Washington College Mathematics Conference

2018 Washington College Mathematics Conference

May 17–19, 2018
Yakima Convention Center, Yakima
hosted by Edmonds Community College

Conference Overview

Thursday, May 17

 5:00 p.m.  check-in begins
 5:30 p.m.  department chairs meeting
 7:30 p.m.  Opening Session (Luke Rawlings, featured speaker)
 9:00 p.m.  social time

Friday, May 18

 7:00 a.m.  Breakfast
 8:50 a.m.  Sessions I, II, III
12:00 p.m.  Lunch
 1:30 p.m.  Sessions IV, V
 3:30 p.m.  social time + WAMATYC business meeting
 6:15 p.m.  Dinner (James Tanton, featured speaker)
 8:15 p.m.  social activities

Saturday, May 19

 7:30 a.m.  Breakfast
 9:30 a.m.  Sessions VI, VII
11:30 a.m.  conference concludes

WAMAP Resources

For electronic access to session handouts and links (and more!), enroll in WAMAP course 14626 (no enrollment key required). If you are not already a WAMAP user, you can create a free student account or request a free instructor account. Alternatively, you can access some of the WAMAP material without logging in by following the links below.

Speakers

Friday evening

James Tanton Our Friday-evening keynote speaker, Dr. James Tanton, is an ambassador for the Mathematical Association of America currently serving as their mathematician-at-large. He has taught mathematics at both university and high-school institutions, works with students of all ages and backgrounds to experience the wonder of mathematics, has authored many books about math puzzles and problem-solving, and co-founded the Global Mathematics Project. See his sites at jamestanton.com and gdaymath.com for more information, and check out theglobalmathproject.org to see how more than 1,000,000 students from over 100 countries explored Tanton’s world-famous “Exploding Dots” during Global Math Week in October 2017.

Thursday evening

Luke Rawlings Our opening-night speaker, Dr. Luke Rawlings, was born and raised in Memphis, where he earned a B.S. in Mathematics at Christian Brothers University. After years of training as a competitive gymnast, he moved to New York City to become a performer on Broadway. Following a successful theater career, Luke earned a masters in pure mathematics at the City College of New York and then an Ed.D. in Mathematics Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. Throughout all of these experiences, he has designed tessellations inspired by the art of M.C. Escher. Luke has taught at Bellevue College since 2016.

WAMATYC Invited Speaker

Olga Shatunova Olga Shatunova, a lecturer in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences at the University of Washington Tacoma campus, has focused her studies on discrete mathematics with an emphasis on diagram completeness of deterministic finite automata. In her teaching, she incorporates her own diverse cultural background and life experience. She was born and educated in Russia and has taught mathematics in Moscow at the University for Engineers of Metallurgy and Aviation Institute and in Washington at several community colleges. She has worked, taught and developed curriculum in Russia, France, Germany and the United States.

Presentations

Opening Session — Thursday 7:30–9:00 p.m.

Finding Patterns: Art and Math
Luke Rawlings • Bellevue College

Session I — Friday 8:50 –9:40 a.m.

Pre-college Mathematics Reform: A Status Update
John Mitchell • Clark College

Accessibility in WAMAP
David Lippman • Pierce College Ft. Steilacoom

Flippin’ Statistics
Tyler Wallace • Big Bend Community College

A Short History of Mathematical Notation and Symbols
Rajesh Lal • Pierce College

Game On! Using Play to Engage Students in Pre-college Courses
Leslie Glen • Whatcom Community College

Session II — Friday 9:55 –10:45 a.m.

Continuity and Context in Statistics
Allen Mauney • South Puget Sound Community College

Math in Motion: A Learning Community Integrating Physics and Calculus!
Jonathan Ursin & Danielle Mallare-Dani • Seattle Central College

The High School Math Assessment and Bridge to College Math
Megan Luce • Cascadia College | Bill Moore • SBCTC

The Mathematics of Musical Tuning and Temperament
Eric Mack • North Idaho College

Liven Up Your Class With Kahoot!
Pam Lippert & Deanna Li • North Seattle College

Session III — Friday 11:00 –11:50 a.m.

WAMATYC Invited Session in Mathematics
The Algebra of Technology
Olga Shatunova • University of Washington Tacoma

Implementing Math Pathways: Bringing Departments Together Through Professional Development
Alys Hugo & Mike Story • Everett Community College

Vorticity in Basic Multivariable Calculus
Yves Nievergelt • Eastern Washington University

Get Your Students Involved, Thinking, and Talking Math
Nancy Marx • Edmonds Community College

Dollar Street: A New Kind of Data With Many Possibilities
Rejoice Mudzimiri & Robin Angotti • University of Washington Bothell

Session IV — Friday 1:30 –2:20 p.m.

Graphing Without a Calculator
William Webber • Whatcom Community College

The Transfer-Student Experience: Smoothing the Transition
Erik Tou, Haley Skipper, Brian Heaven & Shubha Rajopadhye • University of Washington Tacoma

Back to Basics: Outcomes From Redesigning Basic Math Course Sequences
Ryan Orr & Rebecca Luttrell • Columbia Basin College

An Accelerated Math Literacy Pathway via I-BEST
Christopher Cary • Spokane Falls Community College

Puzzle Morsels
Murali Krishna • Clark College

Session V — Friday 2:35 –3:25 p.m.

A Collaborative Journey: Virtual Manipulatives for Mathematics
Frank Marfai • Phoenix College | William Meacham • Scottsdale Community College

Transitioning Learners to Calculus: Self-Assessing Your Program
Helen Burn • Highline College

Introducing Precalculus Students to STEM Careers
Tiffany Ledford & Gabrielle McIntosh • Edmonds Community College

Educational Data Mining: A Study of Usage Patterns in a Quantitative Tutoring Center
Robin Angotti, Tyler Shea & Abram Girgis • University of Washington Bothell

Undergraduate Research Projects Woven Into Remedial Math Curriculum
Michal Ramos • Yakima Valley College

Play More Games!
Mike Kenyon • Green River College

Keynote Address — Friday 7:15 –8:15 p.m.

Exploding Dots: The Mathematical Phenomenon That Is Sweeping the Globe
James Tanton • Mathematical Association of America

Session VI — Saturday 9:30 –10:20 a.m.

Math Pathways: What’s Working, What’s Not
Bill Moore • SBCTC | Helen Burn • Highline College
Barbara Alvin • Eastern Washington University

Calculus Fun Facts
Jeff Eldridge • Edmonds Community College

Artistic Math Using 3D Printing
Lee Singleton • Whatcom Community College

Card Flipping: A Mathematical Solitaire Game
Matthew Meerdink • Highline College

Integrating Pre-college Math With Science
Rheannin Becke • Clark College

Session VII — Saturday 10:40 –11:30 a.m.

More Exploding Dots: Weird and Wild Fun
James Tanton • Mathematical Association of America

Getting Started With Desmos and Blender
Salah Abed • Big Bend Community College

Co-requisites: A Roundtable Discussion
Facilitator: David Lippman • Pierce College Ft. Steilacoom

Gray Codes: An Unusual Application to Trigonometry
Richard Plagge • Highline (emeritus) & Pierce Colleges
Olga Shatunova • University of Washington Tacoma

Idea Café: Course Redesign
Facilitator: Luke Rawlings • Bellevue College