tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67722724959786894802024-03-14T00:37:28.437-04:00MAA BooksThe latest news from the Mathematical Association of America's Book Program.
Mathematical Association of Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10559021045290192742noreply@blogger.comBlogger147125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772272495978689480.post-43371461735357297272015-07-17T15:36:00.001-04:002015-07-17T15:36:49.841-04:00MAA Pavilion Events at MAA MathFest 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #e69138;">Attending </span><a href="http://www.maa.org/meetings/mathfest" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b45f06;">MAA MathFest</span></a><span style="color: #e69138;"> this August?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #e69138; font-size: large;"><b>Stop by the MAA Pavilion in the exhibit hall</b></span><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #e69138;">and check out </span><span style="color: #e69138;">these events and book deals.</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;"><b>Apple iPad mini Raffle</b></span></div>
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Complete and return the MAA Centennial Sudoku found in your registration bag for a chance to win an Apple iPad mini. The puzzle must be turned in by 7 p.m. on Wednesday, August 5.</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;"><b>Student Discount</b></span></div>
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Show us your student ID and receive 10% off book purchases.</div>
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(cannot be combined with any other discount)</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;"><b>MAA Bucks</b></span></div>
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Check your registration bag for your MAA Bucks. Use it towards your book purchases of $50 or more. (cannot be combined with any other discount)</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;"><b>3 Books. 3 Days.</b></span></div>
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Thursday at 2 p.m.: <b>$4</b> | Friday at 3:30 p.m.: <b>$5</b> | Saturday at 10:30 a.m.: <b>$6</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/i-mathematician" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">I, Mathematician</span></a> </i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Release Party</span></b></span></div>
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<b>Thursday at 3 p.m.</b></div>
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Join us for wine and cheese and meet some of the book's contributors.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">MAA Press Launch</span></b></div>
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<b>Friday at 2 p.m.</b></div>
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You are invited to our launch party. Join us for a cake celebration and browse our new titles.<br />
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Mathematical Association of Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10559021045290192742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772272495978689480.post-84966977280616981252015-05-22T10:30:00.002-04:002015-05-22T10:37:21.719-04:00New Textbook: An Invitation to Real Analysis<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://maa-store.hostedbywebstore.com/AN-INVITATION-TO-REAL-ANALYSIS/dp/1939512050" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhru9sRLzZN7ly4wd3_rzuu0O5YQMx_4VrjeYvfXHKrihVotxEQynCNTO8TSKJCryJFqC0n_-ag7XBV5Epxp893m1DuEJ0JnepMLmukbLYpDKokQrn6tnITqBbtzlSaHheGSmdjV0blpdI/s320/IRA_books_blog.png" width="200" /></a><b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://maa-store.hostedbywebstore.com/AN-INVITATION-TO-REAL-ANALYSIS/dp/1939512050" target="_blank">An Invitation to Real Analysis</a></span></b><br />
<b>by Luis F. Moreno</b><br />
List: $75.00<br />
MAA Member: $60.00<br />
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<i>An Invitation to Real Analysis</i> is written both as a stepping stone to higher calculus and analysis courses, and as foundation for deeper reasoning in applied mathematics. This book also provides a broader foundation in real analysis than is typical for future teachers of secondary mathematics. In connection with this, within the chapters, students are pointed to numerous articles from <i>The College Mathematics Journal</i> and <i>The American Mathematical Monthly</i>. These articles are inviting in their level of exposition and their wide-ranging content.<br />
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Axioms are presented with an emphasis on the distinguishing characteristics that new ones bring, culminating with the axioms that define the reals. Set theory is another theme found in this book, beginning with what students are familiar with from basic calculus. This theme runs underneath the rigorous development of functions, sequences, and series, and then ends with a chapter on transfinite cardinal numbers and with chapters on basic point-set topology.<br />
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Differentiation and integration are developed with the standard level of rigor, but always with the goal of forming a firm foundation for the student who desires to pursue deeper study. A historical theme interweaves throughout the book, with many quotes and accounts of interest to all readers.<br />
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Over 600 exercises and dozens of figures help the learning process. Several topics (continued fractions, for example), are included in the appendices as enrichment material. An annotated bibliography is included.<br />
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Interested in an examination copy? Learn more <a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/textbooks/examination-copies" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
Mathematical Association of Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10559021045290192742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772272495978689480.post-37973166394704231952015-05-08T16:16:00.001-04:002015-05-08T16:16:03.516-04:00Now in Print! The Heart of Calculus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://maa-store.hostedbywebstore.com/THE-HEART-CALCULUS-EXPLORATIONS-APPLICATIONS/dp/B00WMR0A5Y" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/images/pubs/books/covers/HCEAcover.jpg" /></a></div>
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://maa-store.hostedbywebstore.com/THE-HEART-CALCULUS-EXPLORATIONS-APPLICATIONS/dp/B00WMR0A5Y" target="_blank">The Heart of Calculus: Explorations and Applications</a></span></b><br />
<b>Philip M. Anselone and John W. Lee</b><br />
List Price: $60.00 | MAA Member Price: $48.00<br />
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This book contains enrichment material for courses in first and second year calculus, differential equations, modeling, and introductory real analysis. It targets talented students who seek a deeper understanding of calculus and its applications. The book can be used in honors courses, undergraduate seminars, independent study, capstone courses taking a fresh look at calculus, and summer enrichment programs. The book develops topics from novel and/or unifying perspectives. Hence, it is also a valuable resource for graduate teaching assistants developing their academic and pedagogical skills and for seasoned veterans who appreciate fresh perspectives.<br />
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The explorations, problems, and projects in the book impart a deeper understanding of and facility with the mathematical reasoning that lies at the heart of calculus and conveys something of its beauty and depth. A high level of rigor is maintained. However, with few exceptions, proofs depend only on tools from calculus and earlier. Analytical arguments are carefully structured to avoid epsilons and deltas. Geometric and/or physical reasoning motivates challenging analytical discussions. Consequently, the presentation is friendly and accessible to students at various levels of mathematical maturity. Logical reasoning skills at the level of proof in Euclidean geometry suffice for a productive use of the book.<br />
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There are 16 chapters in the book, divided about equally between pure and applied mathematics. The first three chapters are on fundamentals of differential calculus and the last three are on the monumental discoveries of Newton and Kepler on celestial motion and gravitation. The intervening chapters present significant topics in pure and applied mathematics chosen for their intrinsic interest, historical influence, and continuing importance. There is great flexibility in the choice of which chapters to cover and the order of coverage because chapters are essentially independent of each other.<br />
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<a href="http://maa-store.hostedbywebstore.com/THE-HEART-CALCULUS-EXPLORATIONS-APPLICATIONS/dp/B00WMR0A5Y" target="_blank"><b>Order Today</b></a></div>
Mathematical Association of Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10559021045290192742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772272495978689480.post-58662876602147948052015-04-24T15:23:00.001-04:002015-04-24T15:23:42.220-04:00MAA Books Beat: New Calculus Textbook<i>by Steve Kennedy, MAA Senior Acquisitions Editor</i><br />
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What do you do at your school with a first–year student who scored a four or five in AP calculus in high school? There is, at least at Carleton, an awkward articulation between the coverage of the AP AB syllabus and our first-year calculus sequence.<br />
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For the first several weeks of our Calculus II class we are covering material that is, at least partially, in an AP calculus class: methods of integration; applications of the integral, including arc length and surface area; some elementary differential equations. But students who take Calculus I at Carleton haven’t seen any of this. It makes for a strange dynamic in the classroom: For some students everything is new and confusing; for others (the AP students) large parts are review. The former feel at a disadvantage, the latter a little bored.<br />
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We don’t really want to have two strands through our calculus sequence, one for students with AP experience and another for students who take all their calculus at Carleton. Several years ago we took the AP-experienced students and gave them a half-term course in modeling while the non-AP students took our standard Calculus II material. Then the two groups came together for the second half of the term to study sequences and series together. This turned out to be logistically difficult (and confusing to folks in other departments of the college), and we abandoned the experiment after a few years.<br />
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<a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/college-calculus-a-one-term-course-for-students-with-previous-calculus-experience" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/images/pubs/books/covers/CCAcover.jpg" /></a></div>
So, I was prepared to be interested when Michael Boardman and Roger Nelsen produced <i><a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/college-calculus-a-one-term-course-for-students-with-previous-calculus-experience" target="_blank">College Calculus: A One-Term Course for Students with Previous Calculus Experience</a></i>. Michael and Roger have, together, more than 40 years’ experience grading, writing, and consulting on the AP calculus exam. They are as familiar with what a student who scores a four or a five on that exam knows as it is possible to be. Their take on the issue was bound to be worthwhile.<br />
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First, the book material includes all the standard material in any second-semester calculus class: methods of integration; applications of integration including arc length, surface area, volume, work and center of mass; differential equations; hyperbolic functions; numerical integration; parametric curves and polar coordinates; improper integrals; and infinite series.<br />
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But the list of topics doesn’t do this book justice. I love what the authors have chosen to do with the (usually deadly boring) collection of integration techniques. There is no chapter of techniques; they are sprinkled throughout the text and produced as needed. So, integration by parts comes up in the volume chapter; trig substitutions are introduced in the chapter on arc length; partial fractions come to rescue when the logistic growth ODE leaves the reader stumped. It’s a clever idea and makes this part of the course much more palatable and relevant.<br />
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The other pedagogical innovation that distinguishes this text is the Explorations section that concludes each chapter. These are collections of meaty, worthwhile exploratory problems. For example, the first chapter has the reader, inter alia, deriving a formula for the antiderivative of the product of an exponential and polynomial and proving the Cauchy-Schwartz inequality for integrals. The chapter on numerical integration has explorations that cleverly exploit symmetries to integrate otherwise intractable integrands and demonstrates the Hermite-Hadamard inequality.<br />
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By the way, the numerical integration chapter has a very slick proof that Simpson’s rule is exact for cubics. To wit, look at three consecutive points of subdivision, suppose ƒ is a cubic and <i>g</i> is the quadratic that agrees with ƒ on these three points, consider ƒ-<i>g</i>: This has a lovely symmetry across the middle. Notice it is a cubic and you know all three zeroes, the left- and right-most zeroes are symmetrically placed with respect to the middle zero, which means this cubic integrates to zero across this interval. (Draw a picture.)<br />
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This book is full of beautiful things like that. The authors have made a conscious effort to raise the level of discourse above that of a typical calculus textbook. They are addressing students who already have a degree of mastery of some elements of calculus, and you can see it in their exposition. Everything is crystal clear and beautifully explained, but not in a dumbed-down or pandering way. Your students will be able to read this text, and they should want to.<br />
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Approximately 300,000 high school students will take the AP AB exam this spring. About 40 percent of them will earn a four or a five. What are we going to do with these very-well-prepared folks when they get to our calculus classes next year? Most of them would be very well served by this well-written and thoughtfully constructed book.<br />
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This article was written for <a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/periodicals/maa-focus" target="_blank">MAA FOCUS</a> as part of MAA Books Beat. It appears in the April/May 2015 issue.Mathematical Association of Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10559021045290192742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772272495978689480.post-80551123972970542242015-03-27T09:08:00.001-04:002015-03-27T09:08:16.484-04:00MAA Books Store: Buy 1 Get One 1/2 Off<h3 style="text-align: center;">
Buy <i>I, Mathematician</i> and get 50% off* <i>A Mathematician Comes of Age</i>.</h3>
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Hurry! This deal ends Tuesday, March 31.</div>
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<a href="http://maa-store.hostedbywebstore.com/I-MATHEMATICIAN-Peter-Casazza/dp/B00UI6UAPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/images/pubs/books/covers/IMAcover.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a></div>
<a href="http://maa-store.hostedbywebstore.com/I-MATHEMATICIAN-Peter-Casazza/dp/B00UI6UAPG" target="_blank">I, Mathematician</a><br />
Peter Casazza, Steven G. Krantz and Randi D. Ruden, Editors<br />
List: $50.00 MAA Member: $40.00<br />
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Mathematicians have pondered the psychology of the members of our tribe probably since mathematics was invented, but for certain since Hadamard's <i>The Psychology of Invention in the Mathematical Field</i>. The editors asked two dozen prominent mathematicians (and one spouse thereof) to ruminate on what makes us different. The answers they got are thoughtful, interesting and thought-provoking. <br />
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<a href="http://maa-store.hostedbywebstore.com/A-MATHEMATICIAN-COMES-OF-AGE/dp/088385578X" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/images/pubs/books/covers/MCA.jpg" height="200" width="124" /></a></div>
<a href="http://maa-store.hostedbywebstore.com/A-MATHEMATICIAN-COMES-OF-AGE/dp/088385578X" target="_blank">A Mathematician Comes of Age</a><br />
Steven G. Krantz<br />
List: $60.00 MAA Member: $48.00<br />
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The book provides background, data, and analysis for understanding the concept of mathematical maturity. It turns the idea of mathematical maturity from a topic for coffee-room conversation to a topic for analysis and serious consideration.<br />
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<i>*Discount is off the list price. No code needed. To receive the discount, both items must be placed in your cart. Offer expires March 31, 2015 at midnight.</i></div>
Mathematical Association of Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10559021045290192742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772272495978689480.post-46045381278999916002015-03-13T09:00:00.000-04:002015-03-13T09:00:08.669-04:00New MAA Textbook: Modeling Approach in Biology<div style="text-align: left;">
by Steve Kennedy</div>
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When biology was primarily a descriptive science, biologists had little need of mathematical services (and our science). But a revolution has occurred—more precisely, is occurring—in biology, and the discipline is becoming increasingly mathematical and computational. In 2003, a report (<i>Bio2010</i>) from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) set a goal of having biology undergraduates be quantitatively literate by 2010:<br />
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<i>It is essential that biology undergraduates become quantitatively literate, studying the mathematical concepts of change, modeling, equilibria and stability, structure of a system, interactions among components, data and measurement, visualization, and algorithms. Every student should acquire the ability to analyze issues in these contexts in some depth, using analytical methods (e.g., pencil and paper) and appropriate computational tools. An appropriate course of study would include aspects of probability, statistics, discrete models, linear algebra, calculus and differential equations, modeling and programming.</i><br />
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Five years past 2010, the goal hasn't been met fully. The current state of affairs is well described in the draft CUPM <i><a href="http://www.maa.org/programs/faculty-and-departments/curriculum-department-guidelines-recommendations/cupm" target="_blank">Curriculum Guide</a></i>. That report, besides enumerating biological and mathematical core competencies for biomathematics study, strongly urges foundational courses in modeling and data analysis as the beginning steps of such study.<br />
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<a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/ebooks/calculus-for-the-life-sciences-a-modeling-approach" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/images/ebooks/textbooks/CLS.png" /></a></div>
And that brings me, finally, to my point. MAA Books has just released a book perfectly suited for that foundational modeling course, Jim Cornette and Ralph Ackerman’s <i><a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/ebooks/calculus-for-the-life-sciences-a-modeling-approach" target="_blank">Calculus for the life Sciences: A Modeling Approach</a></i>. If you teach a life sciences calculus course, you may already be aware of the existence of this book, as draft versions have been on the Internet for several years. Reading this terrific and innovative book, you realize that it could have been written in reaction to the first sentence of the NAS report—it addresses, in a deep and significant way, every single mathematical concept listed in the quote above.<br />
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Chapter 1 is a primer on modeling in the biological realm, and biological modeling is the theme and frame for the entire book. The authors build models of bacterial growth, light penetration through a column of water, and dynamics of a colony of mold in the first few pages. In each case there is actual data that needs fitting. In the case of the mold colony, that data is a set of photographs of the colony growing on a ruled sheet of graph paper, and the students need to make their own approximations. Fundamental questions about the nature of mathematical modeling—trying to approximate a real-world phenomenon with an equation—are all laid out for the students to wrestle with.<br />
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Students intending to major in the life sciences now outnumber engineering and physical science majors in college and university Calculus I courses. Cornette and Ackerman’s textbook takes into account the needs of that plurality. And it does so not just by including examples and problems with a biological flavor—the authors have reimagined the entire year-long calculus course with the needs of biology students as the organizing principle. Thus, to mention just one example among many, your students using this book could get a substantial dose of discrete and continuous dynamical systems theory in their year of calculus study.<br />
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Cornette and Ackerman have produced a beautifully written introduction to the uses of mathematics in the life sciences. The exposition is crystalline, the problems are overwhelmingly from biology and interesting and rich, and the emphasis on modeling is invigorating. This book should become the standard text for this course. Please take special note of the student-friendly price—$35 for an ebook.<br />
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This article was written for <i><a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/periodicals/maa-focus" target="_blank">MAA FOCUS</a></i> as part of MAA Books Beat. It appears in the February/March 2015 issue.Mathematical Association of Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10559021045290192742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772272495978689480.post-9053258928250330742015-02-27T13:17:00.000-05:002015-03-13T07:52:19.142-04:00Joel Haack Reviews How Euler Did Even More<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/maa-reviews/how-euler-did-even-more" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/images/pubs/books/covers/HEDMcover.jpg" /></a></div>
<i>Joel Haack reviewed </i><a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/maa-reviews/how-euler-did-even-more" target="_blank">How Euler Did Even More</a><i> by C. Edward Sandifer as part of MAA Reviews.</i><br />
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C. Edward Sandifer’s <i>How Euler Did Even More</i> is the second collection of his monthly columns from MAA Online, “How Euler Did It.” The first collection, also titled <i>How Euler Did It</i>, appeared in 2007 as part of the five-volume set published by the MAA in recognition of the tercentenary of Euler’s birth. It contained Sandifer’s columns from November 2003 through February 2007. This second collection contains his columns from March 2007 through February 2010, with the addition of two guest columns by Rob Bradley and one by Dominic Klyve. (Bradley assisted Sandifer with the details of the publication of this collection.)<br />
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There are several ways to read this book. First, one may choose simply to open it at random to read Sandifer’s discussion of how Euler attacked and thought about certain problems. Sandifer places Euler’s work into context of the mathematics of his time, then describes what Euler did and how he did it and why it mattered, keeping in mind the advice of John Fauvel that Sandifer references in <i>How Euler Did It</i>: “Content, Context and Significance.” An alternative would be to read the columns for particular topics that Euler considered; the columns are organized into sections on geometry, number theory, combinatorics, analysis, applied mathematics, and Euleriana. This last section includes two columns reflecting on Euler as teacher, two on light-hearted topics (Euler and the hollow earth and Euler and pirates), and one discussing of Euler’s fallibility.<br />
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Read the full review <a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/maa-reviews/how-euler-did-even-more" target="_blank">here</a>.
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Joel Haack is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Northern Iowa.</div>
Mathematical Association of Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10559021045290192742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772272495978689480.post-64820168699783972232015-02-13T09:00:00.000-05:002015-02-13T09:00:01.324-05:002015 Beckenbach Book Prize WinnerThe Beckenbach Book Prize, established in 1986, is the successor to the MAA Book Prize established in 1982. It is named for the late Edwin Beckenbach, a long-time leader in the publications program of the Association and a well-known professor of mathematics at the University of California at Los Angeles. The Prize of $2,500 is intended to recognize the author(s) of a distinguished, innovative book published by the MAA and to encourage the writing of such books. The award is not given on a regularly scheduled basis. To be considered for the Beckenbach Prize a book must have been published during the five years preceding the Award.<br />
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The 2015 Beckenbach Book Prize winner is:<br />
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<a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/ebooks/lobachevski-illuminated" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/images/ebooks/LBI.gif" /></a></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/ebooks/lobachevski-illuminated" target="_blank">Lobachevski Illuminated</a></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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By Seth Braver<o:p></o:p><br />
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PDF Price:
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Print-on-Demand Price: $47.50<o:p></o:p><br />
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Mathematicians of all stripes know that the non-Euclidean
revolution was a game-changer in 19<sup>th</sup> century mathematics. But relatively few
mathematicians are acquainted with the little book that heralded this
revolution: Nikolai Lobachevski’s <i>Theory
of Parallels</i> (in German, 1840). <o:p></o:p><br />
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Seth Braver has come to our rescue. In <i>Lobachevski Illuminated</i>, he gives us a translation of the text,
accompanies each of its 37 propositions with an extensive commentary, and
places these ideas in their proper historical context. As a result, Braver has
done nothing less than give new life to an old masterpiece. <o:p></o:p><br />
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The
reader of <i>Lobachevski
Illuminated </i>will
encounter a host of provocative questions, will delve deeply into the history
of geometry, and will gain a thorough appreciation of the genius of Nikolai
Lobachevski.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Mathematical Association of Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10559021045290192742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772272495978689480.post-16489530655236359062015-01-23T14:23:00.004-05:002015-03-03T10:37:46.621-05:00New Calculus Textbooks from the MAA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Looking for a new calculus textbook? Check out these two just published by the MAA.</div>
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<br /></div>
<a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/ebooks/calculus-for-the-life-sciences-a-modeling-approach" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/images/ebooks/textbooks/CLS.png" /></a><b><a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/ebooks/calculus-for-the-life-sciences-a-modeling-approach" target="_blank">Calculus for the Life Sciences: A Modeling Approach</a></b><br />
James L. Cornette and Ralph A. Ackerman<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Available only as an ebook. PDF price: $35.00</div>
<br />
Freshman and sophomore life sciences students respond well to the modeling approach to calculus, difference equations, and differential equations presented in this book. Examples of population dynamics, pharmacokinetics, and biologically relevant physical processes are introduced in Chapter 1, and these and other life sciences topics are developed throughout the text.<br />
<br />
The ultimate goal of calculus for many life sciences students primarily involves modeling living systems with difference and differential equations. Understanding the concepts of derivative and integral is crucial, but the ability to compute a large array of derivatives and integrals is of secondary importance.<br />
<br />
Students should have studied algebra, geometry and trigonometry, but may be life sciences students because they have not enjoyed their previous mathematics courses. This text can help them understand the relevance and importance of mathematics to their world. It is not a simplistic approach, however, and indeed is written with the belief that the mathematical depth of a course in calculus for the life sciences should be comparable to that of the traditional course for physics and engineering students.<br />
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<a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/college-calculus-a-one-term-course-for-students-with-previous-calculus-experience" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/images/ebooks/textbooks/CCA.png" /></a></div>
<div>
<b><a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/college-calculus-a-one-term-course-for-students-with-previous-calculus-experience" target="_blank">College Calculus: A One-Term Course for Students with Previous Calculus Experience</a></b><br />
Michael E. Boardman and Roger B. Nelsen<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
List price: $60.00 | MAA Member: $48.00</div>
<br />
This textbook is for students who have successfully experienced an introductory calculus course in high school. College Calculus begins with a brief review of some of the content of the high school calculus course, and proceeds to give students a thorough grounding in the remaining topics in single variable calculus, including integration techniques, applications of the definite integral, separable and linear differential equations, hyperbolic functions, parametric equations and polar coordinates, L’Hôpital’s rule and improper integrals, continuous probability models, and infinite series. Each chapter concludes with several “Explorations,” extended discovery investigations to supplement that chapter’s material.<br />
<br />
The text is ideal as the basis of a course focused on the needs of prospective majors in the STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). A one-term course based on this text provides students with a solid foundation in single variable calculus and prepares them for the next course in college level mathematics, be it multivariable calculus, linear algebra, a course in discrete mathematics, statistics, etc.</div>
</div>Mathematical Association of Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10559021045290192742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772272495978689480.post-63788209107334737642015-01-16T09:09:00.003-05:002015-01-16T09:09:33.641-05:00After JMM Book Sale: 25% off Books, 10% off eBooksThank you for attending the Joint Mathematics Meetings in San Antonio, TX!<br /><br />To show are appreciation, we are extending the meeting discount on MAA books. Enter the code <b>JMM15SAL</b> during checkout at the <a href="http://maa-store.hostedbywebstore.com/" target="_blank">MAA Store</a> to receive 25% off your book purchases. Hurry! This sale ends January 21.<br /><br />Prefer an ebook? Visit the <a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/ebooks" target="_blank">MAA eBooks Store</a> and enter the code <b>1328851592</b> during checkout for 10% off your order. Valid until January 31.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Mathematical Association of Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10559021045290192742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772272495978689480.post-61618201275230627732015-01-09T09:00:00.000-05:002015-01-09T09:00:05.933-05:00MAA Pavilion Events at JMM In San Antonio, TX, for the Joint Mathematics Meetings? Don't forget to stop the MAA Pavilion (booths #816-837) in the exhibit hall and check out these book deals and events:<br />
<br />
<b>Grand Opening Reception</b><br />
Saturday, January 10<br />
12:15–5:30 p.m.<br />
<br />
Stop by during the Grand Opening and join us for a light snack.<br />
<br />
<b>Euler Special</b><br />
<br />
Back again! Pick up all five volumes of our Special Collector's Edition of the Euler Tercentenary Collection for only $40 (retail $129.75).<br />
<br />
<b>Barely Battered Books</b><br />
<br />
Browse our Barely Battered Books section and pick up a gently used MAA book for only $8.00.<br />
<br />
<b>Calling all MAA Authors!</b><br />
<br />
Don't forget to stop by and pick up your MAA Author Ribbon.<br />
<br />Mathematical Association of Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10559021045290192742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772272495978689480.post-5235225040976603812015-01-02T13:23:00.000-05:002015-01-02T13:23:08.905-05:00JMM 2015: Teaching Calculus with a Tablet<br />Attending the <a href="http://jointmathematicsmeetings.org/jmm" target="_blank">Joint Mathematics Meetings</a> in San Antonio, TX, this year? Join us for this MAA Special Session!<div>
<br /><h3 style="text-align: center;">
Teaching Calculus with a Tablet</h3>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://cs.hood.edu/~whieldon/" target="_blank">Gwyneth Whieldon</a>, Hood College</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div>
Integrating technology into the classroom has been a hot topic over the past decade but best practices in the use of tablets, phones, and laptops for mathematics education are still being developed. In this workshop, participants will have a chance to demo the MAA electronic textbook <i><a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/calculus-modeling-and-application-2nd-edition" target="_blank">Calculus: Modeling and Application </a></i>and see how a textbook designed specifically to be read and interacted with on a tablet can be integrated into their own classrooms. We will introduce several apps to supplement an electronic textbook (and, more generally, for use in a technology-based calculus course) and suggest techniques for introducing students to a calculus sequence very different from any math classes they have taken before.</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Monday, January 12</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
3:00-4:15pm</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Room 213B</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Convention Center</div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Stop by the MAA Pavilion in the exhibit hall for more information.</div>
Mathematical Association of Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10559021045290192742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772272495978689480.post-72673078365805800112014-12-19T15:52:00.001-05:002014-12-19T15:52:51.095-05:00MAA Books Beat: Knowing vs. Measuring: Doing the Scholarship<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Written by Steve Kennedy, MAA Acquisitions Editor, </i>Knowing vs. Measuring: Doing the Scholarship<i> appears in the December 2014/January 2015 issue of </i>MAA FOCUS<i>.</i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/ebooks/doing-the-scholarship-of-teaching-and-learning-in-mathematics" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/images/ebooks/notes/NTE83.png" /></a>Last winter I participated in the tenure review of a junior
colleague, watched with interest as Miguel Cabrera defeated Mike Trout in a
close American League Most Valuable Player contest, and read a draft version of
Curtis Bennett’s and Jackie Dewar’s <i><a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/ebooks/doing-the-scholarship-of-teaching-and-learning-in-mathematics" target="_blank">Doingthe Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Mathematics</a></i>. It could just have
been the temporal proximity of these experiences that led me to see analogies
between them, but I think there are real connections.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<h4>
Measuring</h4>
First, and most frivolously, the baseball: There is a huge, fascinating, and
contentious debate going on in baseball these days that we might characterize
as traditionalists versus statheads. Even if you are not a baseball fan, you
might know about this from the movie and book <i>Moneyball.</i><o:p></o:p><br />
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<i><br /></i></div>
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Baseball players have traditionally been measured by their
batting averages, home runs, and runs batted in. All of these are easy to
count, have obvious meaning, and have value that is clear to even the most
casual baseball fan. All are limited as a measure of what they ostensibly
represent: the player’s contribution to his team winning the game. <o:p></o:p></div>
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For example, batting average is a rough proxy for the
frequency at which a batter gets on base, but it does not count walks, or
reaching base on an error; it values a single and a triple identically; and it
ignores certain outs that achieve other (good) outcomes, such as advancing
another baserunner.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
None of these three stats cited even tries to measure
baserunning skill, or the ability to reach base by walk or error, or defensive
prowess.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A number of more advanced statistical measures of a baseball
player’s performance are in use today. WAR, Wins Above Replacement, is one
such. It attempts to measure the total (batting, defensive, baserunning) contribution
of a player to his team’s success.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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In 2012 Mike Trout, the young centerfielder for the Los
Angeles Angels, posted a WAR score that was among the two dozen highest in
modern baseball history. That is out of tens of thousands of individual seasons.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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In the same season, Miguel Cabrera led the league in all
three of the traditional statistics: batting average, home runs, and runs batted
in. This is, in baseball lingo, called winning the Triple Crown. It had
happened only 15 times previously in baseball history and not since 1967.
Cabrera had a batting season among the best of all time, but he is a slow
runner and not a very good fielder.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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WAR (and other advanced statistical metrics that include
baserunning and defense) rated Trout’s season as very strongly more valuable
than Cabrera’s. The debate over the MVP award was widely portrayed as a battle
between crusty, tradition-bound baseball old-timers against basement-dwelling,
smart-aleck nerds.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Essentially the same thing happened in 2013. Cabrera
dominated the old-fashioned offensive categories; Trout lead the league in WAR,
again by a wide margin.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a name='more'></a><br />
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<h4>
Recognizing</h4>
On campus, as I watched my young colleague teach and evaluated her performance,
I thought about this baseball controversy and wondered about the wisdom of the
exercise I was engaged in. I teach at an institution where quality of
instruction is the primary criterion upon which faculty are evaluated. And our measurement
instrument consists of sending in grizzled, gray-bearded veterans to watch and
decide if they like what they see. <o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I wanted something I could measure. (Oh sure, we do a
student opinion survey, but I wanted to directly measure learning and
teaching.) Essentially we were a bunch of Potter Stewarts (“I know it when I
see it.”), and I yearned for a bunch of Nate Silvers (who, famously, knows it
only when he can measure it). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Miguel Cabrera won consecutive MVP awards, which, to a scientist,
is the wrong result reach by listening to experts instead of data. Baseball
awards are not so important. But getting my colleague’s tenure decision right has
real human and institutional consequences.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<h4>
Researching the Difference</h4>
Bennett and Dewar’s book on the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL)
came as a revelation to me as I wrestled with the difference between knowing
good teaching (or baseball) and measuring good teaching. It is designed as a
primer for mathematics faculty interested in doing research in teaching and
learning. It describes how to ask a good question, how to design a study, how
to analyze the results, and how to get your results into print in the
literature. It is a unique, and uniquely valuable, resource for mathematics
faculty who wish to make a transition from traditional mathematics research to
pedagogical research.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<br /></div>
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In the first four chapters Bennett and Dewar describe the
principles and procedures of engaging in SoTL. These chapters are informative
and enlightening.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next 13 chapters are inspiring. They describe individual
studies by mathematics faculty who tried an innovation in a course and then
tried to quantify and measure its effect on learning.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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One very nice feature of all 13 of these essays is that the
authors are all cognizant of their volume’s intended purpose as instructional
manual for neophyte scholars of pedagogical research. Thus, each author shares
information about motivation, stumbling blocks encountered, resources
discovered, how to find colleagues and collaborators, and how they got their
findings into print. That is, these essays are not just reports on how to
improve teaching and learning, but they are also case studies on how to conduct
and report your own experiments. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Despite the volume being designed for faculty embarking on a
professional turn toward SoTL, it has great value for anyone teaching mathematics.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In one of the case studies, Rann Bar-On, Jack Bookman,
Benjamin Cooke, Donna Hall, and Sarah Schott describe their transitions from
good to reflective to scholarly teachers. Roughly, a good teacher seeks to
motivate, challenge, and support his students; a reflective teacher thinks about
what went wrong and tinkers with her approach; a scholarly teacher designs
scientifically valid experiments of her pedagogical ideas and implements them.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Wherever you are in this taxonomy, there is much that you
will earn from this volume. There are dozens of implementable pedagogical ideas
that will inspire you here. You will learn much about how to measure their
effectiveness in your own classes. You will be energized to go into your class
tomorrow and try something exciting.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Books like this are the reason the MAA has a books
program—so that MAA members can come together and participate in a national conversation
about improving the teaching and learning of mathematics.<o:p></o:p></div>
Mathematical Association of Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10559021045290192742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772272495978689480.post-2258103318474148172014-12-05T09:00:00.000-05:002014-12-05T09:00:03.046-05:00New: How Euler Did Even More<a href="http://maa-store.hostedbywebstore.com/HOW-EULER-DID-EVEN-MORE/dp/B00Q2UQ9PM" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEiArzjiRGAee5inb4K_nhZ5SElNurVk-WllBeuAtInASpyz86mWEMKhVx5ano1CEaOhqA3gXl7jrZwiPLNIf9UYwnIv432h6IdzBzHVC5jQ1SQRv-kx668YK_KwpUfuzApOyFpZSbcB51h4riOepBnFO9F3sh0Xm0Z2f3X6OXWyewze0roorQTDPpPnFEI=" /></a><br />
<h3>
How Euler Did Even More</h3>
By C. Edward Sandifer<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Spectrum Series</span><br />
<br />
"Read Euler, read Euler, he is master of us all," LaPlace exhorted us. And it is true, Euler writes with unerring grace and ease. He is exceptionally clear thinking and clear speaking. It is a joy and a pleasure to follow him. It is especially so with Ed Sandifer as your guide. Sandifer has been studying Euler for decades and is one of the world's leading experts on his work. This volume is the second collection of Sandifer's "How Euler Did It" columns. Each is a jewel of historical and mathematical exposition. The sum total of years of work and study of the most prolific mathematician of history, this volume will leave you marveling at Euler's clever inventiveness and Sandifer's wonderful ability to explicate and put it all in context.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">
Pick up your copy today at the <a href="http://maa-store.hostedbywebstore.com/HOW-EULER-DID-EVEN-MORE/dp/B00Q2UQ9PM" target="_blank">MAA Store</a>!</h4>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Prefer an ebook? Visit the <a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/ebooks/how-euler-did-even-more" target="_blank">MAA eBooks Store</a>.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyyfE3z8NUSMy8FRXbhusvzWdeKpDee0XD1i7eB2gGJM9ze50BC61VwzeBNbM5Q7abZXfgEiIx3WisiPbr7U1bnn3kSnd_scWnJcnr_OKVkW9soXVxh7YkmTY3-p06HFdZSRoU5MZH9ys/s1600/sale_header.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyyfE3z8NUSMy8FRXbhusvzWdeKpDee0XD1i7eB2gGJM9ze50BC61VwzeBNbM5Q7abZXfgEiIx3WisiPbr7U1bnn3kSnd_scWnJcnr_OKVkW9soXVxh7YkmTY3-p06HFdZSRoU5MZH9ys/s1600/sale_header.png" width="600" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Treat Yourself to a New MAA Book</span></span></h2>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
For one day only, receive 35% off MAA books! Visit the <a href="http://maa-store.hostedbywebstore.com/" target="_blank">MAA Store</a> and enter the code <b>CYBMON14</b> during checkout.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<hr />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
Prefer an ebook? Visit the <a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/ebooks" target="_blank">MAA eBooks Store</a> and enter the code <b>356839621</b> to receive 15% off your ebooks purchase.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Hurry! Sales end at Midnight PST.</div>
</div>
Mathematical Association of Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10559021045290192742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772272495978689480.post-40780446705313592962014-11-07T09:00:00.000-05:002014-11-07T09:00:03.584-05:00New: Doing the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Mathematics<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/ebooks/doing-the-scholarship-of-teaching-and-learning-in-mathematics" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/images/ebooks/notes/NTE83.png" /></a></div>
<h4>
<a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/ebooks/doing-the-scholarship-of-teaching-and-learning-in-mathematics" target="_blank">Doing the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Mathematics</a></h4>
Jacqueline M. Dewar and Curtis D. Bennett, Editors<br />
<br />
The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) movement encourages faculty to view teaching “problems” as invitations to conduct scholarly investigations. In this growing field of inquiry faculty bring their disciplinary knowledge and teaching experience to bear on questions of teaching and learning. They systematically gather evidence to develop and support their conclusions. The results are to be peer reviewed and made public for others to build on.<br />
<br />
This Notes volume is written expressly for collegiate mathematics faculty who want to know more about conducting scholarly investigations into their teaching and their students’ learning. Conceived and edited by two mathematics faculty, the volume serves as a how-to guide for doing SoTL in mathematics.<br />
<br />
The four chapters in Part I provide background on this form of scholarship and specific instructions for undertaking a SoTL investigation in mathematics. Part II contains fifteen examples of SoTL projects in mathematics from fourteen different institutions, both public and private, spanning the spectrum of higher educational institutions from community colleges to research universities. These chapters “reveal the process of doing SoTL” by illustrating many of the concepts, issues, methods and procedures discussed in Part I. An Editors’ Commentary opens each contributed chapter to highlight one or more aspects of the process of doing SoTL revealed within. Toward the end of each chapter the contributing authors describe the benefits that accrued to them and their careers from participating in SoTL.<br />
<br />
The final chapter in the volume, the Epilogue, represents a synthesis by the editors of the contributing authors’ perceptions of the value of SoTL. This volume has two goals: to assist mathematics faculty interested in undertaking a scholarly study of their teaching practice and to promote a greater understanding of this work and its value to the mathematics community.
<br />
<br />
<hr />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Purchase your copy today at the <a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/ebooks/doing-the-scholarship-of-teaching-and-learning-in-mathematics" target="_blank">MAA eBooks Store</a>.</b></div>
Mathematical Association of Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10559021045290192742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772272495978689480.post-20384200640265307352014-10-17T09:05:00.002-04:002014-10-17T09:05:13.052-04:00MAA Books Beat: Stories at the Heart of Teaching<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/ebooks/textbooks-testing-training-how-we-discourage-thinking" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/images/ebooks/spectrum/TTT.png" height="200" width="133" /></a></div>
<i>Written by Steve Kennedy, MAA Acquisitions Editor, </i>Stories at the Heart of Teaching<i> appears in the October/November 2014 issue of <a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/periodicals/maa-focus" target="_blank">MAA FOCUS</a>.</i><br />
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Steve Willoughby taught mathematics for 59 years at every level from elementary school to graduate school. He is a keen and perceptive observer and a witty and talented storyteller. And, man, after 59 years does he have some stories to tell in <i><a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/ebooks/textbooks-testing-training-how-we-discourage-thinking" target="_blank">Textbooks, Testing, Training: How We Discourage Thinking. </a></i><br />
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<i>From a fourth-grade book on a page titled “Divided By 6”:</i><br />
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<i>Twelve turkeys. Six turkeys in each cage. How many cages?</i><br />
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<i>There was a picture on the page with the right number of cages so that exactly six turkeys could be, and were, placed into each with no leftover turkeys. The teachers’ guide directed that any student who wrote the answer without writing “12 ÷ 6 = 2” was to be marked wrong. Fortunately, because of the title at the top of the page and four years of intensive schooling, no child would have an urge to read the problem. There are two numbers. One is 6. Certainly 12 must be divided by 6 and the problem is solved to the satisfaction of all concerned without a single thought passing through the head of anyone involved or of any child making the heinous error of counting the cages depicted.</i><br />
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<i>Did the authors really suppose that if somebody wanted to know how many cages there were, he would count the turkeys, count how many are in each cage, and, upon discovering the unlikely fact that the same number were in each cage, would divide the first number by the second?</i><br />
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<a name='more'></a>Steve served a term as president of the <a href="http://www.nctm.org/" target="_blank">National Council of Teachers of Mathematics</a>, and his opinions are thoughtful, cogent, and firmly held. His book, really an extended essay as it’s only about 50 pages long, addresses the problems he sees with our current textbooks, teacher preparation programs, and testing regimes.<br />
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But it is more than that. Steve’s book throbs with a deep understanding that the act of teaching is a deeply human interaction between student and teacher. The book is also irascible, opinionated, and sometimes funny: the story of the zealous editor of a national standards document who changed half of the occurrences of “real number” to “actual number” still makes me laugh.<br />
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Like a good teacher, Steve’s stories carry you along and drive you to ask the questions he’s been asking himself for decades: Why do we do things this way? Why can’t our textbooks be better? What can we do to make things better for students?<br />
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At the center of this essay is a compassionate, and passionate, core that will resonate with every passionate, and compassionate, teacher<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">—</span>which I suspect means just about everyone reading this magazine. It will, at times, make you laugh; it will, at times, make you angry; and it will make you think about what we do and why.<br />
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<i>Textbooks, Testing, Training: How We Discourage Thinking</i> is available as an ebook for $11 (pdf) or $18 (POD). Visit our <a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/ebooks/textbooks-testing-training-how-we-discourage-thinking" target="_blank">ebooks store</a> today.<br />
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Mathematical Association of Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10559021045290192742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772272495978689480.post-7171903835853784462014-10-03T09:00:00.000-04:002014-10-03T09:00:07.041-04:00Tom Sinclair Reviews Textbooks, Testing, Training: How We Discourage Thinking<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Tom Sinclair reviewed</i> <a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/ebooks/textbooks-testing-training-how-we-discourage-thinking" target="_blank">Textbook, Testing, Training: How we Discourage Thinking</a> <i>by Stephen S. Willoughby as part of MAA Reviews.</i><br />
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"This short book recounts many specific true stories from my fifty-nine years of teaching that I believe cast some light on what is wrong with American education and perhaps some clues as to what might improve it." (p. 1) <br />
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This is an incisive yet readable critique of the American education system. Willoughby writes from the perspective of six decades of experience. He knows that the best way to persuade someone is to tell them a story. The author illustrates his points with anecdotes from his own experience and those of his colleagues.<br />
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Two things surprised me about this book. First, Willoughby's writing captures the teaching experience to perfection. I often found myself nodding with familiarity as I read. The second surprise is the humor. Willoughby writes with a dry, ironic sensibility that remains warm and inviting. Even when describing his frustrations he never descends into cynicism.<br />
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Willoughby breaks down the problem with our education system into three broad categories. Doing education right is a complex problem with a complex solution. He presents ways that we teachers can be part of that solution.<br />
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Read the full review<a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/maa-reviews/textbooks-testing-training-how-we-discourage-thinking" target="_blank"> here</a>.</div>
Mathematical Association of Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10559021045290192742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772272495978689480.post-28745651935806576472014-09-19T14:57:00.000-04:002014-09-19T14:57:32.654-04:00New: Knots and Borromean Rings, Rep-Tiles, and Eight Queens<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://maa-store.hostedbywebstore.com/Knots-Borromean-Rings-Rep-Tiles-Eight/dp/B00NQBURHQ" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Knots and Borromean Rings, Rep-Tiles, and Eight Queens" border="0" src="http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/images/pubs/books/covers/MGL-04cover.jpg" height="200" title="Knots and Borromean Rings, Rep-Tiles, and Eight Queens" width="126" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Knots and Borromean Rings, Rep-Tiles, and Eight Queens</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Martin Gardner</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>
Martin Gardner's fifteen volumes about Mathematical Games are The Canon – timeless classics that are always worth reading and rereading</i>. —Don Knuth </span><br />
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<i>I recommend you approach this book on a Sunday afternoon with paper and pen a few biscuits for brain-power and a good hour to spare for puzzling. It is worth it</i>. —Charlotte Mulcare, +plus Magazine </span><br />
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The hangman’s paradox, cat’s cradle, gambling, peg solitaire, pi and e—all these and more are back in Martin Gardner’s inimitable style, with updates on new developments and discoveries. Read about how knots and molecules are related; take a trip into the fourth dimension; try out new dissections of stars, crosses, and polygons; and challenge yourself with new twists on classic games. </span><br />
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This volume includes updates by Martin Gardner, Peter Renz, Greg Frederickson, and Erica Flapan. New illustrations have been included and replace some of the older illustrations. The references have been updated.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://maa-store.hostedbywebstore.com/Knots-Borromean-Rings-Rep-Tiles-Eight/dp/B00NQBURHQ" target="_blank"><b>Purchase your copy today for only $16.99.</b></a></span></div>
Mathematical Association of Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10559021045290192742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772272495978689480.post-67065431805272312162014-09-05T15:44:00.002-04:002014-09-05T15:45:18.463-04:00MAA Top Selling Books<table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="10" style="width: 600px;">
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<td colspan="3">Check out this year's top 15 bestsellers.
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<td><a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/101-careers-in-mathematics" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/images/pubs/books/covers/OCM-3cover.jpg" width="170px" /></a><br />
1. <a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/101-careers-in-mathematics" target="_blank">101 Careers in Mathematics</a>, 3rd Ed<br />
<em>Andrew Sterrett, Editor</em></td>
<td><a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/math-through-the-ages-a-gentle-history-for-teachers-and-others" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/images/pubs/books/covers/MEX_small.gif" width="170px" /></a><br />
2. <a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/math-through-the-ages-a-gentle-history-for-teachers-and-others" target="_blank">Math through the Ages</a><br />
<em>William Berlinghoff and Fernando Gouvêa</em></td>
<td><a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/game-theory-and-strategy" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/images/pubs/books/covers/NML-36newcover.jpg" width="170px" /></a><br />
3. <a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/game-theory-and-strategy" target="_blank">Game Theory and Strategy</a><br />
<em>Philip D. Straffin, Jr.</em></td>
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<td><a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/mathematical-interest-theory" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/images/pubs/books/covers/MIT.jpg" width="170px" /></a><br />
4. <a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/mathematical-interest-theory" target="_blank">Mathematical Interest Theory</a><br />
<em>Leslie Jane Federer Vaaler & James Daniel</em></td>
<td><a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/new-horizons-in-geometry" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/images/pubs/books/covers/DOL-47cover180.jpg" width="170px" /></a><br />
5. <a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/new-horizons-in-geometry" target="_blank">New Horizons in Geometry</a><br />
<em>Tom M. Apostol and Mamikon A. Mnatsakanian</em></td>
<td><a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/learning-modern-algebra" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/images/pubs/books/covers/LMAcover.jpg" width="170px" /></a><br />
6. <a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/learning-modern-algebra" target="_blank">Learning Modern Algebra</a><br />
<em>Al Cuoco and Joseph Rotman</em></td>
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<td><a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/number-theory-through-inquiry" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/images/pubs/books/covers/NTIcover.jpg" width="170px" /></a><br />
7. <a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/number-theory-through-inquiry" target="_blank">Number Theory through Inquiry</a><br />
<em>David C. Marshall, Edward Odell, & Michael Starbird</em></td>
<td><a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/geometry-revisited" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/images/pubs/books/covers/NML19cover.jpg" width="170px" /></a><br />
8. <a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/geometry-revisited" target="_blank">Geometry Revisited</a><br />
<em>H.S.M. Coxeter & S.L. Greitzer</em></td>
<td><a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/exploring-advanced-euclidean-geometry-with-geogebra" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/images/pubs/books/covers/EAEGcover.jpg" width="170px" /></a><br />
9. <a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/exploring-advanced-euclidean-geometry-with-geogebra" target="_blank">Exploring Advanced Euclidean Geometry with GeoGebra</a><br />
<em>Gerard Venema</em></td>
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<td><a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/first-steps-for-math-olympians" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/images/pubs/books/covers/PSCcover.jpg" width="170px" /></a><br />
10. <a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/first-steps-for-math-olympians" target="_blank">First Steps for Math Olympians</a><br />
<em>J. Douglas Faires</em></td>
<td><a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/mathematics-for-secondary-school-teachers" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/images/pubs/books/covers/MSST.gif" width="170px" /></a><br />
11. <a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/mathematics-for-secondary-school-teachers" target="_blank">Mathematics for Secondary School Teachers</a><br />
<em>Elizabeth George Bremigan, Ralph Bremigan, and John Lorch</em></td>
<td><a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/beyond-the-quadratic-formula" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/images/pubs/books/covers/BQFcover.jpg" width="170px" /></a><br />
12. <a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/beyond-the-quadratic-formula" target="_blank">Beyond the Quadratic Formula</a><br />
<em>Ron Irving</em></td>
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<td><a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/combinatorics-a-guided-tour" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/images/pubs/books/covers/CGT_small.gif" width="170px" /></a><br />
13. <a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/combinatorics-a-guided-tour" target="_blank">Combinatorics:<br />A Guided Tour</a><br />
<em>David R. Mazur</em></td>
<td><a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/ordinary-differential-equations-from-calculus-to-dynamical-systems" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/images/pubs/books/covers/FCDScover.jpg" width="170px" /></a><br />
14. <a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/ordinary-differential-equations-from-calculus-to-dynamical-systems" target="_blank">Ordinary Differential Equations: From Calculus to Dynamical Systems</a><br />
<em>Virginia W. Noonburg</em></td>
<td><a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/functions-data-and-models" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/images/pubs/books/covers/COA_small.gif" width="170px" /></a><br />
15. <a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/functions-data-and-models" target="_blank">Functions, Data, and Models</a><br />
<em>Sheldon P. Gordon and Florence S. Gordon</em></td>
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Mathematical Association of Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10559021045290192742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772272495978689480.post-82622857750270193992014-08-15T09:01:00.001-04:002014-08-15T09:01:04.341-04:00MAA Books Beat: Teaching Isn't the Only Job for Math Majors<i>Written by Steve Kennedy, </i>MAA Books Beat<i> is a column written for <a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/periodicals/maa-focus" style="color: #7d7d7d; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">MAA FOCUS</a>. </i>Teaching Isn't the Only Job for Math Majors <i>appears in the <a href="http://digitaleditions.walsworthprintgroup.com/publication/?i=218816" target="_blank">August/September</a> issue.</i><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Teaching Isn’t the Only Job for Math Majors</span></b></div>
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“What would I do with a math degree? I don’t want to teach.” That anyone would ask this question has flummoxed me for years. When I was younger I was tempted (and sometimes succumbed to the temptation) to explain that one does not study mathematics for its possible future income potential. One studies mathematics because it is mankind’s only portal to absolute truth. Science deals in, as its best, approximations to truth; the humanities in speculation; the arts obscure as much as they reveal. Mathematics, using just the power of your mid, reveals eternal, and external to us, absolute truth.<br />
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I’m older now, and hopefully wiser, and not only do I see the value in what science, humanities, and the arts illuminate, but also, I see the legitimacy of the question itself. I too can now talk about the many interesting careers my former students have taken up: Nutty Steph, who started a granola company; Kate, who became a dog-musher leading winter tours of northern Minnesota; Liz, who was Stephen Wolfram’s personal assistant. Unfortunately, as the examples illustrate, I tend to remember the unusual and offbeat options.<br />
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<b>Details about “Best Job”</b><br />
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<a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/101-careers-in-mathematics" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/images/pubs/books/covers/OCM-3cover.jpg" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.careercast.com/jobs-rated/jobs-rated-2014-ranking-200-jobs-best-worst" target="_blank">CareerCast</a> recently listed “mathematician” as the Best Job of 2014 (university professor, statistician, and actuary round out the top four). This made a nice blurb in our department newsletter, but they didn’t provide an awful lot of detail about what kind of jobs these folks are looking at. Fortunately, we have Andy Sterrett. Andy has been tracking down mathematics graduates with interesting careers and compiling their stories in <i><a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/101-careers-in-mathematics" target="_blank">101 Careers in Mathematics</a></i> for more than a decade. The third edition is just out. I’ll give some highlights to share with your students wondering what to do with a math degree.<br />
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Alysia Appell has degrees from Grand Valley State University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She is in charge of the pilot-staffing model for Northwest/Delta Airlines; that means she needs to forecast the airline’s future needs to hire pilots and plan how to cover all flights given predicted vacations and illnesses of current flight staff.<br />
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Joel Schneider has degrees from Franklin and Marshall, Washington State, and the University of Oregon. He was the content director for <i>Square One TV</i>, a children’s TV show that aired in the 1990s. <i>Square One</i> has echoes of <i>Sesame Street</i> but was focused on mathematics. My personal favorite bit was “Mathnet,” a Dragnet parody that featured a detective named Monday who was interested in just the facts as she solved mathematical mysteries. Schneider is still in TV, now producing a mathematical game show called <i>Risky Numbers</i>.<br />
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Kay Strain King has degrees from Vanderbilt, Makerere (Uganda), and Texas A&M universities. She is a senior environmental mathematician for Theta Engineering. She does mathematical consulting on environmental problems. In her article in <i>101 Careers</i>, she describes a project to model gas release from a bermed storage tank under various weather conditions.<br />
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I bought a copy of <i>101 Careers</i> to put in our department’s student reading nook. I’m thinking I should buy another copy for my desk. If you teach and advise undergraduates and sometimes find yourself confronting the question with which I opened this column, you should buy one as well.<br />
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(By the way, we have already started collecting material for the next edition of <i>101 Careers</i>. If you are, or know, someone with an interesting mathematical career, please contact Deanna Haunsperger at dhaunspe@carleton.edu.)<br />
<br />Mathematical Association of Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10559021045290192742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772272495978689480.post-62946140353950678842014-08-04T10:05:00.000-04:002014-08-04T10:05:02.143-04:00MAA Pavilion Events 2014 (#MAAthFest)In Portland, OR for <a href="http://www.maa.org/meetings/mathfest" target="_blank">MAA MathFest 2014</a> this week? Stop by the MAA Pavilion in the exhibit hall and check out our events and book deals:<br />
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<b>Sweet Treats</b><br />
Come by the MAA Pavilion on Thursday, August 7 at 2:30 pm and enjoy a sweet treat or two while browsing our books.<br />
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<b>3 Books, 3 Days</b><br />
Returning to MAA MathFest 2014, follow us on twitter daily at the times below and be the first to find out our special sale titles. Pick up your copy at the MAA Pavilion before they're gone!<br />
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August 7 @ 3:14 pm: Special Sale Title for $4<br />
August 8 @ 2:30 pm: Special Sale Title for $5<br />
August 9 @ 10:00 am: Special Sale Title for $6<br />
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<b>Euler Tercentenary Collection</b><br />
Special Offer: Our special collector's edition of the Euler Tercentenary Collection five volumes is on sale for only $40!<br />
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<b>Publications Survey</b><br />
Let us know how we are doing. Fill out the survey and return it to the MAA Pavilion by 5:00 pm on Friday, August 8, for a chance to win an MAA book. The winner will be notified and will be able to pick up their prize on Saturday.<br />
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Follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@MAAthFest) to stay up-to-date on all MAA MathFest events.</div>
Mathematical Association of Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10559021045290192742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772272495978689480.post-23582542809095254852014-07-25T09:00:00.000-04:002014-07-25T09:00:07.593-04:00Teaching a Modern ODE Course<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Palatino Linotype","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Attending <a href="http://www.maa.org/meetings/mathfest" target="_blank">MAA MathFest 2014</a> in Portland, Oregon? Stop by this informational session on teaching a modern ODE course.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Palatino Linotype","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mount St. Helens Suite</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Palatino Linotype, serif;">Friday, August 8</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Palatino Linotype","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The differential equations course has changed radically over the
last quarter century. Easy access to powerful computation has
enabled visualization to play a much larger role. The increasing
mathematization of the life sciences has greatly expanded the kinds of models
available for investigation. The advent of dynamical systems has
made new kinds of questions imaginable and accessible. A
modern ODE course has to take all this progress into account, though it is
perhaps not clear exactly how to do so. Anne Noonburg</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', serif;">―</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Palatino Linotype","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">University of
Hartford and author of <i><a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/ordinary-differential-equations-from-calculus-to-dynamical-systems" target="_blank">OrdinaryDifferential Equations from Calculus to Dynamical Systems</a></i>―and Steve
Kennedy―Carleton College and MAA Books Sr. Acquisitions Editor</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', serif;">―</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Palatino Linotype","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">will lead a
discussion focused on how best to react to these changes in your ODE
course. We will ask such questions as:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', serif;">What is the appropriate role of
modeling in the ODE course?</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', serif;">How do we balance the needs of
physics, biology and engineering majors in the course?</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', serif;">What are good sources of deep and
interesting models?</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', serif;">How much emphasis on numerical
methods is appropriate?</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', serif;">Similarly how much dynamical systems
theory and visualization?</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', serif;">What is the appropriate role of
technology and what are good choices?</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', serif;">Is a Linear Algebra prerequisite
necessary, or can the needed material fit in the ODE course?</span></li>
</ul>
Mathematical Association of Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10559021045290192742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772272495978689480.post-18696468652221740702014-07-11T09:00:00.000-04:002014-07-11T09:00:00.177-04:00William Satzer Reviews 101 Careers in Mathematics<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/101-careers-in-mathematics" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/images/pubs/books/covers/OCM-3cover.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a></div>
<i>William J. Satzer reviewed</i> <a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/101-careers-in-mathematics" target="_blank">101 Careers in Mathematics</a><i>, 3rd Edition edited by Andy Sterrett as part of MAA Reviews. </i><br /><br />This is a wonderful book, potentially of great value to students and those who advise them. It has some frustrating gaps too, but in a way they also emphasize how useful it is and could be. In brief, this book presents a collection of profiles of people who have (or had) a career that involves some aspect of mathematics. Nearly all the people here have at least one degree in mathematics; the few exceptions have degrees in field like physics, operations research, or a statistics-related area. Short essays at the end of the book discuss the processes of interviewing and finding a job, and what it’s like to work in industry (or, more broadly, outside the academic community).<br />
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There are 25 new entries in this new edition that bring the total number of profiles to 146. The “101 Careers” of the title is best regarded as meaning “lots of careers”; even the first edition had more than 101 profiles. Counting careers is also a little funny: they don’t match up one-to-one with people. As many of the profiles demonstrate, many people have more than one career. Indeed it is increasingly uncommon for people to have a single career throughout their lives.<br />
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Read the full review<a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/maa-reviews/101-careers-in-mathematics-1" target="_blank"> here</a>.Mathematical Association of Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10559021045290192742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6772272495978689480.post-7484622292267223652014-07-07T09:03:00.002-04:002014-07-07T09:03:55.159-04:00New: Mathematicians on Creativity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.maa.org/publications/books/mathematicians-on-creativity" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/images/pubs/books/covers/MCTcover.jpg" /></a></div>
<h3>
<a href="http://maa-store.hostedbywebstore.com/MATHEMATICIANS-ON-CREATIVITY-Peter-Borwein/dp/B00KAEYWM8" target="_blank">Mathematicians on Creativity</a></h3>
Peter Borwein, Peter Liljedahl, and Helen Zhai, Editors<br />
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This book aims to shine a light on some of the issues of mathematical creativity. It is neither a philosophical treatise nor the presentation of experimental results, but a compilation of reflections from top-caliber working mathematicians. In their own words, they discuss the art and practice of their work. This approach highlights creative components of the field, illustrates the dramatic variation by individual, and hopes to express the vibrancy of creative minds at work. <i>Mathematicians on Creativity</i> is meant for a general audience and is probably best read by browsing.<br />
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<b><a href="http://maa-store.hostedbywebstore.com/MATHEMATICIANS-ON-CREATIVITY-Peter-Borwein/dp/B00KAEYWM8" target="_blank">Order your copy today.</a></b></div>
Mathematical Association of Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10559021045290192742noreply@blogger.com0