Project NExT-SE (New Experiences in Teaching) is the Southeastern MAA Section’s version of the national program for new and recent PhDs. in mathematical sciences interested in improving the learning and teaching of undergraduate mathematics. All national and section Project NExT fellows are invited to attend! Visit our Section NExT-SE page for information about becoming a Section NExT fellow.
2024 Meeting Agenda
Our next meeting for the Section NExT-SE Fellows will be held during the MAA-SE Section Meeting at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, March 14-16. At this workshop, participants will discuss topics of special relevance to beginning faculty. This year, our workshop schedule is as follows (all times are EST):
Thursday
2:30 – 4:30 pm – Networking and Roundtable Discussion
Topics: UG Research, Alternative Assessments: Mastery-Based Grading, Professional Development, Reflective Writing, Math Outreach
Friday
8:00-8:30 AM – Networking and Refreshments
8:30-9:20 AM – Mike Pinter, Belmont University
9:30 – 10:20 AM – Christian Millichap, Furman University
10:30 – 11:20 AM – “Impact of AI on your Classroom” Panel
Presenter: Mike Pinter, Belmont University
Title: Telling Stories to Humanize Our Courses
Abstract: I have become intentional in weaving stories into the flow of courses that I teach for various student audiences – general education, Honors Program, and majors/minors in upper-level mathematics courses. I divide the stories into three broad categories: personal stories from my life experience with learning and academics; historical and contemporary stories about real people or fictional characters with an aspect relevant to the course; anonymized stories about individual or groups of students from my courses over the years. In short, telling stories in any of our courses can invite our students into a more fully human learning experience.
Presenter: Christian Millichap, Furman University
Title: Cryptological adventures in undergraduate mathematics courses of many shapes and sizes
Abstract: Cryptology, the making and breaking of codes and ciphers, is a fascinating interdisciplinary topic that overlaps with several areas of undergraduate mathematics. Elementary statistics and probability are essential tools for breaking classical ciphers, encryption systems have been developed using matrices, number theory played a foundational role in the development of public-key cryptography in the 1970s, Polish mathematicians in the 1930s exploited properties of permutation groups to first break the German Enigma cipher machine, and many other connections to the undergraduate mathematics curriculum exist. Furthermore, cryptology is a subject with a rich historical context and where ethical questions of privacy and surveillance naturally arise in relation to modern encryption. Thus, this is a topic ripe for engaging not only mathematics majors, but students in general education mathematics courses looking to dive into mathematical topics related to their disciplines. In this talk, the speaker will share his experiences teaching and designing a variety of cryptology courses for undergraduates, which include a mathematical cryptology course for majors, a general education cryptology course, a study away course largely focused on historical cryptology through World War II, and an interdisciplinary cryptology and linguistics course co-taught with a Classics professor. Lessons learned will be shared, along with teaching resources and opportunities for students and faculty to engage in cryptology events and communities beyond the classroom.
Panel: “Impact of AI in your Classroom”
Panelists: Paul Wiegand, Winthrop University; Andy Miller, Belmont University
Contact Brad Schleben (brad.schleben@belmont.edu), Deidra Coleman (colemanda@wofford.edu), or Jessie Hamm (hammj@winthrop.edu) for more information.