Secondary Mathematics Students Attend the NCTM Regional Conference

NINE students from our Technology in the Mathematics Classroom course attended the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Regional Conference in Atlantic City October 22-23, 2015. Students were able to attend a variety of professional development sessions that will help them in their development as classroom teachers, including sessions on how to effectively incorporate technology in the classroom. Conference attendance is an excellent opportunity for our students to hear from current classroom teachers on activities and strategies that they are using with their own 7-12 math students.

Shenandoah Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics Conference

Curtis Lamp, a sophomore math major, presented the talk "Atherosclerosis and Social Influences" recently at the Shenandoah Undergraduates Mathematics and Statistics Conference at James Madison University.  This presentation was based on his undergraduate research project with Dr. Luis Melara.

The End of an Era

After 36.5 years of service to Shippensburg's Mathematics Department, Pam McLaughlin has retired. Thank you, Pam, for all that you did for all of the faculty and students at Ship for the past three-plus decades! We wish you all the best in retirement!

Pennsylvania College of Teachers of Mathematics (PCTM)

The following Mathematics Education faculty and students attended the the PCTM annual meeting held in Lancaster, PA in August.

• Dr. Tom Evitts presented the workshop "Problems that Promote Collaborative Persistence".
• Dr. Dave Kennedy presented the workshop "Rich Tasks:  A Key to the Common Core".
• Seniors Emily Owens and Matt Christmas attended the conference's Preservice Teacher Day.

Alumni Receive Teaching Positions

Congratulations to the following alumni on their new mathematics teaching positions! 

• Andrew Campbell (‘15) Red Land HS, Lewisberry PA
•  Mary (Long) Finnemeyer (‘15) Richmond County HS, NC
• Logan Kauffman (‘15): Crestwood Middle School in Chesapeake, VA
• Sean Sallee (’14) Daniel Morgan MS, Wincester VA
• Lindsey Schadler (‘15) Eagle Ridge Middle School in Ashburn, VA
• Nathan Kester (’14) Tamaqua HS, math support teacher, Tamaqua PA
• Christine Rice (’13): South Hagerstown High School, Hagerstown MD
• Smantha Smeltzer (‘15): Mace's Lane Middle School in Cambridge, MD

Math Circle Mentorship and Partnership (MC-MAP)

Dr. Lance Bryant and Dr. Sarah Bryant were accepted into the Math Circle Mentorship and Partnership program (MC-MAP) sponsored by the National Association of Math Circles. They will be working with other math circle leaders to plan, implement, and sustain math circle programs. They will also receive funding for the Shippensburg Area Math Circle (SAMC), which Lance and Sarah started in 2014 for 4th and 5th grade students.

Academic Innovation Grants Awarded

This summer, two groups of faculty worked on developing a new data science concentration and on redesigning curriculum for our algebra through calculus sequence.  The following projects were approved and funded through the Provost's office:

• Dr. Lance Bryant, Dr. Doug Ensley, and Dr. Kate McGivney received a New Academic Program Development Grant for their proposal Data science minor and mathematics with statistics concentration.  
• Dr. Ben Galluzzo, Dr. James Hamblin, Dr. Luis Melar, Dr. Kim Presser, Dr. Marc Renault received an Academic Innovation Award for their proposal, Supporting student success in the algebra-calculus sequence.

Dr. Kim Presser Receives the TIPS Award

Shippensburg University's Center for Faculty Excellence in Scholarship and Teaching (CFEST), selected Dr. Kim Presser as a recipient of the 2014-2015 Teaching Innovation and Pedagogy Spotlight (TIPS) award for her work in MAT211 - Calculus I.  The award recognizes her work with the section of MAT211 reserved for math majors.  Of particular note were her writing assignments, participation activities, use of technology, and general mentorship for that group.  She was recognized by the Provost at the August General Faculty meeting where she received a certificate and a $500 professional development travel grant. Kudos, Kim!

Professional Development Workshop for Teachers

Teachers from the Greencastle-Antrim Middle School participated in a professional development workshop facilitated by Dr. Debbie Gochenaur on Friday, August 7, 2015 - Using Concrete Materials and Rich Tasks to Implement the PA CCSS: Algebraic Concepts, Functions, Function Building and Graphing. The workshop focused on integrating concrete materials into algebra lessons in order to help students develop a firm conceptual foundation of basic algebra concepts; by scaffolding on prior knowledge and the use of manipulatives, activities allow students to wrestle with rich tasks that require deeper thought and application through modeling. 

2015 Mathematical Association of America MathFest

Several faculty members attended and presented at the 2015 MAA Mathfest meeting held in Washington, D.C. This year marked the Centennial celebration for the MAA so it was an extra festive meeting. Here are the highlights of our faculty contributions.

• Dr. Doug Ensley presented "Assessing the Effects of Interactive Technology on Concept Retention in Precalculus” in the Contributed Paper Session, The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Collegiate Mathematics. At that same meeting, he also co-organized PosterFest 2015, a networking event for Early Career Mathematicians, and he was a discussant for the professional development panel session, Finding Your Niche: Staying Fresh.
• Dr. Ben Galluzzo was a panelist for the session, Nonacademic Career Paths for Mathematicians. In addition, he co-organized the session, Classroom Activities and Projects within the Context of Environmental Sustainability and co-organized the workshop, USE Math:  Undergraduate Sustainability Experiences in the Mathematics Classroom. Finally, he presented "Day One Modeling Discussions" in the Contributed Paper Session, Using Modeling for Teaching Differential Equations: Before, During, After.
• Dr. Ji Young Choi presented "Jacobstal Sequence in the Ternary Represented Modified Collatz Sequences"  in the Contributed Paper Session, Number Theory and Logic or Foundations.
• Dr. James Hamblin and Dr. Lance Bryant presented "Counting Loops and Paths: The Monoid of a Directed Graph" in the Contributed Paper Session, Graph Theory.
• Dr. Marc Renault presented "The Periods of Fibonacci Sequences mod m" in the Contributed Paper Session, Number Theory and Logic or Foundations.

Cumberland Valley ESTEEM

Cumberland Valley ESTEEM, Cumberland Valley Exploring Science, Technology, Engineering, Earth Science and Mathematics, an event for 7^th grade female students interested in STEM careers was held on Friday, May 15, 2015. The purpose of this free day-long event for seventh grade girls and their teachers is to encourage young women to pursue careers in scientific, technological, engineering and mathematical fields, per Debbie Gochenaur the event Program Director. Almost 250 girls with over two dozen teachers and parents from seven area middle schools participated in the event. A big thank you goes out to the 70 volunteers, without whom the event would not be possible. ESTEEM gratefully thanks Gannett-Fleming, Carey Custom Tees, and Dignitas Remodeling for their gracious financial support of the event.