2021 Spring Conference, April 24, 2021
Due the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic, the 2021 Spring Conference was not held in South Lake Tahoe, instead it was a remote conference.
Morning Keynote Speaker: Dr. Marion Campisi
Analysis of Partisan Gerrymandering Tools Following the US 2020 Census
Over the last decades, mapmakers have precisely gerrymandered political districts for the benefit of their party. In response, political scientists and mathematicians have extensively investigated tools to quantify and understand the mathe matical structure of redistricting problems. Two primary tools for determining whether a particular redistricting plan is fair are partisan-gerrymandering metrics and stochastic sampling algorithms. In this talk I will describe some of the pressing mathematical and judicial issues that must be addressed before the redistricting that will follow the 2020 census, in order to facilitate a fair outcome. In particular, I will describe the strengths and weaknesses of current gerrymandering metrics and propose ways in which they can be strengthened.
Marion Campisi is an Assistant Professor at San Jose State University, with interests in low dimensional topology and math education. Following a desire to use her specialized skills to further social good, she has begun to study the mathematical analysis of districting plans and the detection of partisan gerrymandering.
Afternoon Keynote Speaker: Dr. Elena Fuchs
Apollonius to Apollo 17 - A Journey Through Mathematical Time
What does Ancient Greece have to do with modern day computing? In this talk, I will start out with an ancient geometric construction of Apollonius of Perga from circa 300BC and work my way up to quantum computers of the future. We will explore number theory and see many beautiful pictures along the way.
Elena Fuchs is an Associate Professor in mathematics at UC Davis. She received her BA in math from UC Berkeley in 2005, and her PhD in math from Princeton in 2010. She spent time at IAS, UC Berkeley, and UI Urbana-Champaign before moving to her dream job at UCD in 2016.
Schedule Saturday April 24
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9:00 - 9:30 am
Speaker 9:00 - 9:30 am Workshop: Dr. Becky Moening
Teaching with Adaptive LearningTeaching offers a variety of challenges. Adaptive learning doesn't have to be one of them! Learn how to incorporate adaptive learning in your course to best serve your students while helping you deliver quality educational materials. Join Dr. Becky Moening as she discusses tips and tricks she'’s learned while teaching with adaptive learning in her online mathematics course.
Let's talk about:
- The impact on student success with adaptive learning
- Specialized technology designed for adaptive learning
- Best practices for adaptive learning implementation
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9:30 - 10:00 am
Speaker 9:30 - 10:00 am Workshop: Devlin Daley
Turbocharge Your Math Class in CanvasThe abrupt transition to remote learning last Spring brought a unique set of challenges for math educators. Faculty are now faced with how to effectively teach math classes in a combination of in-class, hybrid, and online modalities. Derivita provides the flexibility that faculty need to create student-centered learning experiences with powerful tools that work in any LMS anytime, anywhere, on any device.
In this session, Derivita’s cofounder, Devlin Daley, will preview Derivita's latest capabilities including: Assignment Assembly for creating homework, quizzes, and exams, Show Work for capturing handwritten student work, and Spotcheck , a synchronous, online tool that encourages real-time student engagement and class participation.
Join us for a chance to win a Derivita t-shirt, picnic blanket, or other prizes!
Created by the cofounder of Canvas , Derivita is a first of its kind math platform with a proprietary computer algebra system. Built for educators, Derivita provides a library of 30,000+ questions from Algebra to Calculus III. Student submissions are entirely auto-graded and students are provided with immediate, targetted feedback. Derivita can be used with any textbook and can be accessed on any device — laptops, tablets, Chromebooks, and even smartphones.
Social Media Handles:
- Twitter: @Derivita, @devlindaley
- Facebook: @DerivitaSTEM, www.facebook.com/DerivitaSTEM/
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10:00 - 10:10 am
To be announced.
- 10:10 - 11:10 am
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11:15 am - 12:00 pm
Speaker 11:15 am - 12:00 pm Workshop: Jessica Bernards and Wendy Fresh
Math in an Instant Feedback WorldFitbit, Apple Watch, and MyFitnessPal - what do these popular fitness platforms have in common? They provide instant feedback, are simple to use, and contain a gamification component. This presentation covers how to successfully motivate and engage students in your course through active learning using these features that have turned the fitness device industry into a booming market. Participants will walk away with effective strategies and activities for immediate implementation into the math classroom both in-person and remotely. This includes best practices for Jamboard, Desmos Activity Builder, Kahoot!, Math Mazes and so much more.
Jessica Bernards has been teaching mathematics since 2005 and Wendy since 1992. Both began their careers at the high school level before transitioning to the college level. Jessica and Wendy have taught a wide range of classes from developmental math through calculus, both on campus, remote, hybrid and online. Additionally, they have developed a free Math Study Skills Program, which is now used across the nation. They are also authors for Pearson Education.
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12:00 - 12:30 pm
The macaroni salad served at the spring conference has been a favorite of many attendees. The recipe for it is a variation of one that can be found in the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Cookbook.
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12:30 - 12:45 pm
- 12:45 - 1:45 pm
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1:45 - 2:00 pm
Future CMC3 Conferences
Information about future conferences is available.