You will work in teams of two to do the research, prepare the presentations, and deliver the lectures. You will do this twice during the semester, with different teammate. More detail about how to research the material and prepare your lectures will be given in class. In short, presenters are expected to have worked hard on their presentations prior to class, and should set their standards high for delivering interesting, mathematically correct, and engaged lectures. 

One useful document with lots of good tips was prepared by Prof. Andy Schultz and can be found here. When assessing your presentations, I will adhere to the criteria outlined in that document.

As part of your presentations preparation, you will come up with 3-4 homework problems relevant to your topic and will send it to me, along with the solutions. I will then edit and post the homework on the assignments page. Homework will be due most Fridays, and will cover the material talked about in class the previous week. Problems sets are due by 5 pm. You will upload a pdf of your homework into a Google drive folder; I will explain the details in class. You will be graded on the content, but also in large part on the clarity and presentation, and will be expected to follow the guidelines from this document.

You are allowed to turn in any two homework assignments except the last one late, and they have to be turned in on the due date of the next assignment (so this usually means that you can turn in late assignments one week later than their original due date).  Subsequent late homeworks will not be accepted.

An important note about homework collaboration and the Honor Code:  You are welcome to work with your classmates when solving homework problems. In the event that you have taken notes while working with someone else, you must put these notes away and recreate the solutions on your own as you write them up for submission.  Using notes from a collaboration while writing up your homework assignment will be considered a violation of the Honor Code. In addition, you may NOT consult a written solution to a problem you are working on (whether it be online or in a book). Breaches in the Honor Code in any aspect of the course will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the college legislation. If you have any questions about this policy, please talk to me.

Since each class will be based on student presentations and discussion, you are expected to be engaged and contribute to the conversation. Students who are not presenting are expected to stop the lecturer to ask her to repeat a particular exposition, to present a concrete example of an abstract concept, or to reexplain a confusing concept. Classroom time should be treated as an interactive resource, and the best class periods will feel more like discussions than lectures. If a presenter is unclear or is presenting material that seems mathematically incorrect, it is the responsibility of the class – not the instructor – to work towards resolving these issues.

You will also be required to provide written feedback to the presenters, and this will count toward your participation grade. When evaluating the presentations, you should think about:

• Clarity of explanation

  • Are the mathematical ideas explained in a way that’s understandable to the audience?

  • Is technical vocabulary introduced and used appropriately?

• Organization & flow

  • Is there a clear beginning, middle, and end?

  • Do transitions between topics make sense?

• Pace & timing

  • Is the presentation too fast, too slow, or about right?

  • Did the presenters pause for emphasis and allow time for the audience to process the material?

• Quality of slides/visuals and boardwork

  • Are slides readable and not too crowded?

  • Is the amount of math content in the slides or on the blackboard appropriate?

• Use of worked examples

  • Are examples chosen well to illustrate the main ideas?

  • Do examples build understanding without being trivial or overwhelming?

• Engagement with audience

  • Does the presenter make eye contact, speak audibly, and avoid reading verbatim?

  • Are questions invited or addressed appropriately?

• Confidence & enthusiasm

  • Does the presenter appear prepared and interested in the topic?

  • Does their tone/energy help keep the audience engaged?

• Accessibility

  • Are the explanations pitched at the right level for the audience?

  • Does the presenter check in with the audience to make sure they’re following?

• Takeaway

  • At the end, is it clear what the audience should remember or have learned?