In this course we develop an adult-level perspective
and insight into the nature of mathematics taught in elementary
school. In 140 we focus on arithmetic. Our two
themes for this course are the nature of mathematics and the
practice of problem solving (the act of doing
mathematics). Students often work together to develop and
deepen their understanding of the mathematical concepts.
Frequently this involves the use of manipulatives to incorporate
a tangible explanation for the methods studied. This
course is the next step toward a career of explaining
concepts (here mathematics) that you have taken for granted
before.
I will assume that university students do not need to be taught
elementary school mathematics. We will not be reviewing,
but rather justifying that material. For a
reference on the content of elementary school mathematics, here
are the New
York
State
Standards for Mathematics.
MATHEMATICS 315
Combinatorics
TR 12:30 - 1:45p: South 328
Prerequisites: MATH 222, 233, and either 237 or 239
The purpose of this class is to
solve a variety of diverse discrete and counting problems.
MATHEMATICS 338
Topology
MWF 11:30a - 12:20p: South 328
Prerequisites: MATH 223, MATH 239
Topology can be divided into three
main areas: general, geometric, and algebraic.
General topology is the study of sets with a defined
“closeness”. Geometric topology is the study of the shapes
that are unchanged under stretching. Algebraic topology is
the study of algebraic objects that arise from topological
objects, or the study of topological objects using algebra.
AMS national meeting in New Orleans, January 10 - 13, 2001.
"Colored Unlinking", special session
on geometry and topology of low dimensional manifolds.
"Temperament of Mind: Hector Berlioz and Evariste Galois",
contributed paper.
AMS sectional meeting in Las Vegas, April 21 - 22, 2001.Co-organized special session on the
topology of links.
MAA national MathFest in Madison, August 2 - 4, 2001."Infiltrating Preservice Elementary
School Mathematics with History", contributed paper session on the
use of history in the teaching of mathematics.
"Modern Geometry", contributed paper
session on the use of recent history of mathematics in teaching.
"Welcome to Mathematics: A Cornerstone Experience",
contributed paper session on the role of proof in teaching
mathematics.
MAA national MathFest in Boulder, CO, July 30 - August 2, 2003"Days are Numbers: The
Mathematics of the Calendar", general contributed paper session.
"Honesty is the Best Philosophy", contributed paper session on
innovations in quantitative literacy.
MAA national MathFest in Providence, RI, August 11 - 15, 2004
MAA national MathFest in Knoxville,
TN, August 9 - 12, 2006
"A Little Moore Probability",
contributed paper session on current issues in mathematics
education courses.
"Kaleidoscope", general contributed paper session.
MAA national MathFest in San Jose, CA, August 2 - 5, 2007
"Where are we from? - An entire
class project", contributed paper session on getting students
to discuss and to write about mathematics.
"Four dimensional tic-tac-toe on a torus - the game of SET",
general contributed paper session
5th annual Midwest Undergraduate Mathematics Symposium at
Simpson College, Indianola, IA. April 2008
"Game: SET - Math",
invited plenary address
MAA national MathFest in Madison, WI, July 30 - August 2, 2008
"Vedic Decimal Patterns",
contributed paper session on interesting topics in history of
mathematics that enchance the teaching and learning of
mathematics.
"Place Value Airthmetic via Polynomials", contributed paper
session on innovations in mathematics education.
MAA national MathFest in Portland, OR, August 5 - 8, 2009
"Counting Student Groupings",
contributed paper session on fascinating examples from
combinatorics, number theory, and discrete mathematics.
"The Mathematical Fiction and Exposition of Rudy Rucker",
general contributed paper session
MAA national MathFest in Pittsburgh, PA, August 4 - 7, 2010
"Euclid's Neglected
Postulate", contributed paper session on history of
mathematics uses in the classroom.
"Four different experiences", contributed paper session on
first year seminar / experience mathematics courses.
MAA national MathFest in Lexington, KY, August 3 - 6, 2011
"A Mile Wide and an Inch Deep
- 4000 BCE to 1950", general contributed paper session.
"Probability and Strategy in Farkle", contributed paper
session on recreational mathematics.
MAA national MathFest in Madison, WI, August 1 - 4, 2012
"The Flat Earth: The
Mathematics of Mapmaking", general contributed paper
session.
"Editing Episodes - Magazine, Chapter, and More:
Diverse Writing and Editing Projects", contributed paper
session on incorporating writing and editing into
mathematics classes.
MAA national MathFest in Hartford, CT, July 31 - August 3,
2013
"Tinkering with a Mathematical
Goldmine" about
this
website, contributed paper session on recreational
mathematics.
"Spherical Triangle Area and Angle Sum", contributed paper
session on geometry proofs.
MOVES conference at Museum of Mathematics, NYC, August 4 - 6,
2013
"Game: SET - Math" talk
"Kaleidoscopic Mathematics" family activity
MAA national MathFest in Portland, OR, August 6 - 9, 2014
"On the Other Side of the
World, or Right Next Door?", general contributed paper
session.
"Geometry Knows Topology: The Gauß-Bonnet Theorem",
contributed paper session on geometry proofs.
MAA national MathFest in
Washington, DC, August 5 - 8, 2015
"Kaleidoscopic Journey", contributed paper session on
Mathematics and Art.
MAA national MathFest in Columbus, OH, August 4 - 6, 2016
"Take a Ride on the Parallel
Transport", general contributed paper session.
MAA national MathFest in Chicago, IL, July 27 - 29, 2017
"Galois Theory for High School Students", contributed paper
session on Exploring Zeroes of Polynomials.
MAA national MathFest in Denver, CO, August 2 - 4, 2018
"Writing Across the Mathematics
Curriculum", contributed paper session Developing Mathematical
Thinking and Communication Through Writing.
Finger Lakes Master Teacher
Program, Geneseo, NY, February 9, 2019
MAA national MathFest in Cincinnati, OH, July 31 - August 3,
2019
Finger Lakes Master Teacher
Program, Geneseo, NY, January 11, 2020
"Mathematics
and Music" workshop.
MAA Seaway Section Panel, October
8, 2021
"Coordinating
Groupwork Remotely" panelist.
MAA Seaway Section Panel, February
24, 2021
"A Seaway
Conversation on the Course - History of Mathematics" panelist.
MAA national virtual MathFest,
August 4 - 7, 2021
"Needlepoint,
Toplogy, Geometry, and Beyond", contributed paper session
MathArt - ArtMath
MAA national MathFest in
Philadelphia, PA, August 3 - 6, 2022
"Poisson's
exploration of complex line integrals", contributed paper
session Complex Analysis: History, Pedagogy, Innovation, and
Research
The Future
Among many other things, perhaps a 
