A list of links to resources for (ams-)LaTeX
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This simple form guides students to critique each other’s presentations as well as to jot notes for themselves about strategies to use and pitfalls to avoid when they give their own presentations. Because this form is simple it’s easy for students to use, but some guidance and encouragement may be needed from the instructor for students to go beyond the basic “It was good.”
Read more →This one-page note raises questions about how to comment effectively on student writing. The note describes various issues to consider when writing comments, such as the focus of the comment (the paper vs the student), whether the comment indicates problems or solutions, whether the comment describes the form of the writing or the effect of the writing, the level of detail of the comment, the quantity of comments, and whether some comments are given greater emphasis than others. Based in part on an article by Kerry Walk.
Read more →This presentation rubric for an undergraduate research talk in mathematics describes basic expectations, characteristics of a good talk, and characteristics of an excellent talk.
Read more →The language of mathematics can throw up barriers to broad dissemination of information about mathematics. Mathematical statements are supposed to be precise, devoid of the ambiguities of ordinary speech. The language is unusually dense and relies heavily on a specialized vocabulary. The meaning and position of every word and symbol make a difference. Mathematician William Thurston once expressed the difference between reading mathematics and reading other subject matter in this way: “Mathematicians attach meaning to the exact phrasing of a sentence, much more than is conventional. The meanings of words are more precisely delimited. When I read articles or listen to speeches
Read more →Before the (spring 2010) term started, I talked with some alumni about their experiences in the undergraduate seminar classes at M.I.T., and they suggested that I add more structure to my class (Seminar in Number Theory) than just student talks. In particular, some of the alumni felt that they only managed to establish a solid grasp of the subjects of their own talks, and that some kind of exercises after each talk might help solidify things. I think the format I chose has some room for improvement, but the students did seem to be on top of all of the
Read more →The following presentations can be used as a basis for discussion about good presentation technique: Videos are available from some conferences, including the 2006 International Congress of Mathematicians. An example of a good slide talk is Oded Schramm’s Random, Conformally Invariant Scaling Limits in 2 Dimensions from the 11th session. Steven Strogatz gave a series of three Simons Lectures at M.I.T. in the spring of 2011. Coupled oscillators that synchronize themselves Social networks that balance themselves Blogging about math for the New York Times [This presentation is about writing math for a general audience.] Many undergraduate math lectures are available
Read more →Most of this site is about “learning to communicate” math; this page is about “communicating to learn” math. In other words, students can improve their understanding of math by communicating about it. The following resources describe or illustrate how giving presentations or talking about math can help students to learn math. There’s another page about writing to learn math. Many of these resources advocate group work. Information about teaching teamwork (including forming teams, teaching teamwork strategies, and grading teamwork) is available on the page about teaching informal communication. Many of the following resources were found by undergraduate researcher Noor Doukmak.
Read more →Student conferences and other presentation opportunities The MAA lists various opportunities for students on their student webpage, including the undergraduate student poster session at the annual Joint Mathematics Meetings. A list of upcoming undergraduate conferences supported by the MAA is available here. Pi Mu Epsilon hosts a student conference in conjunction with MAA’s summer MathFest. Funding is available. The National Association of Mathematicians (NAM) hosts a student conference. Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Mathematics Conference There may be opportunities at your institution for students to present about math or gain experience teaching math. The math department may hire math tutors, and tutors may
Read more →Feedback can come from instructors and from peers. Advantages of Peer Critique of Presentations When presenters hear the same feedback from more than one student, they’re likely to pay attention to the feedback. Students learn from seeing their peers present and reflecting on what works and what doesn’t Students become more active listeners if they need to give feedback If students put their names on the feedback forms and you collect the forms, you can use them as a record of attendance. Steven Kleiman of M.I.T. reports on his experience with peer critiques here. Guiding Peer Critique Students rarely give
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