REU program as a student-centered, project-based environment for teaching math in California State University
https://doi.org/10.32517/0234-0453-2022-37-2-78-87
Abstract
Starting from 2004, within the last years California State University at Chico (CSUC) hosted the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates and Teachers (REUT) program in Mathematics. The program targets secondary teachers with a strong interest in mathematics or math education (RET) and students who have completed their junior year with coursework appropriate to the research project (REU). The program is designed to engage participants in research problems with a high potential for publication and to create a research experience that broadens participants’ perspective both of mathematics as a discipline and of research (whether mathematical or not) as an exciting exploratory process. During this period the large group of undergraduate students from different US universities and high school math teachers were involved in numerous research projects in pure and applied math, in math education and statistics. Working on the research projects the participants acquire the fundamental mathematical concepts and also studied how to apply modern IT technologies and computational systems for solving various math problems. We provide a research experience that enhances the skills necessary for careers in any of the sciences, while adding both depth and breadth to the participant’s mathematical knowledge, skill, and understanding. The depth comes primarily from participation in a research team working on a potentially publishable research problem, while breadth is added by activities that integrate all research teams, by in-service teacher/undergraduate interactions, and by synergistic activities such as weekly research talks. Mathematical activities are supplemented with social activities conducive to creating a productive and comfortable research environment.
Keywords
About the Author
S. A. FominUnited States
Sergei A. Fomin, Ph.D., Professor at the Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Chico, CA
References
1. Lemmermeyer F. The Euclidean algorithm in algebraic number fields. Exposition. Math. 1995;13(5):385–416.
2. Heilbronn H. On Euclid’s algorithm in real quadratic fields. Mathematical Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society. 1938;34(4):521–526.
3. Barnes E. S., Swinnerton-Dyer H. P. F. The inhomogeneous minima of binary quadratic forms (I). Acta Math. 1952;87:259–323. DOI:10.1007/BF02392288
4. Chatland H., Davenport H. Euclid’s algorithm in real quadratic fields. Canadian Journal of Math. 1950;2:289–296. DOI: 10.4153/CJM-1950-026-7
5. Stark H. The Gauss class-number problems. In: Analytic Number Theory: A tribute to Gauss and Dirichlet. Clay Mathematics Proceedings. 2007;7:247–256. Available at: https://claymath.org/library/proceedings/cmip07.pdf
6. Clark M., Hill J., Tilman D. The diet, health, and environment trilemma. Annual Review of Environment and Resources. 2018;43:109–134. DOI:10.1146/annurevenviron-102017-025957
7. Bar D.-Natan, On Khovanov’s categorification of the Jones polynomial. Algebraic and Geometric Topology. 2002;2:337–370. DOI: 10.2140/agt.2002.2.337
8. Kauffman L. On Knots. Princeton University Press; 1988. 498 p.
9. Rolfsen D. Knots and Links, Berkeley, CA: Publish or Perish; 1990. 450 p.
10. Campbell Jonathan A., Lind John A., Malkiewich C., Ponto K., Zakharevich I. K-theory of endomorphisms, the TR-trace, and zeta functions. Available at: arXiv:2005.04334
11. Campbell Jonathan A., Lind John A., Malkiewich C., Ponto K., Zakharevich I. Spectral Waldhausen categories, the S-dot construction, and the Dennis trace. Available at: arXiv:2006.04006
12. Baker M., Norine S. Harmonic morphisms and hyperelliptic graphs. International Mathematics Research Notices. 2009;(15):2914–2955.
13. Hammer K., Mattman T., Sands J., Vallières D. The special value u=1 of Artin-Ihara L-functions. 2019. Available at: https://arxiv.org/abs/1907.04910
14. Stark H., Terras A. Zeta functions of finite graphs and coverings. Advances in Mathematics. 1996;(121(1)):124–165. DOI: 10.1006/aima.1996.0050
15. Stark H., Terras A. Zeta functions of finite graphs and coverings, part II. Advances in Mathematics. 2000;154(1):132–195. DOI: 10.1006/aima.2000.1917
16. Stark H., Terras A. Zeta functions of finite graphs and coverings, part III. Advances in Mathematics. 2007;(208(1)):467–489. DOI: 10.1016/J.AIM.2006.03.002
17. Valliиres D. On abelian l-towers of multigraphs. Annales mathématiques du Québec. 2021;(45(98)):433–452. DOI: 10.1007/S40316-020-00152-4
18. Fomin S., Chugunov V., Hashida T. Non-Fickian mass transport in fractured porous media. Advances in Water Resources. 2011;34(2):205–214. DOI: 10.1016/J.ADVWATRES.2010.11.002
Review
For citations:
Fomin S.A. REU program as a student-centered, project-based environment for teaching math in California State University. Informatics and education. 2022;37(2):78-87. https://doi.org/10.32517/0234-0453-2022-37-2-78-87