Mathematics Blog

Taking on the roles of professor and published author

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Dr. Rebaza-Vasquez is expanding his role in students’ education process. In addition to teaching, he has authored a second volume textbook, “Numerical Methods and Applications,” which was recently published by the American Institute of Mathematical Sciences. About the textbook The textbook will serve as an educational resource for undergraduate students with an interest in … [Read more...] about Taking on the roles of professor and published author

Minding the gap to take the frustration out of fractions

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Fractions can quite literally serve as a puzzling component of mathematics. One of the reasons fractions are perceived to be difficult is what members of the math community call gap reasoning. Gap reasoning can limit students’ understanding of the problem. The method leads students to assess distances as equal by appearance over measurements. In their paper “Escaping … [Read more...] about Minding the gap to take the frustration out of fractions

A scholarly year for our math department head

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Dr. William Bray, department head of mathematics, had a couple of productive years. In addition to his department duties, teaching classes and advising students, Bray has also published three papers. Old friends, new papers Bray collaborated with Dr. Boris Rubin, from Louisiana State University, for two of the papers. Bray has known Rubin for more than 20 years, having … [Read more...] about A scholarly year for our math department head

Four professors use summer to teach in China

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Over the summer, four faculty went to China for about two weeks to teach as part of the Southwest University Global Immersion Program. This required a proposal about what each professor would teach and why it was important to students in China. About 100 professors from 25 different countries were chosen to teach this summer. About the MSU faculty who went The … [Read more...] about Four professors use summer to teach in China