Mathematics & Science Institute
2006
Today is May 14, 2008, 3:17 am   July 24-25, 2006
Institute Presentations (by Subject)
Subjects: Algebra, Biology, Calculus, Chemistry, Data Analysis, Geometry, General, Math, Physics, Pre-Calculus, Science
Algebra
  1. Meaning Through Motion - Understanding Algebra Through Animation Grades: 9-12
    Place & Time to be determined (80 min) by Audrey Weeks, Algebra & Calculus in Motion
    Understanding is the key to proficiency. Discover compelling interactive animations (Sketchpad4) that meaningfully demonstrate and explore functions, slope, factoring, conics, trigonometry, and more.


Biology
  1. Web Scavenger hunt: DNA to Proteins to Disease Grades: 7-12
    Place & Time to be determined (80 min) by Candace Timpte, UNO
    Using programs and databases freely available, you can design a computer-intensive exercise tailored to your students needs, from a long-term group project to a short, one day assignment. Presentation will be available on CD, if you bring your own CD.

  2. Multimedia Documentaries of the interesting and Bizarre in Biology Grades: 6-12
    Place & Time to be determined (80 min) by John Carambat, St. Paul's School
    For the past three years, St. Paul's High School Biology students have created 15 minute movies and powerpoint presentations on the bizarre foundations and applications of science. They do original research, shoot original footage and combine it with bits from movies and united streaming footage. Most work is done with windows movie maker. Explanation of the project description and rubric are of utmost importance. This is one of the student's favorite projects and is used to enliven relevant lesson plans and Inform them on the resarch and creativity that goes into a good documentary. Amusing samples will be provided


Calculus
  1. Improving Calculus Understanding Via Animation Grades: 11-12
    Place & Time to be determined (40 min) by Audrey Weeks, Algebra & Calculus in Motion
    Explore interactive computer animations (Sketchpad 4) that greatly improve calculus understanding and literally bring it to life as the study of motion and change. Topics include limits, derivatives, integrals, volumes, slope fields, and much more.


Chemistry
  1. Enabling the Reluctant Chemistry Student Grades: 7-12
    Place & Time to be determined (40 min) by Harriet Aguiar-Netto, St. Martins Episcopal
    Chemistry is required for graduation from a high percentage of secondary schools. This has given the chemistry teacher the challenge of facing many students who have no interest in the subject. A number of successful teaching methods will be introduced that cater to the different learning styles and interests of students and that improve the success/stress ratio in the high school chemistry classroom.


Data Analysis
  1. Sharing Session in Statistics Grades: 6-College
    Time & Place to be determined (80 min) by Mark Firmin, Archbishop Rummel High School
    How do you incorporate data analysis and statistical inference in your math or science class? Do you need a formal statistics class in your curriculum to accomplish this ? This will be a sharing session for math and science teachers to come together sharing and learning ideas on how to incorporate statistical concepts in your curriculum since most standards, benchmarks, and GLEs encourage this. Teachers will be encouraged to share their ideas with reflection and discussion.

  2. Introduction to TinkerPlots Grades: 4-8
    Tuesday, July 25, Sessions 9 & 10 (9:00-10:25 am), Room 1 by Andy Talmadge, UNO
    TinkerPlots is a new software package from Key Curriculum Press (Geometer's Sketchpad). This software gives middle school students the ability to dynamically explore data. An introduction to the features of TinkerPlots will be given. A CD containing datasets and other materials will be given to all who attend.

  3. Linear Regression Analysis—Ever Wonder What Your TI-Calculator is Doing? Grades: 9-12
    Time & Place to be determined (40 min) by Ira Nirenberg, Consultant
    HWe will derive the algorithm used to do regression analysis and along the way see some nice uses for the mathematics taught in first and second year algebra.


General
  1. Service Learning Grants with The Brown Foundation Grades: 6-College
    Time and Place to be determined (40 min) by Tina Bouzon, The Brown Foundation
    During this presentation, the concept of service learning will be defined and used in a math or science classroom. Information on the Brown Foundation Service Learning Grant Program will be given. This program has been encouraging schools in several parishes to incorporate service learning in their curriculum.

  2. The Performance Pentagon: Learning and Knowledge Management to Optimize Students¹ Performance Grades: 6-College
    Time and Place to be determined (40 min) by Roger DeSanti, University of New Orleans
    The information and knowledge that students possess and how well they can apply them are the basis of performance. These abilities should be treated as valuable assets the same as any other resources. How do you help students maintain, foster, and grow in their responsibilities? The five components necessary for effective learning and training will be discussed as they are related to gaining information and knowledge for the purposes of transformation and optimization in the educational setting.

  3. The Rivertown Museums Grades: 6-College
    Time and Place to be determined (40 min) by Michael Judice, The Rivertown Museums
    The presentation will be a Powerpoint presentation of the Rivertown Museums and what they offer to educators, with Q & A period after the presentation.


Geometry
  1. Lost Geometry of the Parabola Grades: 6-College
    Monday, July 24, Session 1 (9:00-9:40am), Room 1 by Andy Talmadge, University of New Orleans
    In recent years the amount of time spent studying the parabola (and other conics) has slowly diminished in middle-, secondary-, and early college-level courses. In this presentation some of the "lost" beauty of the parabola is re-presented from the late 19th and early 20th century author George Wentworth's books. One result that will be shared is how to find the area contained inside of a parabola using the method of exhaustion.

  2. Explore Geometry with Cabri Jr on the TI-84 Plus Grades: 6-12
    Time & Place to be determined (80 min) by Ellen Johnston, Texas Instruments
    Come investigate Geometry using the Cabri Jr APP available for the TI-83+/84+ graphing calculators and leave with several activities and a Cabri Jr. Explorations Book. Along with doing activities you will experience a TI Navigator classroom and learn about other resources from TI.

  3. Applications of Geometry to Calculus Grades: 10-College
    Time & Place to be determined (40 min) by Scott Beslin and Brian Heck, Nicholls State University
    A sharing session for those who teach high school and college-level geometry and calculus courses.


Math
  1. Extra !! Extra !! Read All About It !! Service Learning in the Math Classroom Grades: 6-College
    Time & Place to be determined (80 min) by Mark Firmin, Archbishop Rummel High School
    This presentation will focus on the concept of service learning in a mathemtaics classroom. Ideas will be shared on projects that have been done in a geometry class, an AP statistics class, and a PreCalculus Class. All of this is done with the simple concepts of a newsletter and a coloring book.

  2. Whachoutalkinbout, Gary? Math ain't no language! Grades: 6-College
    Time & Place to be determined (80 min) by Gary Cruice, Comeaux High School
    A language is a rule-governed, hierarchical system with phonological, syntactical, semantic, and pragmatic levels. This means that there are rules for how to pronounce (or represent) symbols, how to structure these symbols, as well as accepted meanings for these symbols in context (or in use). Communication is a process. One can’t really look at a single message in isolation. Researchers must consider prior messages, message sequences, and context. Linguists, then, are more interested in communication competence but can only access performance.

    Mathematics is known as the language of science and considered to be a process, as such, those creating the educational standards for math face the same problem as linguistic researchers. We want to know not only how but also what a person thinks or understands but there is NO way of being certain what either is – we must settle for observing some behavior and then inferring understanding.

    In this presentation I will argue that mathematics, as a language, needs to be taught as such. This will inlcude justification for treating mathematics as a language and implications for both curriculum and pedagogical decision making.

    The presentation is to be followed by a QA and discussion where teachers can explore the implications of such an approach and share possible teaching strategies or activities.

  3. Peanut Software Grades: 9-College
    Time & Place to be determined (40 min) by Jim Marsalis, St. Martin's Episcopal School
    Rick Parris, a math teacher at Phillips Exeter Academy, has developed a number of software packages designed for mathematics teachers to use in the classroom. His material includes a graphing rpogram, fractal generators, discrete math programs, a stats package, and sevral other programs. Peanut (PEA stands for Phillips Exeter Academy) Software is flexible, easy to use and FREE. You get to play with some of the programs and learn how to download it form Rick's website.

  4. The Matrix Revisited Grades: 9-College
    Time & Place to be determined (40 min) by Jim Marsalis, St. Martin's Episcopal School
    Most high school work with matrices involves dull, repetitive operations and seems to have no practical value. You can enliven your matrix unit with applications like Markov Chains, Lesley Matrices, and Matrix Cryptography. We will use TI calculators and Excel spreadsheets to work some problems that might get your students excited about matrices that don't contain Keanu Reeves.

  5. An Excel-lent Adventure Grades: 9-College
    Time & Place to be determined (80 min) by Jim Marsalis, St. Martin's Episcopal School
    Learn how to use slider bars, simple programming, and other tools to make dynamic, interactive Excel spreadsheets that make math concepts come alive. You find out how to animate your graphs and do interesting simulations. Copies of all examples will be available for download.

  6. Reading, Thinking, and Representing Mathematics Grades: 4-9
    Time & Place to be determined (80 min) by Kay Butler, Patrick Taylor Science & Technology School
    Techniques for helping middle school and high school students read mathematics with understanding, think about mathematics in meaningful ways, and represent mathematics in multiple formats will be the focus of this interactive session. Although the main theme will be mathematics learning and communication, many of the strategies addressed in this session can be applied in science, as well as in other content areas.

  7. Making Fractions Make Sense Grades: 4-9
    Time & Place to be determined (80 min) by Ira Nirenberg, Consultant
    Understand why fractions cause students so many problems and see how to remedy the problem. In addition, see a great way to visualize fractions so that students will be able to add, subtract, multiply and divide fractions with simple counting. Participants will have an opportunity for hands on work.

  8. Ratio and Proportion in Pictures and Manipulatives (Session 1) Grades: 4-9
    Time & Place to be determined (80 min) by Bruce Baguley, Cascade Math
    Ratio and Proportion is the cornerstone of the Middle School Math Curriculum. Explore different representations through PowerPoint presentations and manipulatives. Discover concrete representations of standard math rules such as multiplying the numerator and denominator of a fraction by the same number gives an equivalent fraction. Use the multiplication table to find equivalent fractions and solve proportions using manipulatives.

  9. Ratio and Proportion in Pictures and Manipulatives (Session 2) Grades: 4-9
    Time & Place to be determined (80 min) by Bruce Baguley, Cascade Math
    Continue with the exploration of different representations of Ratio and Proportion. Find a picture for a/b = c/d iff ad = bc. Use a manipulative to show that dividing the numerator and denominator of a fraction by the same number gives an equivalent fraction. In the two sessions, observe over 10 PowerPoint presentations showing different pictures and manipulative representations for Ratio and Proportion. Leave with a CD containing the PowerPoint presentations and blackline masters for use in a classroom.

  10. Prove the Unique Prime Factorization Theorem using Manipulatives Grades: 10-College
    Time & Place to be determined (80 min) by Bruce Baguley, Cascade Math
    In this hands-on workshop, explore patterns and see number theory concepts such as greatest common divisor and least common multiple with manipulatives. Using visual representations derived from the manipulatives, develop a proof of the unique prime factorization theorem, aka the fundamental theorem of arithmetic. Observe several applications, such as reducing fractions, the irrationality of the square root of 2, and a visual way of finding the formula for the number and sum of the divisors of a natural number. Leave with blackline masters and PowerPoint presentations used in the workshop.

  11. Number Theory using Manipulatives Grades: 10-College
    Time & Place to be determined (80 min) by Bruce Baguley, Cascade Math
    Show Number Theory concepts and theorems usings manipulatives and pictures. In this hands-on workshop, explore the Euclidean Algorithm and its relationship to continued fractions, solving linear Diophantine equations, and the Chinese Remainder Theorem. See concrete representations of these problems which allow them to be solved without resorting to symbols but which indicate why the usual symbol manipulation works. Leave with blackline masters and PDF files of handouts used in the workshop.

  12. Integrating Math and Technology through Microsoft Office Applications Grades: 6-College
    Time & Place to be determined (40 min) by Gloria Peifer, Mount Carmel Academy and Suzette Surbeck
    Don't reinvent the wheel. In this session you will be given teacher created lesson plans you can begin using in your math classes today. These lesson plans teach core curriculum topics like quadratic equations, slope, solving equations with variables on both sides, and many more. They also utilize software that most schools have on site already. You will be shown ready made PowerPoint Presentations, interactive Excel spreadsheets, and tips for using Word's equation editor.

Physics (chronologically}
  1. Physics Simulations available on the Internet Grades: 8-12
    Time and Place to be Determined by Kathy Morden, Episcopal HS
    A variety of simulations, demonstrations and teaching resources from the Internet will be shown and discussed in Physics, Physical Science and Chemistry. A CD containing a list of simulations and demos, as well as worksheets used in the classroom, will be provided to all who attend and bring a blank CD.

  2. The use of the Castle kit and curriculum to demonstrate electrical concepts Grades: 8-12
    Time and Place to be Determined by Kathy Morden, Episcopal HS
    CASTLE (Capacitor-Aided System for Teaching and Learning Electricity) is a hands-on curriculum for teaching the concepts of electricity to middle and high school students. A demonstration of our "scavenged boxes", several examples of the self-guided experiments, and class participation demonstrations will be shown and discussed. This is a hands-on session. Parts and source list will be provided.

  3. A Modeling Approach to Physics Instruction Grades: 8-12
    Time and Place to be determined (40 minutes) by Robert Warzeski, St. Martins Episcopal
    What is Modeling Physics Instruction, where did it come from, and how well does it work? Come see. Modeling Physics Instruction is an interactive engagement method now used to teach science at levels from middle school to universities. It is student-centered, but relies on Socratic guidance from the instructor, informed by research-based taxonomies of naïve misconceptions. In mechanics, each unit proceeds through a Modeling Cycle (originally based on Karplus’ Learning Cycle) to produce Models for how particles behave under constant velocity, constant acceleration, constant linear force, etc. Students learn to describe each type of behavior using multiple representations. Pre- and post-test FCI scores show a marked improvement in conceptual understanding of Newtonian physics when compared with traditional instruction, without taking away from traditional measures of physics knowledge such as problem-solving ability.

  4. A Modeling Physics Laboratory Grades: 8-12
    Time and Place to be determined (80 minutes) by Robert Warzeski, St. Martins Episcopal
    Participants will go through a Modeling physics lab to develop a model for motion under constant acceleration, completing part of Stage I of the modeling cycle using computers with PASCO interfaces and probeware. Participants will take on the role of students in an introductory physics course, alternating with "teacher mode" in which the socratic dialogue, common naive conceptions, and semantic issues will be examined. Handouts, worksheets and quizzes covering this portion of a Modeling Physics course will be provided. Bring a camera, as lab results will be presented on whiteboards by several of the lab groups.


Pre-Calculus (chronologically)
  1. The First Optimization Problem Since Antiquity? Grades: 9-12
    Time & Place to be determined (40 min) by Ira Nirenberg, Consultant
    How about a practical use for the Inverse Tangent function? This is a great hands-on activity that can be used by algebra 1 teachers or pre-calculus teachers. Take this activity as little or as far as you like and along the way see some nice geometry being done. Bring back a great worksheet to use with your students.


Science (chronologically)
  1. Forensics and TI Data Collection Grades: 6-12
    Time & Place to be determined (80 min) by Ellen Johnston, Texas Instruments
    Come experience some interesting forensics activities using the new Easy Temp and Easy Link with TI-84 Plus Graphing calucaltors and TI Navigator. Every participant will receive Forensics: Connecting Science Investigations with TI Data Collection Activitie Exploration series book.

  2. MYNASADATA Unit for Earth Science Teachers Grades: 6-12
    Time & Place to be determined (80 min) by Janell Simpson, Patrick Taylor Science & Technology School
    This series of lessons is designed to answer the question “How can we use data from NASA satellites to pinpoint a geographic location?” Students participate in a problem-based unit to investigate the relationships among three data sets on the MY NASA DATA web site. Students create products that discuss the relationship of surface irradiance to season and surface temperature. They also compare total column ozone levels recorded at different latitudes.