Describes the past history and present reforms of the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the United States Military Academy. (MKR)

Describes the effects of incorporating a group final project into an elementary statistics course. Discusses the implementation, evaluation, and student reaction to the group final project requirement. Presents one of the students' group final projects as an example. (Author/ASK)

Cooperative student work often fails to generate individual understanding of abstract algebra materials. Suggests techniques that enable abstract algebra students to master proofs and enhance cooperative work. (Author/ASK)

Describes the specific courses in a sequence along with how the writing has been implemented in each course. Provides ideas for how to efficiently handle the additional paper load so students receive the necessary feedback while keeping the grading time reasonable. (Author/ASK)

Presents some methods for describing and referring to mathematical objects and consistently and unambiguously signaling the logical structure of mathematical arguments. Presents the problems involved in referring to mathematics objects and properties. Discusses certain individual words used to communicate the logical structure of mathematical…

Alternative forms of evaluation can provide deep and powerful learning experiences for students. Explains how to implement portfolios as an evaluation tool and describes a problem that was successfully implemented in a second semester reform calculus class. (Author/ASK)

Addresses the difficulties students have in acquiring graphical problem-solving skills. Presents some techniques and concepts intended to help students overcome them. Contains 15 references. (Author/ASK)

Demonstrates examples, one of which is an extension of "guess and check," to include variables rather than numbers. The quadratic equation az2+bz+c=0, is solved by assuming a complex solution of the form z=x+iy. Explores the use of deMoivre's theorem in deriving trigonometric identities with other examples. (Author/ASK)

Describes a two-semester numerical methods course that serves as a research experience for undergraduate students without requiring external funding or the modification of current curriculum. Uses an engineering problem to introduce students to constrained optimization via a variation of the traditional isoperimetric problem of finding the curve…

Describes numerical differentiation and the central difference formula in numerical analysis. Presents three computer programs that approximate the first derivative of a function utilizing the central difference formula. Analyzes conditions under which the approximation formula is exact. (MDH)

Examines infinite sets and cardinality classifications of empty, finite but not empty, and infinite through discussions of numbers that fall into particular categories. Categories discussed include perfect numbers, Mersenne primes, pseudoprimes, and transcendental numbers. Discusses the Null Or Infinite Set Effect (NOISE) and infinitude resulting…

Describes a course designed by Moravian College, Pennsylvania, to integrate precalculus topics as needed into a first calculus course. The textbook developed for the course covers the concepts of functions, Cartesian coordinates, limits, continuity, infinity, and the derivative. Examples are discussed. (MDH)

This paper merges state-of-the-art calculator technology with examples drawn from the Harvard Consortium Calculus Curriculum. A brief rationale for selection of the Harvard project and the TI-85 is provided, and four different mathematical situations are examined using different capabilities of the TI-85. Two short TI-85 programs are given.…

Discusses the importance of history and original sources in motivating students to learn content. Describes how a simple question led to a fascinating quest through primary sources. Claims that once collected, these sources proved to be a treasure trove of material illuminating mathematics and mathematicians in an historical context. Contains 18…

Describes how constructing concept maps and writing accompanying interpretive essays can be used in a Calculus I course to improve students' understanding of important concepts and help teachers assess students' knowledge. This combined approach allows students to explicitly communicate their knowledge and a chance to view mathematics as a…