One Good Idea: WriteLatex

I don't know how the rest of the bloggers keep up, but here is my next post about my Advanced Calculus class this term.

One new thing I am trying this term is to have the students write up solutions to the questions they solve on WriteLatex.  I have a free account and I have shared the file with the class.  This is working well with the 8 students in my class, but I am not sure how well it would work with a much  larger class.  It has also completely changed the class dynamics.

Past: Students would volunteer to present solutions to problems in class.  They would write up their solutions on the board (chalk or white) and the other students would review their work.  A lot of time was taken writing on the board since they don't really know how to talk and write at the same time.  Not much work was actually written up and turned in.

Present:  Students are going on the web site and writing up the problems they can do.  Then, in class, they present their solution and talk through it.  I think the most disconcerting part is when they discover an error and they correct it using their own laptop.  Meanwhile words just appear and disappear on the projected document.  The biggest problem I am having is getting the students who feel behind to submit proofs.

Then, I can go into the document and write comments about their proofs.  I have even been known to substitute more elegant LaTeX code as an example of the power of the environment (did you know about the \tag command?).

We did have one day when the WriteLatex server went down in class, but the students all have printed copies of the questions and we just proceeded using the boards.  Another problem is that the chapters are starting to get unwieldy.  I went through and chopped up Chapter 1 with each section having its own file because it would take a while to find where we were in the document.  I have heard that Sage Math Cloud has backwards and forwards searching which would be nice, but I hadn't heard about that project until over a week into the term.  Boy, it can be hard staying on the bleeding edge of things.

Conclusions: I love that the students are learning to communicate mathematics in writing and that we do not need to take time for writing.  This was not something I was expecting at all.  The original plan had them presenting at the board and only writing up their work afterwards.  However, I do need to find a way to "reserve" problems for students who are behind.

#IBL #WriteLatex

Week 1 - What, exactly, is a real number

Advanced Calculus came to a screaming halt today.

First, the students asked for some more information about sets and help developing intuition about upper bounds and least upper bounds.  We also discussed the difference between something being an element of a set and something being a subset and/or a proper subset.  Heads were nodding, so we continued on - for two questions.  What was the stumper?

• If x squared is 2, prove or disprove that x is a real number.

After a lot of head scratching, the class broke up and worked together on the boards for the rest of the time.

Everyone else was taking pictures of the board, so I decided to record a few myself.

Week 1 - Students are a fruit salad

My advanced calculus class of students is a fruit salad of experiences.  I have sophomores through seniors who have taken no proofs classes through either our abstract algebra course or our introduction to proofs class.  Why do I think of this as a fruit salad?  Because they are all different flavors and textures, but are all welcome in the class.  I have one banana who is pretty sure he is in over his head, but having had him in other classes, I know he is capable.

Before the term begins

I am teaching MA 305, Advanced Calculus, at Wartburg IBL style for the second time starting Monday.  I have the course on my mind when I had dinner at one of our Chinese restaurants last night.  Here are the appropriate fortune cookie sayings that I collected for my students:

• Only the person who risks is truly free.
• Good timber does not grow with ease; the stronger the wind, the stronger the trees.
• Never despair, but if you do, work on in despair.
• Only the educated are free.

The first couple of weeks of the class are going to feel to my students that someone has taken them out to the middle of the lake, thrown them in, and asked them to learn how to swim.  I know they can be successful, but they are in for a tough time for a bit.