COURSE OBJECTIVES:
| The goal for the
course Research Methods in Mathematics is for you to develop your mathematical
and thinking skills to a level which will allow you to read and do mathematics
on your own. We do this by first teaching you how to read mathematical
papers appearing in professional journals and also how to ask or generate
questions based on those readings. The next steps involve having
you read "philosophical" (or "historical/multicultural" for those in secondary
education) papers and then technical papers, summarizing the results and
raising mathematical questions. The final paper you read is to be
analyzed in depth. The papers may be chosen from a list of articles
(on the department web site) or they may be chosen from other sources with
approval of the instructor.
This course offers you a unique opportunity to develop the valuable skill of independent learning. We have tried to give you a very large list of possible papers. Do not let the list overwhelm you. The length of the list is very much a function of the breadth of topics covered. Realize that the topics you pick may be tailored to your specific career goal. For example, if you are interested in secondary education you may choose articles which will help prepare you for different aspects of teaching. |
Links to the lists of papers:
| College Math Journal | American Mathematical Monthly | Mathematics Magazine |
| Mathematics Teacher | Scientific American | Other |