KAMATYC Spring Conference 2009
March 28, 2009
Hutchinson Community College

Rescheduled for May 2, 2009, Pittsburg State University
All sessions have been rescheduled except as noted.

The National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships:  What Accreditation Means for Concurrent Enrollment
Loralee Stevens, Johnson County Community College - Bill Osborn will substitute for Loralee Stevens
  The National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships created a national accreditation process for quality concurrent enrollment partnerships at both two-year and four-year institutions based on standards for curriculum, faculty, students, assessment and evaluation.  In 2006 Johnson County Community College's College Now program received accredited status.  This session will describe NACEP and the methods used to study our College Now students to help ensure accountability in the area of concurrent enrollment.
 
Topical Discussion:  Dual Credit
Moderator:  Judy Stubblefield, Garden City Community College - Steven Wilson will substitute for Judy Stubblefield
  Last year, attendees at the Great Bend conference expressed the desire to see KAMATYC take a position on the topic of dual credit.  This discussion time is intended to help the organization determine the issues that you want to see addressed in a position paper.
 
Studio College Algebra
Andrew G. Bennett & Rekha Natarajan, Kansas State University - Rekha Natarajan will not be present, but Andrew G. Bennett will present
  In collaboration with colleagues at the Center for Quantitative Education, we have developed a new version of the College Algebra course at Kansas State University. In the studio version, students carry out computer activities, usually spreadsheet based, to explore conceptual ideas and applications of algebra. The studio course includes one lecture, one studio, and one recitation per week and is offered as an alternative alongside the traditional College Algebra course. Both the studio and traditional versions also use online homework for skills development and written homework for word problems. The new version has proved popular with students and has a higher success rate than the traditional version.  In the presentation we will discuss the new version and give participants a chance to see how the computer studios work.
 
Winplot's 3D Graphing Features
Uwe Conrad, Cowley College
  This workshop will provide detailed instructions on the use of many of Winplot’s 3D graphing capabilities. Participants will learn how to generate Surface Plots, Normal Vectors, Tangent Planes, and Tangent Lines. Winplot differs greatly from the capabilities of graphing calculators since it allows the user to plot multiple surfaces on the same 3D coordinate system. The program is self-contained and can be installed on a portable drive (memory stick) or even a floppy disk (1.44 Meg). Participants are encouraged to bring a memory stick in order to save their work. Winplot is not a Mathematics Program like Maple or Mathematica – it therefore forces the user (Teacher and Student alike) to think about the task at hand. Winplot is a Free Program provided by Rick Parris and available for download on the “Peanut Software Homepage” http://math.exeter.edu/rparris/.
 
Using a Sympodium 101
Rita Drybread, Neosho County Community College
  This presentation will cover the ease of using a sympodium in the classroom, the unique features of the sympodium, and the software that is available for use with the sympodium.  The sympodium can be used with Microsoft Office and the internet to make classroom presentations.  The presenter will also demonstrate how to make movies with the sympodium that can be saved and e-mailed to students.
 
Making Green's Theorem Accessible
Carl Anderson, Johnson County Community College (retired)
  Green's Theorem has always been a difficult one for students and faculty. By approaching it using partitions similar to the techniques used in earlier integration problems, students are able to better understand where the theorem comes from and hopefully gain some insight.
 
Technical Colleges and Technical Math - Cancelled
Rachel Bates, Wichita Area Technical College
  What is the mission of a technical college?  How does it compare to a community college?  What mathematics do we teach?  What is a technical math course?  Do our courses transfer?  These questions and other issues will be addressed.
 
ALEKS:  Getting Better Results - Cancelled
Cathy Riley, McGraw Hill
  This presentation will highlight the use of ALEKS (Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Spaces) in the delivery of mathematics courses, placement and course preparation.   ALEKS is a web-based, artificially intelligent assessment and learning system.
 
Confessions of an Integermaniac - To be replaced by the presentation "Counting Parenthesizings with Decimals"
Steven J. Wilson, Johnson County Community College
  Are you familiar with the Four Fours problem?  (Write each of the positive integers from 1 to 100 using exactly four 4s, and elementary operations.)  The presenter will explore similar types of arithmetic puzzles, and discuss which solutions are “better” than others, how many solutions exist, and how to qualify as an integermaniac.   Some insights into decimal numeration and a systematic (and computerizable) approach to finding solutions will also be examined.  Bring your calculator.
 
Topical Discussion:  Liberal Arts and College Algebra
Moderator:  Brian Howe, Barton County Community College
  At the Core Competencies meeting in Wichita last fall, several individuals commented on the lack of commonality among courses designed for the liberal arts student at the college algebra level.  This discussion session is intended to explore what each of us is doing for these students (whether it be a standard college algebra course, a modified college algebra course, or an alternative course), and to discuss what direction we should be going and, if necessary, how to get there.