Category Archives: Project

Project Reflection

Project,

This assignment is the final deliverable for your project (worth 10 points).  It is an individual, not a group, assignment and should be submitted by email, not on the OpenLab.

The Semester Project consisted of a number of related activities and assignments – before you begin writing, please take a look at the list and click each of the links to remind yourself  of all the parts of the project.

Assignment (Due Thursday, December 10th, at midnight).  SUBMIT BY EMAIL, NOT ON THE OPENLAB.  This is your chance to reflect on the Semester Project, and to describe your contributions to the major group activities.   Please respond to all of the following.

Part 1 (200 words minimum).  Write one or two paragraphs reflecting on the Semester Project, from the initial assignment (“OpenLab #5: Bridges and Walking Tours“) through to the final presentations.  You can use the following questions to guide your writing if you wish (or you can respond in whatever way you wish):

  • What was your overall impression of the project?  What did you enjoy the most? Least?
  • Do you feel that the project enhanced your experience of the class?  Was the project related to the course material?
  • How did you feel during the process? What was the best moment? The worst?
  • Was the project scaffolded appropriately? Did you need more or different support for any of the assignments? Do you have any suggestions for making the project more effective?

Part 2.  Describe your  personal contributions to the final two major group assignments, the group paper and the group presentation.  Do you think that you were an equal contributor in your group? Be as specific as you can.

Group Paper draft Feedback

Announcements, Project, ,

Hi everyone,

I enjoyed reading the drafts of your papers very much – thanks!  I’ve sent feedback to each group, copying all group members, by email.  If you didn’t receive anything, please let me know and I’ll resend it (I used the email addresses that I pulled from cunyfirst at the beginning of the semester, but I’m not sure if they are all accurate).

If you have questions about any of my comments, please let me know.  As a reminder, your final draft is due in class on Thursday, December 3 (by email or hard copy).

Regards,
Prof. Reitz

Semester Project – Group Presentations: Description and Grading Criteria

Project, , , ,

The last significant group assignment for your semester project is a group presentation (there will be one more individual assignment, a reflection on the process).  I’ll put the details here, followed by an outline of the grading criteria (the presentation is worth 20 points total).

Semester Project – Group Presentation

This is your chance to share your group’s work with the rest of the class.  Each group will give a 5-8 minute presentation, including the following items:

  • State your conjecture (this should be written down, either on a slide or on the board).  Give an explanation, and an example to demonstrate your conjecture.
  • If you were able to prove your conjecture, give a proof.  If not, describe briefly some of the ideas you had and strategies you tried while trying to prove it.
  • Give the class at least one puzzle to work on on their own – a challenge!
  • Give the audience a chance to ask questions (either during the presentation, or after).

Keep in mind the following:

  • You must include some kind of slides (you may also put work on the board):  PowerPoint, Google Slides, Prezi.com, LaTeX Beamer, or other.
  • You may decide as a group how to divide up the work, but each group member must present something to class.
  • Be aware that you will be asked at a later time to describe your own specific contributions as well as those of each group member.
  • Presentations will be given at the beginning of class on Tuesday, 12/1 and Thursday, 12/3.  Your group must sign up for a presentation time before leaving class on 11/19.

 

Grading Criteria (20 points total)

_____ points (4 possible).  Basics.  Stay within time limits (5-8 minutes). All group members participate.

_____ points (6 possible).  Conjecture.  Conjecture is written down.  Explanation and example are provided.

_____ points (7 possible).  Proof of conjecture or proof process description.

_____ points (3 possible).  Challenge the class.  At least one puzzle is given for the class to work on on their own.

 

____ points TOTAL (20 possible)

 

Group Process Paper – Grading Criteria

Project, , ,

Hi everyone,

The group process paper will be worth 35 points towards your Project grade.  I will be filling out the sheet below for each paper submitted.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Best,
Prof. Reitz

 

Semester Project – Puzzle Process Paper
Grading Criteria

_____ points (3 possible).  Basics/formatting.  Length (1500 words required).  Group members names.  Semester/Date/Course.

_____ points (2 possible).  Puzzle description. Description given in own words, demonstrates understanding of puzzle mechanics.

_____ points (16 possible).  Proof process narrative.

_____ points (4 possible).  Shows progress across various stages of the project.  

_____ points (4 possible).  Includes all participating members of the group.  

_____ points (4 possible).  Includes objective facts (“what we did”) as well as experience (“how it felt, what it was like”).  

_____ points (4 possible).  Tells a story.

_____ points (5 possible).  Conjecture.

_____ points (3 possible).  State your group’s conjecture.

_____ points (2 possible).  Proof or disproof of conjecture. If no proof or disproof was obtained, these points can be earned by clear explanation of proof process in the preceding account.

_____ points (9 possible).  Images (3 points each).  Original or clearly attributed.  Includes caption.  Connection to puzzle/process is evident.  

 

____ points TOTAL (35 possible)

 

 

Semester Project – Group Process Paper

Project, , ,

In his essay A Mathematician’s Lament, Paul Lockhart says “A good problem is something you don’t know how to solve.” This is quite different from most of the “problems” that appear in our mathematics education.  In the past weeks, you’ve all spent some time individually and in groups working on such problems, in the context of graph theory (“Bridges and Walking Tours”).

As a group, write an account of your experiences working on your puzzle/problem.  You should include the following elements:

  • Description of the Bridges and Walking Tours problem, in your own words.
  • An account of working on your problem as a group, from playing with the problem to formulating and perhaps proving a conjecture.  What did your group do/think/feel?  You can include examples of puzzles and solutions if you wish, as well as work by individual group members completed outside the group (both optional).  Your goal is not to go over every detail, but to tell a story that your readers will enjoy – “what was it like”?.
  • A statement of your group’s chosen conjecture, and a proof (or disproof) of the conjecture.
  • At least three images (more if you wish).  They can include images of puzzles you’ve created or solutions, but you can also be creative with images or photos related to your puzzle, your group or your story in some way.  Each image should have a caption describing.  NOTE: You may freely use your own drawings, images or photos.  If you wish to use photos from another source, they must be from a legal source (for example, Creative Commons licensed, with proper attribution – the library or your professor can help with this).
  • Basic details: the names of all group members, the date, course and section numbers, and your professor’s name.

I will be meeting with each group next Thursday, November 12th, in class.  Please be in touch with your other group members before then!  Be prepared to discuss your progress so far – at the very least, you should be able to describe how you are dividing up the work of the paper among your group.

The first draft of this assignment is due in class on Thursday, November 19.  Each group should submit one paper, of no less than 1500 words.  You may decide as a group how to divide up the work.  Be aware that you will be asked at a later time to describe your own specific contributions as well as those of each group member.

The final draft of this assignment is due in class on Thursday, December 3.

UPDATE REGARDING SEMESTER PROJECT:  As you may recall from the Course Description, the semester project is worth 10% of your overall grade.  The project consists of a number of interrelated activities (many of which have already been completed) – complete details can be found on the Project Overview & Deliverables page.  The group paper assigned here forms a significant portion of the project.

In-Class Group Project Activity 10/29/15 – Refine Your Group Conjecture

Project, ,

Assignment.  Your goal for today is to refine the conjecture you decided on during your last class meeting.  Some things to consider:

  • Specificity: The conjecture should be stated clearly.  It should include all information necessary to be understood by someone who is familiar with graph theory terms (vertex, edges, paths) and familiar with the assignment (walking tours).  A reader should be able to tell from the statement whether a conjecture applies to a given drawing or not.
  • Generality: Your conjecture should apply to more than just a single specific graph (it can apply to a collection of similar graphs, for example, as long as you describe exactly what types of graphs you are considering).
  • Drawing: You can create a drawing to accompany your conjecture, but your conjecture should be understandable without the picture.
  • You can revise your conjecture as a group if you wish – but try to come up with something similar.
  • You can add additional clarification to your conjecture.
  • You can extend your conjecture to include more types of graphs.