This talk examines the mathematics behind statements and claims made in movies, TV commercials, and sitcoms. Excerpts from foreign movies, episodes of Seinfeld, and commercials will be shown. This presentation looks at the implications of decreased attention on factoring to future mathematics coursework. An approach for teaching factoring that requires decreased but sufficient attention will be demonstrated and discussed. The presenter will share results of projects in a statistics class.
Students actively gather a set of data on a personally chosen topic.
Then these data are used for a term paper that demonstrates students' knowledge of descriptive statistics, probability, and inference. Sample portfolio entries will be presented. Audience members are encouraged to participate in a discussion of the benefits and drawbacks of group portfolios as a measure of group performance and their contributions to individual learning. The presentation will focus on managing an efffective resource center serving a large, diverse student population. Discussions will include the range of services offered, marketing methods, and the challenges of identifying and meeting changing needs.