Term Project MATH 335 Section 201 Due: Week of March 28, 2011.
Term Project
MATH 335 Section 201
Due: Week of March 28, 2011.
Goal: You are to share your personal explorations of some mathematical ideas.
Project Topic
The purpose of your term project is to give you the freedom to explore mathematics in some context that appeals to you. The choice of context is wide open. Some options are:
• Community Learning: working with mathematics in the community, including schools. Perhaps you are volunteering in an elementary school this term so your project can focus on the mathematics you are seeing in the classroom.
• Learning a new piece of mathematics; some options are to look at parts of our text book that we will not cover in the course and choose an area that strikes you as interesting.
• Looking at mathematics in a cultural context. This is often given the name ethnomathematics . For example, you could look at the mathematical knowledge of indigenous peoples of the Americas. The Museum of Anthropology may have some experience with such topics; their collection is extensive.
• Interview a mathematician, either in the academic world or in industry, etc.
• Learn about learning mathematics (including dealing with ”math anxiety,” for example).
• Look at mathematics in art, film, or literature.
What do I turn in?
Regardless of your topic, the end product for this project will be an academic poster.
A good reference to help you design an academic poster is http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/ssds/sd/pgrd/resources/designing-poster.
We will hold poster sessions during classes in the week of March 28th.
How will my project be marked?
Your project will be marked out of 20 based on
1. Mathematical content (10 marks): you will be marked on how well you understood the mathematics in your project and the accuracy of your mathematical content.
2. Quality and clarity of presentation (5 marks).
3. Peer review (5 marks): you will have a chance to review each others’ projects and give feedback.
May we work in groups?
If you wish to work in pairs instead of alone, you must be pre-approved to do this.
Groups larger than 2 will not be allowed. The basis for approval will be that the project is substantial enough that it will be fair to consider joint work as making the effort per student in line with what students working alone are doing.
The last date for pre-approval of pair projects is Monday, March 7,
2011.
