Series: MAA Notes
Every year thousands of new mathematics instructors and teaching
assistants begin their teaching careers, and , scores of
experienced faculty seek ways to explore the new teaching
possibilities offered by technological and pedagogical
innovations. There is a great need for tools to train college
mathematics instructors in both basic teaching skills and
innovative methodologies. Learning to Teach and Teaching to Learn
is a self-contained and extensive resource that addresses this
need. It describes training and mentoring activities that have
been successfully used in a variety of settings. with a wide
range of new instructors, including graduate student teaching
assistants, undergraduate tutors, graders and lab assistants, as
well as postdoctoral, adjunct, part-time and new regular-rank
faculty. It addresses a variety of teaching issues including
cooperative learning, technology and assessment.
The book provides a broad range of material including:
the structure and operation of an integrated professional
development program.
a complete description of a pre-semester orientation session for
instructors who are either new to teaching or new to a department.
a guide to visiting and observing classrooms, including samples
observations made and the feedback given.
descriptions of procedures for customizing and developing new
training materials.
an extensive list of references and suggested readings.
This material will be of interest to faculty and instructional
staff responsible for training and mentoring adjuncts, new
faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate assistants and to
those interested in an integrated approach to improving and
expanding their teaching skills. Although specifically written as
training materials,, each chapter includes an introduction,
goals, activities, and an annotated list of suggested readings.
94 pp., Paperbound, 2001
ISBN -0-88385-168-7
Series: Problem Books
The Mathematical Olympiad pamphlets, covering the USA
Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO) and the International Mathematical
Olympiad (IMO), have been published annually by the MAA American
Mathematics Competitions since 1976. This is the first volume in
that series published by the MAA in book form.
The IMO is the annual world mathematics championship for high
school students which takes place in a different country every
year. The aims of the IMO are: to discover, encourage and
challenge mathematically gifted young people all over the world;
to foster friendships between mathematicians around the world;
and to facilitate the exchange of information on pedagogical
issues.
The USAMO and the Team Selection Test (TST) are the last two
stages of the selection process that leads to the selection of
the USA team participating in the IMO. Through these contests,
young gifted mathematicians are identified and recognized while
still in secondary school. Participation in these competitions
provides them with the chance to measure themselves against other
exceptional students from all over the world.
Titu Andreescu, is the team leader of the USA IMO team and
chairman of the USAMO committee, and Zuming Feng is the deputy
leader of the USA IMO team. In addition to presenting their own
carefully written solutions to the problems, Andreescu and Feng
provide remarkable solutions developed by the examination
committees, contestants, and experts, during or after the
contests. They also provide a detailed report of the 1995-2000
USAMO/IMO results and a comprehensive guide to other materials
emphasizing advanced problem-solving. This collection of
excellent problems and beautiful solutions is a valuable
companion for students who wish to develop their interest in
mathematics outside the school curriculum and to deepen their
knowledge of mathematics.
120 pp., Paperbound, 2001
ISBN 088385-804-5
Series: Problem Books
The Inquisitive Problem Solver is a collection of 256
mathematical miniatures composed to stimulate and entertain.
However, on a deeper level, these little puzzles, accessible to a
general audience, provide a setting rich in mathematical themes.
One of the larger purposes of the book is to show how everyday
situations can lead an inquisitive problem solver to profound and
far-reaching mathematical principles. Discussions accompanying
the problems reinforce important techniques in discrete
mathematics, and the solutions?which require verbal
arguments?show that proofs and careful reasoning are at the core
of doing mathematics. In addition, anyone reading this book will
learn that asking good questions is just as important to the
progress of mathematics as answering questions.
Most of the problems require no special knowledge, others only
minimal algebra, but all require clear thinking and insight.
About a quarter of the problems suggest additional problems of a
more demanding nature, and these are included as Queries with
Responses to them in later sections. Many other examples are
brought out in the Treasury, which serves as an Index, Glossary,
and as list of Terms, Techniques, and Tricks of the Trade.
The appealing and accessible problems presented here will appeal
to a wide range of readers and users. Middle school, high school,
and college teachers who want stimulating problems to challenge
their students will find them here. And, the discrete mathematics
flavor of the problems will appeal to programmers and computer
scientists.
The book contains more than a dozen open problems for further
research by amateurs or professionals. This treasury of problems
will serve as a resource for anyone seeking to improve their
problem-solving knowledge and know-how.
344 pp., Paperbound, 2002
ISBN 0-88385-806-1
SERIES: Lecture Notes in Pure and Applied Mathematics -
Celebrates the work of world-renowned mathematician Sam B. Nadler.
Examines the most recent advances in the analysis of compact
connected metric spaces. Presents the latest studies in
hyperspaces, fixed point and mapping properties, embeddings,
homogeneity, and dynamic systems.
CONTENTS: The Life and Times of Sam B. Nadler, Jr. * The Work of
Sam B. Nadler, Jr. on Hyperspaces * Continua with Unique
Hyperspace * Ordered Embeddings of Hyperspaces * Embedding
Symmetric Products in Euclidean Spaces * On Strongly Monotone
Mappings * On Semi-Universal Mappings * Problems on Hyperspace
Retractions * The Dynamics of Maps of Solenoids Homotopic to the
Identity * The Buckethandle Continuum Admits No Mean * Inverse
Limits on [0, 1] Using Piecewise Linear Unimodel Bonding Maps, II
* A Tale of Six Atriodic Tree-Like Continua * Hyperspaces Locally
2-Cell at the Top * Cantor Sets of Ray Composants in Local Siegel
Disk Boundaries * The RNT Property of Compactifications of the
Ray * Non-Confluence of the Natural Map of Products Onto
Symmetric Products.
READERSHIP: Topologists, pure and applied mathematicians, and
upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in these
disciplines.
SUBJECT CATEGORY: Geometry and Topology
July 2002
360 pages, illustrated
ISBN: 0-8247-0875-X
SERIES: What Every Engineer Should Know - Volume 36
Offers new insight into the realities of high-stakes engineering
decision-making in the investigative and corporate sectors by
optimizing engineering decision variables to maximize payoff.
CONTENTS: Engineering: Making Hard Decisions Under Uncertainty *
Engineering Judgment for Discrete Uncertain Variables * Decision
Analysis Involving Continuous Uncertain Variables * Modeling
Correlation, Estimating Confidence * Performing Engineering
Predictions * Engineering Decision Variables-Analysis and
Optimization * Project Scheduling Under Uncertainty * Process
Control-Decision Based on Charts and Index * Engineering Decision-Making:
A New Paradigm.
READERSHIP: Mechanical, civil, electrical and electronics,
materials, chemical, mineral, cost, quality, reliability,
industrial, product development, safety, forensic, and consulting
engineers; architects; engineering managers; and project and
program managers; and is an essential text for upper-level
undergraduate, graduate, and continuing-education students in
these disciplines.
SUBJECT CATEGORY: Mechanical Engineering
July 2002
328 pages, illustrated
ISBN: 0-8247-0808-3