Complimentary Angling

By Matt Beechan I look out over the water’s surface searching for signs of disturbance from below. The rain that is gently falling on the lake is making this exercise more challenging than usual. After a while, I notice a curious trout rise to the surface like it is gasping for a breath of the...

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The Torching of the Department of Education: What’s at Stake and What You Can Do

By Dave Kung In the two months since the inauguration, education – including mathematics education – has been under attack like never before. Postdocs have had their pay withheld, math research institutes have cancelled programs, math ed researchers have had their funding pulled, federal staff (including mathematicians) have been fired at NSF1, and now the...

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How Internships Helped Me Find My Path

By Jocelyn Ornelas-Munoz Throughout graduate school, I’ve been told repeatedly, “Focus on your research.” While I agree that graduate school is a time of deep academic exploration, it’s also a stepping stone to broader career opportunities and professional growth. One of the most valuable—and even life-changing—experiences of my PhD was participating in summer internships. These...

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Calculus for Teachers: The Fundamental Theorem of Integral Calculus

By David Bressoud @dbressoud As of 2024, new Launchings columns appear on the third Tuesday of the month. The first step is to turn the definite integral into a function. This can be done by turning the upper limit into a variable, Since this is a function, one can seek to differentiate it. This tells...

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Playful Math Smelled as Sweet as Pie

By Pup Horst Playful math Smelled As sweet as pie Happy Pi Day, everyone!  As mentioned in our call for submissions, Math Values is celebrating this year with Pi-ku poems written by the community.  Thank you everyone who sent us your poems! A Pi-ku is a short form poem based on the traditional Haiku; it...

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AI in Action: Charting New Paths through Enhancement, Creation, and Integration

By Lew Ludwig Author’s Note: Throughout this article, 'AI' refers specifically to generative AI unless stated otherwise. I will primarily discuss ChatGPT 4o, the free model, due to its widespread use with our students. In my last three posts, I've encouraged you to engage with AI to better grasp its capabilities and limitations, helping you...

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Values Still Have Value

By the Math Values Editorial Board Math Values exists to explore the diverse perspectives and experiences of members of the mathematics community, broadly defined. The blog is centered on the MAA’s core values - Community, Inclusivity, Communication, and Teaching & Learning - because those values guide the organization and are central to who we are....

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What drives me as a mathematician and an educator? But first a new book

By Keith Devlin @KeithDevlin@fediscience.org, @profkeithdevlin.bsky.social Last year I signed a contract with the AMS to publish an MAA Spectrum book of articles taken from Devlin’s Angle that have relevance to K-12 mathematics education. The book should appear later this year, with the title “A Mathematician’s Angle On School Math – Essays from the First 25 Years of...

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Math In Motion

By Gabrielle Birchak I grew up as a stage actress and jazz vocalist. In 1984, in high school, I was singing in a nine-member jazz group that Downbeat Magazine awarded as the best high school jazz combo in the nation. So, music was part of my existence from an early age. But, thanks to my...

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Let MAA Help You Get the Word Out

By Doug Ensley In 2022 the MAA launched two programs with the goal of broadening access to professional development through high-quality, online experiences for the mathematics community. These programs are now fully in place, and we invite you to use them to share your knowledge, experience, and project outcomes with our national network of mathematicians....

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