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This workshop is not for credit. The MAA @ UM - Dearborn student organization has prepared a problem solving workshop for students interested in becoming involved in mathematics competitions. The workshop is designed for students of all skill-levels and welcomes participants in and outside of the mathematics discipline at UM - Dearborn.
Meetings will be of a few types. During some weeks new problem sets will be shared and collaborative work on them will be facilitated. These new sets will be hosted on this site shortly afterward. Other meetings will be solution sessions, where proofs of previous problems will be discussed. Then on days before competitions we will also have mock competitions. All of these formats are meant to enhance students' problem solving skills.
Participants will be encouraged and expected to attend the various undergraduate mathematics competitions throughout the year. These include the Michigan Autumn Take Home Challenge (early November), the William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition (early December), and the Lower Michigan Mathematics Competition (early April). Students from a number of majors have represented UM - Dearborn at these events and performed admirably, making these sure to be fun and intellectually stimulating endeavours for all members of the MAA organization.
The 2019-2020 Workshop
The 2019-2020 Workshop
During the fall semester, we met regularly in the CASL building in room 2046 Fridays 12:30-1:30. For the most part, we alternated between reading and working on problems (listed as Study in the workshop schedule on the left) and presenting the solutions (listed as Solve). Before the main competitions, we held mock competitions with copies of old exams.
Our results for the year were rather promising. In the MATH Challenge we placed 4th. For the Putnam, several participants scored above the median. We also won 1st place in the LMMC. A good scientist would not immediately conclude that these results were caused by the workshop, but it is at least very likely that more problem solving-related activities have led some students to engage the competitions with stronger interest and more experience.
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