Spring, 2003 Course Announcement

M175: SEMINAR FOR PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS

Unique Number: 56405

Instructor: Smith

Intended audience: Upper division (or graduate) students interested in teaching mathematics in grades 6 - 12 or two-year college.

Prerequisite: Interest in teaching mathematics, upper division (or graduate) standing, and consent of instructor. (Instructor may be contacted at mks@math.utexas.edu or 471-6142)

Time: Tu 5:00 — 6:00PM Room: RLM 6.112

Topic: Mathematical Connections

Course description: The November, 2001 issue of The Mathematics Teacher was a special focus issue on Connections. It had several articles giving classroom activities that explore mathematics in various contexts. Subsequent issues of The Mathematics Teacher have provided more such articles. In this course, students will take turns leading the class in these activities and/or similar ones from other sources. Examples include:

UnderstandingTransformations of Periodic Functions through Art
An Analysis of Bending Wood by Using Kerf Cuts
Connecting with Geology: Where's the End of the Cave?
Rugby and Mathematics: A Surprising Link among Geometry, the Conics, and Calculus
Mathematical Modeling: Compound Functions and the IRS Tax Rate schedules
A Stimulating Study of Map Projections: An Exploration Integrating Mathematics and Social Studies
Flying through Graphs: An Introduction to Graph theory
Privacy for the Twenty-First Century: Cryptography
Stand Up and Be Counted: The Mathematics of Congressional Apportionment
Functions of Number Theory in Music
Real-World Problems as Contexts for Proof
Move That Sofa!