Fourth Annual K-12 Mega-Conference on Discrete Mathematics
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey
Saturday December 8, 2001
8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Program Descriptions
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From Frogs to Fractals
From the familiarity of frogs to the fascination of fractals, you can
find discrete math ideas and activities in them all. This workshop
will illustrate, through hands-on, classroom examples, how these
themes can be used to weave into your teaching many motivating
experiences that not only focus on key components of discrete math but
support and reinforce all aspects of a sound mathematics curriculum as
well.
Open to '92-2000 K-8 participants, and also to high school
participants if space is available. Space is limited. Attendance at
this workshop will be on a first-come-first-served basis.
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Codes: Concealing and Revealing Information; Error Detection
and Correction
Once upon a time, codes were used primarily to conceal information --
for example, generals would encode their messages to make sure that
the message that a courier carried would not be understood, if
intercepted. Nowadays, codes are used to reveal information, speeding
letters to their destination or groceries into our shopping bags. But
these codes are often misread. Sometimes this results in our mail
being delivered to the wrong address. More often, however, the errors
are detected and corrected by postal employees. Some types of codes
provide for automatic detection as well as correction, as when
photographs are transmitted bit-by-bit from satellites in space.
Open to '92-2001 K-8 participants, and also to high school
participants on a space available basis.
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Patterns in Nature and Number
Patterns are all around us. In this hands-on workshop, participants
will explore an intriguing set of natural patterns, become captivated
by their multiple occurrences in the world and begin to understand and
unravel how these patterns relate to one another mathematically.
Open to '92-2001 K-8 participants, and also to high school
participants on a space available basis.
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The Colorful World of Marriage
This workshop will have two parts: The Colorful World of
Colorings will deal with many different kinds of graph colorings,
and Matching and Marriages will discuss the application of graph
theory to the stability of marriages.
Recommended for high school teachers but also open to
'92-2000 K-8 participants.
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