Discrete Stochastic Processes, Spring 2011
Discrete stochastic processes are essentially probabilistic systems that evolve in time via random changes occurring at discrete fixed or random intervals. This course aims to help students acquire both the mathematical principles and the intuition necessary to create, analyze, and understand insightful models for a broad range of these processes. The range of areas for which discrete stochastic-process models are useful is constantly expanding, and includes many applications in engineering, ph
Top 25 Spanish Questions You Need to Know #5 - Do you speak Spanish?
Learn Spanish with SpanishPod101.com! You’ve successfully negotiated the check-in, found your seat on the plane, and now you’re waiting for takeoff on your flight to Spain. The flight was delayed and it’s hot out, but things are looking up—a friendly Spanish woman just sat down next to you. Could this be your first Spanish friend?
In [...]
Scope on the Skies: Urban Legends
Urban legends become widespread from people simply not asking “Are you sure?” or looking into the topic and learning more before making a decision. But urban legends are also a great way to teach students to become good questioners—skeptics if you will—whenever they hear or read about these kinds of claims. A recent urban legend is generating interest due in large part to statements made by doomsday predictors, news media, and—coming to a theater near you—a movie celebrating our demi
Obama Full Speech at University of Michigan Jan. 27. 2012
Description not set
Evaluation de l'enseignement et accompagnement pédagogique à la FSA de l'Université de Laval
Le processus d’évaluation de l’enseignement utilisé à la Faculté des sciences de l’administration (FSA) de l’Université Laval - forte d’une longue expérience dans ce domaine sera présenté et discuté : questionnaires d’évaluation utilisés afin de faire ressortir les éléments qui sont valorisés, puis rapports produits et rôle des différentes personnes ayant accès à ces rapports (enseignant, directeur de département, vice-doyen à la formation, conseillère en pé
DNA, RNA , and protein
Have you ever wondered why you look like your mother while your brother looks like your grandfather? Consult life's gigantic book of information! This resource contains an illustrated interactive explanation of RNA, DNA, and proteins. This resource is appropriate for all users as it provides useful background information to enhance STEM teaching and learning for all. Copyright 2005 EDC
Platonic Realms
The Platonic Realms website is a project initiated by a small group of math and math education graduate students, led by B. Sidney Smith, at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The group's goal is "to provide high-quality mathematical content for secondary-school and college students that was free, motivational, and instructional." The introductory page features a historical note, a daily quotation, a daily mathematics challenge, humorous articles, and a "math moment" which uses multi-media t
Educause: Educating the Net Generation
Educause, a nonprofit organization "whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology," has made available this video file of a talk by their Vice President entitled "Educating the Net Generation" The online abstract describes the presentation as an exploration of "the implications of the Net Generation for colleges and universities as well as how to address the generation gap between faculty or administrators and the Net Gen." The presentati
Peabody College of Education: Department of Teaching & Learning
This website for the Peabody College of Education: Department of Teaching and Learningat Vanderbilt University describes current projects in mathematics education research. Findings and innovations developed from several projects are available from this website. Current and completed projects include: Investigating Multimedia Case Studies as a Tool for Pre-service Teacher Development, Multiplicative Reasoning as a Foundation for Stochastic Reasoning, The National Research and Development Center
Why Do We Build Dams?
Students are introduced to the concept of a dam and its potential benefits, which include water supply, electricity generation, flood control, recreation and irrigation. This lesson begins an ongoing classroom scenario in which student engineering teams working for the Splash Engineering firm design dams for a fictitious client, Thirsty County.
Bouncing Balls
Students examine how different balls react when colliding with different surfaces, giving plenty of opportunity for them to see the difference between elastic and inelastic collisions, learn how to calculate momentum, and understand the principle of conservation of momentum.
Graphing the Rainbow
Students are introduced to different ways of displaying visual spectra, including colored “barcode” spectra, like those produced by a diffraction grating, and line plots displaying intensity versus color, or wavelength. Students learn that a diffraction grating acts like a prism, bending light into its component colors.
Dress for Success
In this design activity, students investigate materials engineering as it applies to weather and clothing. Teams design and analyze different combinations of materials for effectiveness in specific weather conditions. Analysis includes simulation of temperature, wind and wetness elements, as well as the functionality and durability of final prototypes.
Population Growth in Yeasts
This lesson is the second of two that explore cellular respiration and population growth in yeasts. In the first lesson, students set up a simple way to indirectly observe and quantify the amount of respiration occurring in yeast-molasses cultures. Based on questions that arose during the first lesson and its associated activity, in this lesson students work in small groups to design experiments that will determine how environmental factors affect yeast population growth.
The Visual Spectrum
In this activity, students make simple spectroscopes (prisms) to look at different light sources. The spectroscopes allow students to see differing spectral distributions of different light sources.
Learning Imaging Techniques!
During this activity, students will be introduced to the concepts of the challenge. They will generate ideas for solving the grand challenge first independently, then in small groups. Finally, as a class, students will compile their ideas with a visual as a learning supplement.
Motion Commotion
Students learn why and how motion occurs and what governs changes in motion, as described by Newton's three laws of motion. They gain hands-on experience with the concepts of forces, changes in motion, and action and reaction. In an associated literacy activity, students design a behavioral survey and learn basic protocol for primary research, survey design and report writing.
Hurricanes
Students learn what causes hurricanes and what engineers do to help protect people from destruction caused by hurricane winds and rain. Research and data collection vessels allow for scientists and engineers to model and predict weather patterns and provide forecasts and storm warnings to the public. Engineers are also involved in the design and building of flood-prevention systems, such as levees and floodwalls. During the 2005 hurricane season, levees failed in the greater New Orleans area, co
Taking the Boat to Manaus
In this activity, the students will apply the concepts they learned regarding mass, volume and density in the previous activities to design a boat.
Problem Solving
Students are introduced to a systematic procedure for solving problems through a demonstration and then the application of the method to an everyday activity. The unit project is introduced to provide relevance to subsequent lessons.
