Frank Morgan

Guest post by Professor Deb Bergstrand, Swarthmore College

Ed Burger’s invited MathFest address on recent work in number theory was masterful.  He wowed the crowd at the end when he revealed that the new results he presented were discovered by his SMALL undergraduate research students during the summer of 2010, thus reinforcing his message that the mathematics of tomorrow will be produced by the students of today. Ed’s other direct role at the conference was the invited paper session he organized on “Offering students lessons beyond mathematics, through mathematics.”

The two-day session included speakers from universities, colleges (including yours truly), community colleges, and even industry. Harry Lucas, Jr., founder of the Educational Advancement Foundation, spoke on how lessons he learned from math classes with R. L. Moore carried over into his business career. Mr. Lucas has been a generous supporter of mathematics education throughout his career.

Denison’s Lew Ludwig emphasized how the content of math classes is much less relevant to most students than the process. He pointed out that we exercise by lifting weights and running around a track not to perfect those particular skills, but to build a healthier body. Likewise, he said, doing mathematics builds healthy thinking skills.

On Friday, Tina Carter described Buffalo State College’s experience in revising their “liberal arts math” to use Burger & Starbird’s “Heart of Mathematics.” She and her colleagues had gathered extensive data from faculty and students, showing significant increase in student interest in the course as well as their depth of understanding. Then Colm Mulcahy of Spelman College presented a lively collection of “tasty” examples that use food to inspire mathematical thinking. Candice Dance of Onondaga Community College ended the session by describing and displaying many of the projects her students do.  She included a video of ways in which her students’ work has intrigued and inspired the entire campus community.

The Thursday session opened with the venerable Mike Starbird. Speaking on “Teaching Lessons that Last a Lifetime,” Mike urged us to “strive for deep understanding” in our students, charging that “we aim too low; we should want our classes to be transformative experiences.” Mike and Ed continue to be an inspiration to all me, along with my great former colleagues at Williams and current colleagues at Swarthmore.