Welcome to MAA-Wisconsin Spring 2010 Meeting!

 

Jennifer Szydlik (UW-Oshkosh)
Teaching to Inspire Mathematical Thinking

Slides from Dr. Szydlik's Talk

Our community, the mathematical community, holds a set of values, mathematical tools, and distinctions about language that support us in learning new mathematics and in solving problems. We value precise definitions of objects, elegant arguments, and shared notations. We use logic, create examples, non examples, and counterexamples, consider extreme or trivial cases, and make models for problems. We distinguish necessary from sufficient conditions, pay close attention to quantifiers, and are sticklers for language. This is our culture. I advocate for making this culture transparent to our students both in the ways we speak about mathematics and in the ways we do mathematics with them in class. In this presentation I will talk about how we might do both, and I will provide samples of problems and activities that inspire mathematical thinking.  

Jennifer Szydlik earned her Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1995. She then joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh where she primarily teaches mathematics courses for prospective elementary and middle grades teachers. Her current research focuses on how students understand and use the tools and values of the mathematical community. She is the 2009 recipient of the Wisconsin Section MAA's Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics.