Advising appointments with Augustine Wong

The following message was sent to the mailing list.

Evening appointments for advising:

Wednesday, May 6, 7 - 9 p.m.
Wednesday, May 13, 7 - 9 p.m.

Advising should take approximately 10 mins.

Please e-mail Prof. Wong (august@mathstat.yorku.ca) and let him know what time-slot is suitable for you.

ADVISING APPOINTMENTS - SUMMER 2009
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
7:00 7:10 7:20 7:30 7:40 7:50 8:00 8:10 8:20 8:30 8:40 8:50

Wednesday, May 13, 2009
7:00 7:10 7:20 7:30 7:40 7:50 8:00 8:10 8:20 8:30 8:40 8:50

Thanks

Primrose Miranda
Graduate Program in Mathematics & Statistics

Mike's note: I recommend anyone should set up an appointment to speak with Augustine or myself. I will be less formal and not set times, email me and give me a chance to get your file (remember I am not in the same building as Primrose and Augustine so give me advance warning). Since most of you are coming in on Monday and Thursday for classes rather than Wednesday I would recommend arranging to do the advising appointment by phone rather than making a trip here on another evening.

Summer 2009 registration begins Monday, April 27, 2009!

Wednesday April 22, 2009 <>
Dear Graduate Students,

I hope this note finds you well as you enter into summer 2009 term on June 8, 2009.

As a graduate student, you are required to maintain continuous registration in your program. This means you must register in each term (Summer, Fall and Winter) until you complete your degree as either a full-time or part-time student.

The deadline to register is June 15, 2009. If you register after this date, you will be charged a late fee of $200.

To register and view the summer 2009 course timetable, visit the Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS) web site: www.yorku.ca/grads/registration/index.htm. Use the information and links found on the site to register in your program, enroll in courses, and familiarize yourself with important information and deadlines (http://www.yorku.ca/grads/calendar.htm - l2).

Please note that unless your Graduate Program Director and Dean, Faculty of Graduate Studies have approved a change of status, leave of absence academic petition, you must remain in the category of registration to which you were admitted. If you are having difficulty registering please do not hesitate to contact FGS.

The Faculty of Graduate Studies wishes you all the best in your academic progress. If you have any question, please contact your graduate program or call or visit the Faculty of Graduate Studies at 283 York Lanes or 416 736-5521.

Sincerely,

Sharon Pereira

Student Affairs Officer

Faculty of Graduate Studies

Summer 2009 Registration

Dear Graduate Program Assistants,

Graduate students are required to maintain continuous registration. This means they must register in each term (Summer, Fall and Winter) until they complete their degree as either a full-time or part-time student. Summer 2009 registration commences on April 27, 2009 and the deadline for registering is June 15, 2009. Students who register after the deadline will be charged a late fee of $200.

Students should visit the FGS web site: www.yorku.ca/grads/registration/index.htm to register and view the summer 2009 course timetable.

Please note the following: unless a change of status has been approved by the Graduate Program Director and the Dean, Faculty of Graduate Studies, students must remain in the category of registration to which they are admitted.

If you have any further queries, contact FGS Student Affairs Office at 416 736 5521.

Thank you,
Karen Reid
Student Affairs, Assistant
York University
Faculty of Graduate Studies, 283 York Lanes
416.736.2100 Ext. 55521
kreid@yorku.ca
www.yorku.ca/grads

We pretend to teach 'em, they pretend to learn

An article in the Globe and Mail from April 18, 2009 identifies serious problems with university bound high school students.

The article clearly says that students are not motivated, are not stretched academically, get As and Bs just for showing up, are immature and disorganized, lack math and writing skills, can't think critically, and believe that research is synonymous with Wikipedia.

Count me a member of the "Old Farts Club" that is mentioned in the article. Now, what can we do about it?

This article is confirmed by the Toronto Star on April 6, 2009. What is this, take pot shots at students month? Its like shooting fish in a barrel.

A novel approach to grading

This professor at University of Ottawa is being punished for his assigning all A+ grades in a class. Oh how I wish he were in the norm. I am not as eloquent as he is and not able to defend such a position but I would support a move to a non-grading or a pass-fail system.

Towards the end of the interview the interviewer says in summary:
"We are too focused on grades and not enough on learning."
Ah-ha! He gets it!

I should add a link to the petition in support of Professor Denis Rancourt:
http://rancourt.academicfreedom.ca/petitions/online-petition.html

Deadline for applying to graduate at the end of winter term

Students who will be completing degree requirements by the end of the winter term should apply on-line to graduate. The deadline is May 1. In addition, these students have to complete a convocation form. Please let me know if you will be completing your degree requirements by the end of this term so that I can print off a convocation form and send it to you for completion and signature. Some of you may have done this already.

Please also note the deadline for submission of final copies of theses/dissertations to the Faculty of Graduate Studies.

Thanks

Primrose Miranda
Graduate Program in Mathematics & Statistics

Digging For The 'Prime' Jewels Of Numbers

We usually discuss the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search (GIMPS) in the Fundamentals class. This week it made it into the news because a journalist at NPR did a story about the project. Surprisingly, the story comes not when another large prime has been found, but when the journalist is encouraging others to join the search so that he can win a bet. This story was on 'NPR's most emailed stories.'

Upcoming summer courses

Summer course offerings for the M.A. in Mathematics for Teachers program have been 'officially' listed.

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Math 5350 (June 8 - July 16) An introduction to Mathematical Modeling - Discrete Time & Probability

J. Heffernan

MR 6:00-9:00 Ross N836

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Math 5360 3.0 (July 20 - Aug 27) An introduction to Mathematical Modeling - Continuous Time & Probability

J. Heffernen

MR 6:00-9:00 Ross N836

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Math 5910 3.0* (EDUC 5210) Quantitative Research Methods in Education

P.D. Millett

MTRF 9:30-2:30
W 9:30-3:30

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Math 5350 3.0 - An introduction to Mathematical Modeling – Discrete Time and Probability
This course provides an introduction to discrete time and probabilistic mathematical models. The course focuses on the mathematical methods underlying scientific inquiry and discovery. Through hands-on exploration and reflection, students will examine topics such as historical connections between mathematics and science, empirical modeling, model validation, proportionality, and simulation. The course starts with an overview of the modeling process and a review of relevant technology - Texas Instrument TI-92, the Internet and the World Wide Web, Java applets and computer algebra systems. Strategies to initiate modeling in the secondary classroom and classroom assessment of modeling activities are introduced and discussed. Topics include difference equations, Markov chains, and leslie matrices, applied to problems in biology, the environment, and finance i.e. modeling infectious disease spread, species extinction, power delivery. Particular attention is given to topics in the intermediate and senior Ontario curriculum.

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Math 5360 3.0 - An introduction to Mathematical Modeling – Continuous Time and Probability
This course provides an introduction to continuous-time and probabilistic mathematical models. The course focuses on the mathematical methods underlying scientific inquiry and discovery. Through hands-on exploration and reflection, students will examine topics such as historical connections between mathematics and science, empirical modeling, model validation, proportionality, and simulation. The course starts with an overview of the modeling process and a review of relevant technology - Texas Instrument TI-92, the Internet and the World Wide Web, Java applets and computer algebra systems. Strategies to initiate modeling in the secondary classroom and classroom assessment of modeling activities are introduced and discussed. Topics include differential equations, Markov processes, and leslie matrices, applied to problems in biology, the environment, and finance i.e. modeling infectious disease spread, predator prey, heat flow. Particular attention is given to topics in the intermediate and senior Ontario curriculum.
Instructor: Jane Heffernan (jmheffer at yorku dot ca)

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Math 5350 and Math 5360 are new and I am really excited that we are offering these courses because they promise some interesting content that you will not find in too many other programs (undergraduate or graduate). The other great feature that these courses introduce into the program is the flexibility of the 3.0 credit option. Most of our previous classes have all been 6.0 credits and I plan to try to offer a few more like this in the future.