2007 Program

2007 Abstracts

2007 Sharing Sessions

2007 Schedule
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2008 Registration Form

Siham Alfred – Raritan Valley Community College
salfred@raritanval.edu
A Spring Basket of Neat Problems in Calc I and Calc II

Topics will include a problem involving infinite series and L'Hopital's Rule; a limit of x to the x to the x….as x approaches 0; a notation guide to the product rule for derivatives and more....

Mani Arguelles – Columbia High School (Maplewood)
marguell@comcast.net
Using Data to Improve Your School’s HSPA Mathematics Performance

Can you predict whether a given student will pass or fail the Math HSPA? Moreover, could you find a way to help that student pass if you knew that he or she was likely to fail the Math HSPA? This seminar discusses some curricular and pedagogical strategies and techniques (derived primarily from the analysis of student test data) that can effectively improve your school's overall performance on the Math HSPA.

Eric Berkowitz – Parsippany Hills High School
eberkowitz@pthsd.k12.nj.us
The Sixth Sense: Numbers Sense

It IS possible for students to find answers without their calculator! Sometimes, calculations are much easier than they seem. Other times, calculations are unnecessary when a good approximation can be enough to answer a question. Here are some ideas to get students to use the most high-tech gadget of all: their brain! These ideas are not only useful in the classroom, but also when dealing with the HSPA and SAT.

L. Charles “Chuck” Biehl – The Charter School of Wilmington (DE)
Brother Patrick Carney – DePaul Catholic High School (Wayne)
cbiehl@charterschool.org, pcarney@dimacs.rutgers.edu
Bringing NUMB3RS into your Classroom (PLENARY SESSION)

The presenters are authors for a project called "We All Use Math Every Day", a joint project with Texas Instruments, NCTM, and CBS television. They and other authors develop classroom materials to introduce high school students to the mathematics used on the highly successful CBS crime drama NUMB3RS. Topics cover a wide range, especially discrete mathematics and mathematical modeling. (See http://www.weallusematheveryday.com/tools/waumed/home.htm) The session will include samples of these activities, along with connections that show how mathematics is used in the REAL real world.

Ihor Charischak – Stevens Institute of Technology
ihor.charischak@stevens.edu
Mathematics, Dynamic Software and Powerful Ideas!

Come experience a series of activities/projects/lessons that demonstrate how mathematics software (including Geometer's Sketchpad, Spreadsheets, Microworlds and Java applets) can play a significant role in helping students gain a deeper understanding of powerful mathematical ideas. See http://www.stevens.edu/ciese/conference/precalc07 for more details.

Neil Cooperman – Millburn High School
cooperman@millburn.org
Don’t Just Solve for “x”, Solve for “Why”!

Did you ever wonder why students never seem to remember what they have learned? This workshop will look at some of the reasons behind the typical “loss of memory” of many of our students. We will also examine some student responses to “Why?” questions on tests. Additionally, we will develop some questions that get to the heart of whether students truly understand the material and are not just memorizing processes designed to get “the answer.”

Suzanne Cranwell, Kelly Gaffney and Kristin McCarthy –
Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School
scranwell@rfhrhs.org, kgaffney@rfhrhs.org, kmccarthy@rfhrhs.org
How Geometer’s Sketchpad Has Changed Our Classrooms
(previously presented at 2006 conference)

Revolutionize and energize your classroom with the integration of this dynamic and exciting teaching tool. From the simple (one teacher work station) to the more adventurous (a work station for each student), see how the Geometer's Sketchpad can enliven the way you teach Algebra, Geometry and Precalc. A variety of demonstrations and projects will be presented to heighten your appreciation of this software's potential.

Bill Crombie – MetroMath Fellow, Rutgers University
bcrombie@aol.com
The Critical Importance of Geometry for the Elementary Calculus

By looking at the content of the elementary Calculus from the perspective of its central concepts and organizing principles it is possible to trace the key problems, solutions and concepts of the Calculus back to their roots in High School Geometry. In this session, working in small groups and using a Socratic seminar format, participants will determine the area under the parabola and the cubic, exactly and without approximation or limits, using only the concepts and methods of a High School Geometry course. We will take a fresh look at how the area under a polynomial curve is determined by only a few elementary transformations. This material is part of an on-going program to develop advanced topics in secondary mathematics from an elementary standpoint.

Fred Decovsky – Teachers Teaching with Technology
fdecovsky@aol.com
Using the APPS Key on the TI-83+/84+

Whether you have one TI-83+/84+ or a classroom set, you are equipped with a wealth of interesting applications to share with your students. The APPS provides an excellent way to review information, introduce topics and allow your students to discover some amazing mathematics. Come learn how!

Angelo DeMattia – Consultant
adema@comcast.net
Big Ideas in Data Analysis
(previously presented at 2006 conference)

Do you need a bank of fun activities that get at the “big ideas” of Probability and Data Analysis as well as create unforgettable connections within and outside the traditional math content? This session will help you to build that bank. Since Standard 4 has increased in worldwide relevance [it now represents 30% of the score value on the HSPA], more connections to all math topics have become "standardized" in curricula materials. In addition to the use of hands-on materials, participants will also experience graphing calculators to help solidify that understanding of the “big ideas” and the related connections.

LeeAnn Gennett – West Milford High School
gennettl@yahoo.com
Making Kaleidoscopes Using Geometer’s Sketchpad (and Not)

In this session, you will learn the basics of kaleidoscope construction using Geometer's Sketchpad but without the mess of building a real one. We will discuss reflections and rotations and how they pertain to the classroom and the high-stakes tests. You will go home with classroom tested, teacher approved worksheets to use in your class! Beginners are welcome!

Debra Gulick – East Brunswick Board of Education
dgulick@ebnet.org
Daily Assessments in A.P. Calculus

In order to inform instruction, assessment must be embedded into daily instruction. In addition to homework checks and exit cards, effective questioning strategies will be discussed. Teachers will create targeted prompts for assessment. Project-based assessments will be shared if time allows.

John Hanna – Teachers Teaching with Technology
jehanna@optonline.net
Using CAS in Precalculus

CAS (Computer Algebra Systems) are making a big difference in the mathematics classroom of the 21st century. If you are new to this environment, come and see what all the hype is about. If you are using a CAS platform, come and learn some tricks and share your experience. This session will use the TI Voyage 200.

John Hanna – Teachers Teaching with Technology
jehanna@optonline.net
Using TI-Navigator in Precalculus

This session will give you an overview of TI-Navigator with a special focus on the kinds of things you can do to get 100% participation in your mathematics class. Topics will include interactive activities, informal and formal real-time assessment, and the TI-Navigator utilities that will make your teaching experience more effective and rewarding.

Jeff Herkimer and Chris Alworth – Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School
jherkimer@rfhrhs.org, calworth@rfhrhs.org
“Transforming” How We Teach Graphing in Algebra I, Algebra II & Precalc

We will show how transformations will change the way you teach graphing, using technological and non-technological methods to graph lines, parabolas, absolute values, radicals, rational functions and logarithms. Daily lessons, worksheets and assessments will also be discussed and distributed. Please bring a TI-83 or TI-89 calculator if you would like to follow along.

Iftikhar Husain – University High School (Newark)
husains4ever@aol.com
Math with Creative Designs on a TI-83, 84, 89 & Voyage 200 Graphing Calculator

You can create Mickey, a McDonald’s sign, a 3-D star, and many more designs on graphing calculators using mathematical equations. Students create designs like flags of various countries by shading the area between curves. Linear, quadratic, trigonometric functions and conic relations, or their combinations, are used to create designs such as a bridge or a fish. Activities are unique and help students to understand concepts, predict results, and make connections between algebra and geometry.

Bob Kiessling – Haddonfield Memorial High School
kiess.run@rcn.com
Using PowerPoint to Teach a Statistics Class

In a typical Statistics lesson, how much time do you lose putting charts, graphs and diagrams on the board? You can save time and cover much more in a class by putting everything on PowerPoint. The charts, graphs, diagrams and steps in solving problems will be displayed instantly. In addition, you can post your lesson online for review for anyone who missed your class or anyone who just wants to review the day’s lesson at home. Find out how using PowerPoint can enhance your Statistics course.

Jeff Killion – Cherry Hill High School East
jkillion@chclc.org
Timing the Stock Market with Trigonometry and Calculus

Learn about a real-world activity that I’ve developed which combines circular trigonometry and using derivatives to find relative extremes in a novel way. With this activity, you and your students can better appreciate the fluctuating nature of the stock market and better estimate the best times to buy or sell stocks.

Lynne Kowski – Raritan Valley Community College
lkowski@raritanval.edu
Learning Beyond the Textbook: Creative Precalculus Projects

Teaching a Precalculus course using reform pedagogy includes implementing collaborative learning using technology and solving "real-life" problems. Projects are a non-stressful form of assessment where students working in small groups "talk mathematics" and therefore will understand mathematics.

Jim Landwehr – Avaya, Inc.
jml@avaya.com
Statistics and Math: A Happy Marriage or a Path to Divorce?

The last twenty-five years have seen an increased emphasis of data analysis topics in the K-12 mathematics curriculum, but the pendulum seems to be starting to swing back. This talk will provide examples of how data analysis and probability contribute to learning important mathematical topics, and thus should be retained and emphasized. The speaker will also provide a perspective on the broader issues under debate, based on his experience as a professional statistician who has been involved in several K-12 educational activities.

Kevin Merges – Rutgers Preparatory School
merges@rutgersprep.org
Pascal’s Triangle and Tetrahedron

This session will focus on the types of problems that can be solved using Pascal's triangle or Pascal's tetrahedron. Pascal's tetrahedron is a three-dimensional version of Pascal's triangle that is constructed using the same principle: each entry is the sum of the entries immediately above it. Many of the problems discussed will be useful in lessons using combinatorics, binomial theorem, and trinomial theorem.

Eric Milou – Rowan University
milou@rowan.edu
Integrated Standards-Based Mathematics in High School

This session will explore Integrated Mathematics in high schools. The characteristics of integrated mathematics courses will be discussed including the positives, the negatives, and how to increase student achievement in this track, which is often reserved for the non-college bound student. Moreover, we will explore lessons from non-traditional standards-based integrated textbooks.

Robin O’Callaghan and Brian O’Reilly – The College Board
rocallaghan@collegeboard.org, boreilly@collegeboard.org
Representation on the SAT Mathematics Test

Of the changes introduced on the SAT Mathematics Test in 2005, the most well-known involved expanded content. However, there has also been an increase in the use of multiple representations on the test. Come to see examples of SAT questions that call on students to look at and work with concepts from different perspectives: symbolic, graphical, tabular and verbal. Also, hear how student with different mathematics course-taking patterns actually performed on the test.

Ralph Pantozzi – Mount Olive Board of Education
rpantozzi@mtoliveboe.org
e: The True Hollywood Story

Want the inside scoop on e's deepest secrets? Come to this session for the full story on the mathematical connections, the applications, and other shocking facts about one of math's most famous, but under-appreciated, stars. We'll look at e from a precalculus perspective, and see that e is more interesting than compound interest. Then we'll follow with a look at e's appearances in calculus and learn how the story of this special number can help your students do more meaningful math in both courses.

Mark Richman – Columbia High School (Maplewood)
srich39661@aol.com
Brain-Based Study Strategies to Help Students Succeed on Exams

This session will include charismatic “brain-based” study strategies featuring an “index card study method,” the famous math dance manual, “shtick”, and a unique and varied combination of games, puzzles and incentives. You will learn how to motivate your students so that they will look forward to coming to your class.

Joe Rosenstein – Rutgers University
joer@dimacs.rutgers.edu
The Utilities Problem and Planar Graphs

The Utilities Problem is the question of whether and how you can connect each of three houses A, B, and C to each of the three utilities G(as), E(lectric), and W(ater) so that no two supply lines cross. In this session we will explore the Utilities Problem and the general question of whether a vertex-edge graph can be drawn so that its edges don’t cross. That will lead us to planar graphs, Euler’s formula, crossing numbers, and (maybe) Platonic solids.

Ahmed Salama – PANTHER Academy, Paterson
salamamath@yahoo.com
The “Art” of Transforming Functions

By doing various transformations to functions, students will be able to use graphing calculators (TI-84) to obtain art figures that are relevant to geometry and other SAT problems. Come find out more.

Jay Schiffman – Rowan University
schiffman@rowan.edu
The Figurate Numbers – Exploring Patterns

In this presentation, we will look at the triangular, square, pentagonal, hexagonal and additional figurate numbers and discuss their relationships in a variety of disciplines including algebra, discrete mathematics, number theory and analysis. Figurate numbers are appealing in elementary mathematics both because of the inherent beauty they possess and because of the patterns they generate. Please join us!

Peter Schuenzel – Morris Hills High School
pschuenzel@mhrd.k12.nj.us
The Smarts on the SMART Board
(Computer Lab Session – Space limited to first 20 participants)
(previously presented at 2006 conference)

Learn how to get the most out of using a SMART Board (an interactive whiteboard connected to a computer). Come and discover some of the possibilities of how this technology can enhance students' interest and understanding. Basic set-up, presenting a lesson, using a variety of programs and the Internet in a mathematics class will be covered. Some of the programs utilized will be Fathom, the Geometer Sketchpad, Graphmatica, Word and PowerPoint.

Anita Schuloff – Paramus Catholic High School
aschuloff@yahoo.com
Very Strange Ellipses

Re-writing the polar form of the equation of an ellipse into rectangular form can be tedious. However, some ellipses can have their parameters transferred directly to the rectangular equation. A demonstration of this phenomenon will be done using a Geometer’s Sketchpad.

Andrew Schwartz – The College Board
anschwartz@collegeboard.org
The A.P. Calculus Course Audit

In response to the concerns of its members, the College Board has developed the AP® Audit to certify the quality of courses listed as AP courses on transcripts. The AP Audit will enable all interested parties to be assured that a course listed as an AP course on a transcript meets all essential requirements for the course as put forth by the College Board. The AP Audit process will allow creative teaching approaches and will encourage cooperation and discussion among AP teachers and other AP stakeholders in a school and within a school district. College Board resources, including a team of senior reviewers and a dedicated help line, will guide teachers and principals through the AP Audit process. This presentation will be an introduction to this process.

Charles Schwartz – Rider University
schwartz@rider.edu
Building Conway’s Pencil Models
(previously presented at 2006 conference)

John H. Conway invented a class of models built of hexagonal prisms. Participants will learn to build these models out of pencils and rubber bands, and will explore the symmetries of these models and the relationship between these models and models made of cubes.
You may preview these models by going to my web page -- http://www.rider.edu/172_5403.htm, and clicking on the link “Conway’s Pencil Models.”

Robin Schwartz – College of Mount St. Vincent
mathconfidence@aol.com
Using “Parent Functions” as an Organizing Principle in Precalculus

Studying “parent functions” [if (x) = x is, for example, the parent of all linear functions] builds sharper graphing, algebraic, and critical thinking skills that naturally lead to an excellent discussion of zero, infinity, undefined and limits. I have successfully taught these precalculus modeling concepts in a college freshman core curriculum course (survey class) incorporating graphs from the newspaper (business, economy, health, etc.) and TI-84 graphing technology. These topics allow for clarity of common misconceptions (i.e., dividing by zero, exponent ‘rules’, fractions) leading to improvement of student quantitative literacy, comprehension and confidence.

Doug Smith – A.P. Schalick High School (Pittsgrove)
smithd@pittsgrove.k12.nj.us
Writing in the Math Classroom: Covering the Standards whilst Keeping Your Sanity

In this session, you can see how I was able to take care of writing in the math classroom, covering all the standards, and still not using class time to accomplish this. On top of this, I'll show you how to grade these writing assignments so you can still have time to see the latest episodes of "24" and "Lost", and eat and sleep, too!
It's not as bad as it sounds, and I guarantee you that the students will like it! Well, as much as they like mathematics, anyway. . .

Lynne Steinberg – West Orange High School
lsteinberg@woboe.org
Using Differentiated Instruction in Geometry: The Key for Success

What is differentiated instruction, and how can it be used in the geometry curriculum? A teaching unit on the Pythagorean theorem using the concepts of differentiated instruction will be presented. The researcher will also discuss the effects of differentiated instruction on students' attitudes towards mathematics. This workshop will include hands-on activities and prepared materials that can be used with your students.

David Weksler – Consultant
wex@pobox.com
TAPPED IN–An Online Environment for Teacher Professional Development
(Computer Lab Session – Space limited to first 20 participants)

Tapped In <http://www.tappedin.org> is a free, online environment for teacher professional development established with funding from the National Science Foundation in 1997. Approximately 21,000 members participate in online discussions on educational issues of all kinds. Several discussions focus on math education (focus on K-3 classrooms, K-20 issues, use of technology within math education) and members may, in fact, even lead discussions on topics not currently covered.
The "Good Ideas in Teaching Precalculus and..." conference is a great annual event at Rutgers. Online discussions at Tapped In are ways of extending the discussion of good teaching ideas and allowing for professional interaction in a virtual setting year-round. Learn more about how Tapped In can support you professionally and personally.

Janina Wozniak and Betty Meeks Manning – Hackensack High School
j.wozniak@hackensackschools.org, b.manning@hackensackschools.org
Analyzing Weather Data Using a Graphing Calculator

This trigonometric activity is tailored for teachers of Precalculus. Participants will analyze actual New York City weather data by creating a scatterplot using the TI-83/ TI-84 graphing calculator and running a sinusoidal regression to determine the best fit equation. Knowledge of the graphing calculator is helpful but not necessary. For this session, participants should bring a graphing calculator. Everyone will leave the session with activity worksheets ready for classroom use.

Cathleen Zucco-Teveloff – Arcadia University
cathy.zuccoteveloff@prodigy.net
Motivating Students Using Web-Based Media
(Computer Lab Session – Space limited to first 20 participants)

In this session I will discuss my experience using a variety of web-based media sources to motivate students. I will also share activities I created in the topic areas of proportions, percentage change, probability, statistics, and algebraic modeling and will suggest how teachers can write their own media-based application activities.