UNDERGRADUATE TOPOLOGY: AN
INTUITION-BASED AND EXAMPLE-DRIVEN APPROACH
Steve Carlson
June 20-25, 2005
Wooded Glen Retreat and Conference Center
Henryville, IN
Registration Fee $250
Topology is a fascinating area of mathematics with a relatively modern
but rich history, tremendous visual appeal, and
recent recognition for its applicability in the sciences. While
traditional topology courses are usually taught
from a rigorous abstract approach at the advanced undergraduate or
graduate level, an intermediate-level course based on the delightful
“rubber sheet geometry” aspects of manifolds can offer undergraduate
students, including non-mathematics majors as well as mathematics and
mathematics education majors, a thorough introduction to important
topological ideas. In such a course, carefully designed examples
and innovative projects can develop
students’ intuition for the subject and drive them to discover
definitions and results.
The primary goal of this workshop is to empower participants to use
innovative teaching and learning strategies in the presentation of
advanced mathematical topics to
students from a variety of majors. The context in which this goal
will be pursued is the teaching of an
intermediate-level topology course using an intuition-based and
example-driven strategy. No prerequisite knowledge of topology
will be expected of the participants. All participants will work
with innovative strategies developed by the presenter and will be
challenged to create some of their own. By
the conclusion of the workshop, participants should be convinced that
such approaches can be translated to the teaching of courses in other
areas of advanced
mathematics and at lower or higher levels.
Participants completing the workshop will:
- Engage in prepatory on-line activities prior to the on-site
program,
- Receive a complete set of notes from the on-site program,
- Receive a textbook and supporting materials for teaching an
intermediate level topology course,
- Be motivated to develop new materials to excite students in their
advanced mathematics courses,
- Share ideas with workshop colleagues via an email listserv after
the conclusion of the workshop, and
- Be encouraged to disseminate and publish results of their course
development experiences as a follow-up professional enhancement
activity.
The on-site program will be held at Wooded Glen Retreat and Conference
Center, which is located in Henryville, Indiana, approximately thirty
miles north of Louisville, Kentucky. The facility offers conference
rooms with state-of-the-art media support; comfortable air-conditioned
lodging and dining rooms, and recreation opportunities all within a
beautiful and relaxing wooded park-like setting. For more information,
please visit the
Topology
Workshop Page.
THIS
WORKSHOP HAS BEEN CANCELEDReturn to List of PREP Workshops