[RUME] RUME conference Working Group information

[Natasha Speer]

Are you interested in participating in a Working Group at the RUME  
conference? Working Groups provide opportunities for researchers to  
have extended discussions about their projects and interests. They  
will meet on Thursday, Feb. 25th, prior to the official start of the  
RUME conference. See below for descriptions of the three Working  
Groups that will meet as well as information about participating.

Working Group on Proof Presentation

Organizers: Yvonne Lai, University of Michigan (yxl at umich.edu) and Tim  
Fukawa-Connelly, University of New Hampshire (tim.fc at unh.edu)

This working group gathers interested mathematicians and young  
researchers in math education to discuss proof presentation. Proof and  
reasoning are fundamental parts of advanced undergraduate mathematics,  
as well as mathematics in general; and students encounter difficulty  
with proof and reasoning at all stages. Although much has been written  
on proof, much of the literature focuses on perceptions of proof and  
evaluation of proof, that is, how students view and validate proof.  
There exists comparatively less research on comprehension of proof and  
presentation of proof, and the relationship between comprehension and  
presentation.

As part of group activities, we will survey major results on proof in  
the past 30 years. This literature review serves as a motivation for  
the focal working group questions:

1a) What processes do mathematicians engage in when they present oral  
proof?

1b) What processes do mathematicians engage in when they present  
written proof?

  2a) What are the ways in which a written proof or line of reasoning  
influences a student's presentation of proofs and reasoning for  
related mathematical tasks?

2b) What are the ways in which an oral presentation of proof or line  
of reasoning influences a student's presentation of proofs and  
reasoning for related mathematical tasks?

In the background of these questions are two central issues of  
undergraduate mathematics education research: how instructors and  
students understand and use mathematical reasoning, and ramifications  
of findings on improving instruction on proof and reasoning. An  
implicit motivation for the questions is the assumption that  
presentation and usage of proof or reasoning by its audience are  
related. One of the goals of the working group is to design empirical  
studies that describe whether or not presentation and production are  
related, and -- whatever the relationship -- examine the consequences  
of findings on the teaching and learning of proof.

In the time frame that the working group will have, research of course  
cannot be completed. Nonetheless, critical ideas for research can be  
sparked, held, evaluated, and revised. If the working group meets its  
goals, participants will enter the first day of RUME 2010 with  
outlines of experimental designs, potential new collaborators, plans  
of cross-campus collaboration and data-sharing, and focused questions  
to ask of the many RUME conference participants.

  For more information, including directions for how to participate,  
see:

  http://www-personal.umich.edu/~yxl/RUME2010/ or

http://euclid.unh.edu/~tim.fc/Proof/

------------------------------------

Working Group on Infinity and Limits in Undergraduate Mathematical  
Learning

Organizers:  Rob Ely, University of Idaho (ely at uidaho.edu), Timothy  
Boester, Wright State University, Aaron Weinberg, Ithaca College

The purpose of this group is to establish a program for future  
research about how undergraduate students learn about three  
interrelated sub-domains of mathematical infinity: (a) infinite  
processes (including series and sequences), (b) infinite sets, and (c)  
limits of real-valued functions.  In particular, although research has  
substantially charted out misconceptions and obstacles in these three  
sub-domains, there is still great need for the coherent development of  
learning trajectories and the organization of the key developmental  
understandings that comprise learning in these sub-domains.  Although  
this is our specific aim, we wish to facilitate a productive  
discussion about the areas of inquiry about infinity and limits that  
the participants deem to be most promising, with the goal of launching  
collaborative studies and publications based on the vision of the  
participants.

For more information about the group and/or directions for  
participating, contact Rob Ely (ely at uidaho.edu)

------------------------------------
Working Group for Research About Novice Teachers of College Mathematics

Organizers: Natasha Speer, University of Maine (speer at math.umaine,edu)  
and Teri Jo Murphy, Northern Kentucky University (murphytj1 at nku.edu)

The professional development of graduate students and beginning  
faculty as teachers has become an increasingly visible topic in the  
mathematics community over the past two decades. This group provides  
opportunities for people who conduct research in this area to discuss  
their work, receive constructive feedback on their ideas, and network  
with other researchers. We will use our meeting time as an opportunity  
for participants in the group to present their research and discuss it  
with other participants. You do not need to present anything in order  
to participate – anyone who wishes to take part in the discussions is  
welcome to attend. If you do wish to share your research, it can be at  
any stage of development. Here are some examples:

a. You have some preliminary ideas for a project and would like an  
opportunity to talk about your thoughts and receive suggestions about  
relevant research literature.

b. You have a research question and you would like to brainstorm ideas  
for data collection methods.

  c. You have written some interview questions (or have other data  
collection instruments) and would like to talk about them to help  
ensure that they are well-connected with your research questions.


  d. You have gathered your data and you would like some feedback on  
the preliminary analysis you have conducted.


  e. You have completed a project and would like to discuss possible  
audiences and venues for publication.


If you are interested in participating in the discussions or would  
like to be considered for a slot of time during the meeting to share  
your work, send an email to both of the organizers by January 15th.  
For people who are interested in presenting during the meeting, please  
include the following in your message:

1. Topic (or title) of your research project.

2. A short description of the project, including information about  
what “stage” the project is in (planning, data collection, data  
analysis, reporting).

  3. A short description of how you would like to spend your slot of  
time during the meeting.


  4. A short discussion of what you would like to get out of the  
meeting. The amount of time each person will have for the discussion  
of their work will be determined once we have received all the  
requests but we expect it to be about 30 minutes.

  
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