Math and Statistics Faculty Shine at MAA’s Mathfest

Eight members of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics participated in Mathfest, the annual summer meeting of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA), held Aug. 6-9 in Portland, Ore.

Alex Capaldi, treasurer for the Indiana Section of the MAA attended the MAA Section Officers Meeting and presented “Selling the Concept: a Primer on Salesmanship of the Flipped Classroom Model.”

Mindy Capaldi presented “Flipping Calculus II: Did it improve this infamous course?”

Melissa Desjarlais presented “Reconceptualizing Mathematics for Elementary Teachers.”

Rick Gillman was part of a panel on the state of the Quantitative Literacy (QL) movement held in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Special Interest Group of the MAA (SIGMAA) on QL; he is a founding member of SIGMAA QL and the initial past chair of the group. He also participated in a number of national MAA governance activities.

Ken Luther attended the meeting in conjunction with a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded project related to calculus curriculum development and helped staff an exhibition booth publicizing the project.

Lara Pudwell was one of two recipients of the national 2014 Henry L. Alder Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Beginning College or University Mathematics Faculty Member. She gave an award speech entitled “The Joy of Discovery.”

Karl Schmitt attended as a 2014-2015 Project NExT fellow; Project New Experiences in Teaching is a selective professional development program for first and second year mathematics faculty that holds many activities in conjunction with Mathfest.

Zsuzsanna Szaniszlo presented “Year-long Undergraduate Research at Minimal Cost” and helped staff an exhibition booth for the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship program.