FALL 2015 SECTION NEXT workshop

September 26th, 9:30am-2:00pm, Clarion University

9:30-9:55 Light breakfast, Room 217, Science and Technology Center (STC)

10:00-11:30 Morning Workshop on the MAA’s Committee on Undergraduate Programs in Mathematics (CUPM) Curriculum Guidelines, Carol Schumacher of Kenyon College

11:35-12:30 Lunch

12:35-2:00 Afternoon Panel on communicating mathematics to non-mathematicians, David Offner of Westminster College, Adam Roberts of Clarion University, and John Zimmerman of Washington and Jefferson College

CUPM Curriculum Guide: A resource for continual curricular improvement

Carol Schumacher, Kenyon College

The MAA’s Committee for the Undergraduate Program in Mathematics (CUPM) is charged with making curricular recommendations to the mathematical community.  Over the last half century, the committee has authored a set of curriculum recommendations about every decade.  In the 2015 CUPM Curriculum Guide to Majors in the Mathematical Sciences the committee “interprets its task broadly, both in affirming the breadth of possible offerings to undergraduate students majoring in mathematics and in understanding ‘mathematics’ broadly to encompass what we call the mathematical sciences.” This broad interpretation “works against a single shared understanding of the phrase ‘mathematics major’” (From the Introduction) and, increasingly, “it makes little sense to prescribe . . . a single static list of ‘essential’ requirements. . . . Nevertheless, majors in the mathematical sciences do share some fundamental elements. The 2015 CUPM Curriculum Guide to Majors in the Mathematical Sciences offers widely considered and broadly conceived national perspectives both on these fundamental elements and on the variety of possible majors they can support.” (From the Overview) Carol Schumacher, who was co-chair of the steering committee for the guide, will give a broad overview and facilitate a discussion of strategies for using the guide as a resource for the continual improvement of our undergraduate programs.

Communicating Mathematics to Non-mathematicians

David Offner, Westminster College, Adam Roberts,Clarion University, and John Zimmerman, Washington and Jefferson College

This panel will focus on mathematical communication, and in particular, on how to explain to a non-mathematician what it is that mathematicians actually do.  Panelists will share their experiences in a variety of different situations (in a tenure portfolio, as a department chair, as an administrator, etc.).  There will be ample time for questions and discussion in this session.