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 via M.I.T.’s OpenCourseWare. An example of a good black-board lecture that includes proofs is Lecture 17 of Intro to Algorithms, with Erik Demaine.
- The Isaac Newton Institute has web seminars online. Good black-board work is illustrated by Alan Sokal’s lecture, in which he gives an introduction to statistical mechanics for mathematicians (particularly combinatorialists). See, in particular, the first 10-15 minutes of the talk. Minutes 11-12:30 illustrate building understanding of a definition by writing it nonlinearly.
- Vi Hart’s videos about doodling in math class These unconventional but engaging (non)lectures could spark a discussion about how to design an engaging math presentation. What strategies does Vi use to engage the audience? Which of these strategies could be used in more formal presentations?
- “3Blue1Brown is a YouTube channel about animating math. Checkout the “Recommended” playlist for some thought-provoking one-off topics, and take a look at the “Essence of linear algebra” for some more student-focussed material.” See, for example, the short video on “Understanding e to the pi i.”
