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A single case study approach was used to provide an in-depth examination of the special events that take place in the experiences of a graduate mathematics teaching assistant (MTA) during adaptation to a variety of physical, emotional, and psychological issues. Through intervention by a faculty member, professional counselor, and medical doctor, the MTA eventually achieved positive coping and adaptation away from suicidal ideations. In the context of attribution theory, we will look at the particular stressors and the how their concomitant effect led the MTA to consider suicide. The case study documents the interactions between the MTA and the faculty member as well as how the MTAs attributions impacted their tone and tenor. Drawing from this account and others encountered by other MTAs, the second half of the paper presents a case story to help MTAs consider how to navigate situations that contribute to stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The basic rules of elementary algebra can often appear beyond the grasp of many students. Even though most subjects, including calculus, prove to be more difficult, it is the simple rules of algebra that continue to be the “thorn in the side” of many mathematics students. In this paper we present a result intended to help students achieve a greater understanding of a familiar algebraic error. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to describe a general procedure for implementing group poster projects in lower and upper division mathematics courses. The authors have found that students who complete projects gain a deeper understanding of the mathematics they study, refine their ability to communicate mathematically, and engage in an activity that requires initiative and persistence. The paper gives examples of successful projects and includes grading rubrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In beginning chemistry classes, students are taught a variety of techniques for balancing chemical equations. The most common method is inspection. This paper addresses using a system of linear mathematical equations to solve for the stoichiometric coefficients. Many linear algebra books carry the standard balancing of chemical equations as an example of solving a system of linear equations. First, we present an example that we both use in our freshman algebra classes for modeling and problem solving and in our linear algebra class. Then we continue by giving a mathematical modeling algorithm for balancing the more complicated oxidation-reduction (redox) equations using a system of linear equations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to get undergraduates interested in mathematics, it is essential to involve them in its ‘discovery’. In this paper, we will explain how technology and the knowledge of lower dimensional calculus can be used to help them develop intuition leading to their discovering the first derivative rule in multivariable calculus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mathematics majors' study of abstract algebra should provide these students with opportunities to connect what they are learning to their prior experiences with algebra in high school. This paper illustrates how such connections can be used to motivate the notion of binary operation and the axioms for a group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When students take their first upper division mathematics course after an introduction to proof course, they are often over- whelmed by the prospect of writing in a mathematics course. In mathematics, unlike other disciplines, students are very seldom asked to respond via writing to a reading assignment, to write an essay about a topic they have always used their intuition to explain, or to fully research a mathematics topic and report on it to their peers. This paper will highlight the ways in which writing, reading, and group work can be used to develop skills in geometry in one semester. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an assessment tool which can be used during the first weeks of calculus to measure students' visual thinking skills. We have developed and applied this instrument in classes for the last three years, tabulating results and interviewing students on a regular basis. We discuss our findings and provide hints to using the instrument to identify student weaknesses which, if unattended, can undermine students' understanding of calculus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Essentially a focus group to discuss textbook related issues, a meeting of calculus instructors from a wide variety of environments was convened and sponsored by McGraw Hill to provide feedback on the current state of the calculus classroom. This paper provides a description of the group's discussions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently we were presented with an interesting twist to the sliding ladder problem viewed in the related rates section of most calculus textbooks. Our problem concerning a sliding ladder that eventually hits the ground. At first, those attempting this problem fell into the calculus trap using only related rates. Previous work for this problem included higher order systems of differential equations in the solution. This paper discusses a new direction with modeling issues, several modeling based solutions, and numerical methods to solve these models using a spreadsheet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the tasks faced by undergraduate mathematics departments is placing incoming students into the appropriate mathematics classes for their abilities. This is often accomplished through giving a placement test at the time of student orientation. Dissatisfaction with the results of the placement test used at our university prompted us to write a new one. In this paper, we describe the writing of the new placement test and provide detailed results of a validity study on the test. Our results led us to conclude that placement testing does not work very well, and to suggest that undergraduate mathematics departments consider using existing data rather than give a separate placement test. In spite of this conclusion, we do decide to continue with our placement test, and we offer reasons for doing so. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]