Writing Projects for Mathematics Courses: Crushed Clowns, Cars & Coffee to Go (Paperback)

~ Annalisa Crannell (Author), Gavin LaRose (Author), Thomas Ratliff (Author) "In this volume we have collected a group of writing projects suitable for use in a wide range of undergraduate mathematics courses, from a survey..." (more)
Key Phrases: resourceful professor, local lanes, fabricated data, Realism Real-world, Realism Completely, Big City (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This volume is a collection of writing projects suitable in a wide range of undergraduate mathematics courses, from a survey of mathematics to differential equations. The projects vary in their level of difficulty and in the mathematics that they require, but are similar in the mode of presentation and use of applications. Students see these problems as real in a way that textbooks problems are not, even though many of the characters involved (dime–store detectives and CEOs) are obviously fictional. The stories are sometimes fanciful and sometimes grounded in standard scientific applications, but the mere existence of the story draws the students in and makes the problem relevant.

The book is the combined effort of four instructors who have used writing projects in their own courses. They provide an easy-to-use, widely applicable set of course materials that instructors can adopt and adapt to their own courses.

An extensive set of class-tested projects is included along with:

• implementation notes which highlight student difficulties,
• information about project solutions, and
• advice for grading writing projects.

About the Author

Annalisa Crannell is Associate Professor and Chair of Mathematics at Franklin & Marshall College.She is well known for her work in writing across the curriculum.

Gavin LaRose received his PhD in applied math from Northwestern University. He now works in instructional technology and teaches at the University of Michigan.

Thomas Ratliff is an Associate Professor at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, He is interested in using writing projects in almost all of his classes.

Elyn Rykken is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She received her PhD from Northwestern University in dynamical systems.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: The Mathematical Association of America (January 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0883857359
• ISBN-13: 978-0883857359
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #658,898 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars audience should be more specific, February 22, 2007

By	J. Corricelli (East Granby, CT USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Most of the book is targeted toward college-level coursework - calculus and the like - this was not specific in either the cover or the book index. What is there is very specific. Rubrics are even provided - that is nice. As a high school teacher, it is not as useful as I had hoped in courses like Geometry.

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and fun writing projects that were used in math classes, April 11, 2007

By	Charles Ashbacher "([e-mail])" (Marion, Iowa United States([e-mail])) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

I am strongly in favor of using writing projects in upper level mathematics classes. They force the students to think long and hard about a particular problem and being forced to write up the solution organizes their thoughts in ways nothing else can. This book is a collection of writing projects used by the authors in their classes.
Each project begins with the following information:

*) Name of the project, the person who created it and the course it was used for.
*) The mathematical concepts needed to solve the problem.
*) The level of realism in the problem and data
*) The reaction the students had to the problem, in particular how difficult it was for them.
*) Credits
*) Any technology needed or that would be helpful, such as a graphing calculator or symbolic mathematics package

The project is presented in the form of a letter from an individual requesting their assistance and explaining the problem. A solution to the problem then appears after the letter.
In general these projects are real-world enough that the students can understand the need to solve them. This is of enormous assistance, as even the best math students have difficulty when writing about mathematics. I found the projects to be very helpful as I begin to ponder what kind of topics I would want my students to write about in a senior thesis project.