Link to "Official" Course Description
Link to UW Time Schedule
This Math 497 course will be devoted to the topic of "number", exploring ways of writing and talking about numbers, special kinds of numbers, interesting facts about numbers, stories from history, counting problems, and extensions of the concept of number from counting numbers and rational to irrational numbers and then to complex numbers and infinite numbers.
Why is this a Topics course designated especially for Teachers?
The course is open to all, but it is appropriate for teachers in several ways. A considerable amount of the course content can be adapted to the school mathematics classroom, either in the mainstream of school courses are as enrichment. Since there are a number of assignments allow a choice of topic, teachers can choose topics that seem relevant to the level of their classrooms. Lastly, any teacher will have the prerequisite background for the course, and as a person interested in math, should find stimulating and accessible mathematics.
The text is divided into ten chapters. The plan for organizing the ten weeks of the course is to choose significant examples or topics from a new chapter each week. It will not be possible to "cover" the entire book exhaustively, but the classes will pull interesting topics from each chapter, or as many chapters as possible.
Much of each class time will be devoted to developing insight and solving problems by small group experiments and discovery activity. There will be explanations and demonstrations as well. Between classes, students will be expected to do reading and problem assignments. The beginning of each class will be devoted to tying up loose ends from the assignments.
Assignments will be of two kinds.
Weekly Assignments (on paper, etc.): Reading, problem solving, explaining, building models will match up with the week's work in class.
Weekly Web Questions (submitted on the web or by email): Some shorter problems, reports, etc., will be submitted on the web.
Math Maven Assignments: Three times during the quarter, each student will be asked to dig deeper into a topic that interests her/him and write up a report. The last one will be a bit longer. It will be possible to use computer or calculator investigations as part of this work. Some library research may be needed also.
Grades, prerequisites and workload
Grades will be based on the assignments, active class participation (which means regular attendance is mandatory), and grades on several quizzes or take-home tests. There will be a final assignment in lieu of a final exam.
There are no formal prerequisites beyond school mathematics and a willingness to think about mathematics and stretch problem-solving and reasoning skills.
The workload for the course should be normal for a 3 credit 400-level course, about 9 6 or 7 hours outside of class on average. This course will be an informal, somewhat customizable course that should be very enjoyable for anyone who likes math. On the other hand, this is not a workshop; the homework outside of class is required.
Technology, web and email access
First of all, since this class only meets once a week, there will be important communications from the students to the instructor and vice-versa that will require the use of email and the Web. All students should have UW email and Web access (this is provided by the UW, but can be accessed from home or a public library).
Second, there will be some numerical and graphical experiments that will benefit from calculators and computers. There will be some class exercises and demonstrations using these tools, but some of the assignments will require some calculations as well.