".
• Students see no connection between topics, even when the instructor does.
• There is a tension between problem solving and skills.

10/25/11

Other classes you might want to consider visiting are MTH 211 and MTH 390.

• These classes are intended for preservice elementary and middle school teachers.
• Both classes are taught almost entirely in the group work/discovery learning format.
• MTH 211 meets MW 8–9:50 AM Kidder 108H and MTH 390 meets MW 12–1:50 PM in Stag 109.
• Please contact Marie Franzosa in advance if you wish to visit either of these classes.

10/24/11

Several students have asked me whether last Friday's (quite enjoyable) Mathematics Education Seminar can be used as the basis for one of the required writeups. I would have to say that this informal seminar doesn't really count as a research seminar, at least not this particular day. But I would be willing to count it as a teaching writeup — provided you address the question of what teaching took place, and perhaps briefly comment on what you think of this as a teaching strategy.

10/18/11

I am co-teaching a physics course that makes heavy use of active engagement. You are welcome to visit this course, and to use it as the basis of your teaching writeup.

• The course is PH 320: Symmetries and Idealizations and is followed by PH 422: Static Vector Fields with the same time, place, and instructors.
• These courses cover advanced vector calculus, with applications to electro- and magneto-statics.
• The class meets MF 1–2 and TR 12–2 in Weniger 212.
  (There is also a W meeting in a different room, which is too small to accommodate visitors.)
• You do not need to stay the entire time, especially on TR.
• The room alone is worth a visit, as it is one of the most technologically advanced classrooms on campus.

9/30/11

The Center for Teaching and Learning also offers occasional brown bag seminars, which are listed on their workshop page (and on their home page).

9/25/11

Students interested in geometry should note a special opportunity this term: The Pacific Northwest Geometry Seminar will meet this November at OSU to honor the 60th birthday of Jim Isenberg at the University of Oregon.

Although the talks are not likely to be elementary, this conference offers an unusual opportunity to hear talks by several distinguished geometers. Conference participation can definitely be used as part of the "research talk" requirement for the purposes of this seminar. Don't hesitate to ask me for more detailed recommendations regarding particular talks.

9/24/11

The Library offers several workshops each term about library resources.

Participation in one of these workshops might count as a "teaching activity" for students who do not currently have a teaching assignment, but you should discuss this with me beforehand.

9/23/11

The Center for Teaching and Learning offers several workshops each term related to teaching practice.

Participation in one of these workshops will likely count as a "teaching activity" for the purposes of this seminar, but you should discuss this with me beforehand.