Resources for Teaching Discrete Mathematics

Resources for Teaching Discrete Mathematics
Author: Brian Hopkins
Publisher: MAA
Total Pages: 342
Release: 2009
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 9780883851845

Hopkins collects the work of 35 instructors who share their innovations and insights about teaching discrete mathematics at the high school and college level. The book's 9 classroom-tested projects, including building a geodesic dome, come with student handouts, solutions, and notes for the instructor. The 11 history modules presented draw on original sources, such as Pascal's "Treatise on the Arithmetical Triangle," allowing students to explore topics in their original contexts. Three articles address extensions of standard discrete mathematics content. Two other articles explore pedagogy specifically related to discrete mathematics courses: adapting a group discovery method to larger classes, and using logic in encouraging students to construct proofs.

Discrete Mathematics

Discrete Mathematics
Author: Oscar Levin
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Total Pages: 342
Release: 2016-08-16
Genre:
ISBN: 9781534970748

This gentle introduction to discrete mathematics is written for first and second year math majors, especially those who intend to teach. The text began as a set of lecture notes for the discrete mathematics course at the University of Northern Colorado. This course serves both as an introduction to topics in discrete math and as the "introduction to proof" course for math majors. The course is usually taught with a large amount of student inquiry, and this text is written to help facilitate this. Four main topics are covered: counting, sequences, logic, and graph theory. Along the way proofs are introduced, including proofs by contradiction, proofs by induction, and combinatorial proofs. The book contains over 360 exercises, including 230 with solutions and 130 more involved problems suitable for homework. There are also Investigate! activities throughout the text to support active, inquiry based learning. While there are many fine discrete math textbooks available, this text has the following advantages: It is written to be used in an inquiry rich course. It is written to be used in a course for future math teachers. It is open source, with low cost print editions and free electronic editions.

Discrete Mathematics in the Schools

Discrete Mathematics in the Schools
Author: Joseph G. Rosenstein
Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.
Total Pages: 489
Release: 2000
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0821811371

A collection of articles written by experienced primary, secondary, and collegiate educators. It explains why discrete mathematics should be taught in K-12 classrooms and offers guidance on how to do so. It offers school and district curriculum leaders material that addresses how discrete mathematics can be introduced into their curricula.

Applied Discrete Structures

Applied Discrete Structures
Author: Ken Levasseur
Publisher: Lulu.com
Total Pages: 574
Release: 2012-02-25
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 1105559297

''In writing this book, care was taken to use language and examples that gradually wean students from a simpleminded mechanical approach and move them toward mathematical maturity. We also recognize that many students who hesitate to ask for help from an instructor need a readable text, and we have tried to anticipate the questions that go unasked. The wide range of examples in the text are meant to augment the "favorite examples" that most instructors have for teaching the topcs in discrete mathematics. To provide diagnostic help and encouragement, we have included solutions and/or hints to the odd-numbered exercises. These solutions include detailed answers whenever warranted and complete proofs, not just terse outlines of proofs. Our use of standard terminology and notation makes Applied Discrete Structures a valuable reference book for future courses. Although many advanced books have a short review of elementary topics, they cannot be complete. The text is divided into lecture-length sections, facilitating the organization of an instructor's presentation.Topics are presented in such a way that students' understanding can be monitored through thought-provoking exercises. The exercises require an understanding of the topics and how they are interrelated, not just a familiarity with the key words. An Instructor's Guide is available to any instructor who uses the text. It includes: Chapter-by-chapter comments on subtopics that emphasize the pitfalls to avoid; Suggested coverage times; Detailed solutions to most even-numbered exercises; Sample quizzes, exams, and final exams. This textbook has been used in classes at Casper College (WY), Grinnell College (IA), Luzurne Community College (PA), University of the Puget Sound (WA).''--

Discrete Mathematics with Ducks

Discrete Mathematics with Ducks
Author: Sarah-marie Belcastro
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 733
Release: 2018-11-15
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 1351683683

Discrete Mathematics with Ducks, Second Edition is a gentle introduction for students who find the proofs and abstractions of mathematics challenging. At the same time, it provides stimulating material that instructors can use for more advanced students. The first edition was widely well received, with its whimsical writing style and numerous exercises and materials that engaged students at all levels. The new, expanded edition continues to facilitate effective and active learning. It is designed to help students learn about discrete mathematics through problem-based activities. These are created to inspire students to understand mathematics by actively practicing and doing, which helps students better retain what they’ve learned. As such, each chapter contains a mixture of discovery-based activities, projects, expository text, in-class exercises, and homework problems. The author’s lively and friendly writing style is appealing to both instructors and students alike and encourages readers to learn. The book’s light-hearted approach to the subject is a guiding principle and helps students learn mathematical abstraction. Features: The book’s Try This! sections encourage students to construct components of discussed concepts, theorems, and proofs Provided sets of discovery problems and illustrative examples reinforce learning Bonus sections can be used by instructors as part of their regular curriculum, for projects, or for further study

Exploring Discrete Mathematics with Maple

Exploring Discrete Mathematics with Maple
Author: Kenneth H. Rosen
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Science, Engineering & Mathematics
Total Pages: 0
Release: 1997
Genre: Computer science
ISBN: 9780070541283

This is the first supplement in discrete mathematics to concentrate on the computational aspects of the computer algebra system Maple. Detailed instructions for the use of Maple are included in an introductory chapter and in each subsequent chapter. Each chapter includes discussion of selected Computational and Exploration exercises in the corresponding chapter of Ken Rosen's text Discrete Math and It's Applications, Third Edition. New exercises and projects are included in each chapter to encourage further exploration of discrete mathematics using Maple. All of the Maple code in this supplement is available online via the Waterloo Maple Web site, in addition to new Maple routines that have been created which extend the current capabilities of Maple.

Mathematics for Social Justice: Resources for the College Classroom

Mathematics for Social Justice: Resources for the College Classroom
Author: Gizem Karaali
Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2019-07-09
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1470449269

Mathematics for Social Justice offers a collection of resources for mathematics faculty interested in incorporating questions of social justice into their classrooms. The book begins with a series of essays from instructors experienced in integrating social justice themes into their pedagogy; these essays contain political and pedagogical motivations as well as nuts-and-bolts teaching advice. The heart of the book is a collection of fourteen classroom-tested modules featuring ready-to-use activities and investigations for the college mathematics classroom. The mathematical tools and techniques used are relevant to a wide variety of courses including college algebra, math for the liberal arts, calculus, differential equations, discrete mathematics, geometry, financial mathematics, and combinatorics. The social justice themes include human trafficking, income inequality, environmental justice, gerrymandering, voting methods, and access to education. The volume editors are leaders of the national movement to include social justice material into mathematics teaching. Gizem Karaali is Associate Professor of Mathematics at Pomona College. She is one of the founding editors of The Journal of Humanistic Mathematics, and an associate editor for The Mathematical Intelligencer and Numeracy ; she also serves on the editorial board of the MAA's Carus Mathematical Monographs. Lily Khadjavi is Associate Professor of Mathematics at Loyola Marymount University and is a past co-chair of the Infinite Possibilities Conference. She has served on the boards of Building Diversity in Science, the Barbara Jordan-Bayard Rustin Coalition, and the Harvard Gender and Sexuality Caucus.

Discrete Mathematics

Discrete Mathematics
Author: László Lovász
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 344
Release: 2006-05-10
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0387217770

Aimed at undergraduate mathematics and computer science students, this book is an excellent introduction to a lot of problems of discrete mathematics. It discusses a number of selected results and methods, mostly from areas of combinatorics and graph theory, and it uses proofs and problem solving to help students understand the solutions to problems. Numerous examples, figures, and exercises are spread throughout the book.

How to Think Like a Mathematician

How to Think Like a Mathematician
Author: Kevin Houston
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 341
Release: 2009-02-12
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 1139477056

Looking for a head start in your undergraduate degree in mathematics? Maybe you've already started your degree and feel bewildered by the subject you previously loved? Don't panic! This friendly companion will ease your transition to real mathematical thinking. Working through the book you will develop an arsenal of techniques to help you unlock the meaning of definitions, theorems and proofs, solve problems, and write mathematics effectively. All the major methods of proof - direct method, cases, induction, contradiction and contrapositive - are featured. Concrete examples are used throughout, and you'll get plenty of practice on topics common to many courses such as divisors, Euclidean algorithms, modular arithmetic, equivalence relations, and injectivity and surjectivity of functions. The material has been tested by real students over many years so all the essentials are covered. With over 300 exercises to help you test your progress, you'll soon learn how to think like a mathematician.

Street-Fighting Mathematics

Street-Fighting Mathematics
Author: Sanjoy Mahajan
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 152
Release: 2010-03-05
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0262265591

An antidote to mathematical rigor mortis, teaching how to guess answers without needing a proof or an exact calculation. In problem solving, as in street fighting, rules are for fools: do whatever works—don't just stand there! Yet we often fear an unjustified leap even though it may land us on a correct result. Traditional mathematics teaching is largely about solving exactly stated problems exactly, yet life often hands us partly defined problems needing only moderately accurate solutions. This engaging book is an antidote to the rigor mortis brought on by too much mathematical rigor, teaching us how to guess answers without needing a proof or an exact calculation. In Street-Fighting Mathematics, Sanjoy Mahajan builds, sharpens, and demonstrates tools for educated guessing and down-and-dirty, opportunistic problem solving across diverse fields of knowledge—from mathematics to management. Mahajan describes six tools: dimensional analysis, easy cases, lumping, picture proofs, successive approximation, and reasoning by analogy. Illustrating each tool with numerous examples, he carefully separates the tool—the general principle—from the particular application so that the reader can most easily grasp the tool itself to use on problems of particular interest. Street-Fighting Mathematics grew out of a short course taught by the author at MIT for students ranging from first-year undergraduates to graduate students ready for careers in physics, mathematics, management, electrical engineering, computer science, and biology. They benefited from an approach that avoided rigor and taught them how to use mathematics to solve real problems. Street-Fighting Mathematics will appear in print and online under a Creative Commons Noncommercial Share Alike license.