Name: ___________________Per.__

Mathematician: ________________________

Mathematician Project

Honors Precalculus

Objective: Students will research a mathematician’s contributions to calculus in order to gain a better perspective on the foundation of calculus.

Calculus Standards: This project is an introduction to most of the Calculus standards by building a foundation in calculus development and introducing common calculus problems and applications. Specific standards addressed are dependant upon student work.

Library Standards:

Standard 1 Accesses information efficiently and effectively

Standard 2 Evaluates information critically and competently

Standard 3 Uses information accurately and creatively

Standard 8 practices ethical behavior in regard to information and information technology

Task: You will choose a partner to work with, and together you will be assigned a mathematician to research. You will present your findings in a 5-7 minute presentation.

Research Requirements:

□ Biographical Information – details on the mathematician’s life outside of their math career.

□ Schooling – areas of study and location of their academic life

□ Contributions/Work – what topics did they work on and how did that compare and contrast with the current mathematics of that time.

□ Proof or Problem – Find a detailed problem or proof that the mathematician worked on. Extra points will be given if for outstanding explanations of 2 or more proofs or problems specifically related to calculus. – must be cleared by Miss Vander Helm.

□ Resources – explained by librarian.

Presentation Requirements:

□ Choose a method of presentation and get it approved by Miss Vander Helm. (Possible options: News cast, talk show, short play, PowerPoint, scrapbook, in character dialogue/speech, poster/tri-fold, video, etc.)

□ Handout: You need to prepare a handout for your presentation so your classmates can easily follow along. The handout should be interactive with blanks to fill in, pictures to draw, short answers, room to work a problem, etc. The specifics of the handout will be determined by the nature of your presentation. The handout should also address the topics of both partner’s test questions. (approximate length: 1 page, front only, but you are graded on content, not length)

□ Presentations will be given in chronological order by your mathematician’s birth year. Your presentation should last between 5 and 7 minutes. I will stop your presentation if it lasts longer than 10 minutes. PRACTICE the timing! Presentation Dates: 10/14 – 10/17

Individual Requirement: Each of you will be responsible for 5 ORIGINAL test problems related to your research. You should write the problems based on what you want the class to have learned from your presentation. Small details about their life may not be the best topics to write questions on. The problems must be written using coherent, test-like wording, and answers must be provided. They may be multiple choice, true false, or short answer questions. Be sure to make citations where necessary. Please consult your partner to make sure your questions are different. The questions should be typed up and sent to Miss Vander Helm via e-mail by OCTOBER 10, 2008: hvanderh@hartdistrict.org

Works Cited Requirements: A Bibliography will be required to give credit to your sources. The Librarian will give you more information regarding these requirements.

Website Suggestions:

The MacTutor History of Mathematics archive

http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/index.html

Biographies of Women Mathematicians

http://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/women.htm

The History of Mathematics (brief)

http://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/HistMath.html

Mathematicians of the 17^th and 18^th Centuries

http://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/People/RBallHist.html

History of Calculus (click on “calculus” in left toolbar, then click on “readings” button)

http://www.math.tamu.edu/~dallen/masters/hist_frame.htm

List of Mathematicians:

Scoring:

I will use the following rubrics to grade your presentation. Please review these carefully while creating your presentation and materials.

*Rubric*	Below Basic	Basic	Proficient	Advanced
Biographical Information (8 points)	Included 0-2 biographical facts.	Included 3-4 biographical facts.	Included 5-6 biographical facts.	Included 7 or more biographical facts.
Contributions/ Work (12 points)	Mentioned one contribution.	Explained one contribution	Explained one contribution and how it influenced the development of calculus.	Explained two or more contributions and how they influenced the development of calculus.
Proof/Problem (12 points)	N/A	Mentioned a proof or problem that your mathematician worked on.	Explained a proof or problem that your mathematician worked on.	Explained two or more proofs or problems that your mathematician worked on.[Extra pts]
Individual Requirement (Test Questions) (12 points )	0 - 3 test questions.	4 test questions	Five Test questions that stress the important parts of your presentation.	Five or more test questions that have appropriate difficulty and have varying methods of questioning.
Presentation Time (8 points)	Between 0 – 3 or 9 – 10 minutes	Between 3 – 4 or 8 – 9 minutes	Between 4 – 5 or 7 – 8 minutes	Between 5 and 7 minutes
Handout (8 points)	Handout has basic information.	Handout has important information that directly follows your presentation.	Handout has important information that directly follows your presentation and is interactive.	Handout includes “proficient” items and includes something unique or creative.
Speaking Skills (4 points)	Speaking was not at all clear, audible, appropriate, or well paced.	Speaking was sometimes clear, audible, appropriate, and well paced.	Speaking was mostly clear, audible, appropriate, and well paced with some improvement needed.	Speaking was clear, audible, appropriate, and well paced.
Visual Appeal (8 points)	Visuals were basic, but not visible to students. Very little color or effort.	Visuals had good information, some color, and were mostly visible.	Visuals had great information, a lot of color, and were visible to ALL students.	Visuals enhanced your presentation, were colorful, appealing, and visible to all.
Citations (8 points)	No citations were used.	1-3 citations were used, but some incorrectly formatted.	1-3 citations used with correct formatting.	4 or more citations used with correct formatting.

Total from rubric: _______ / 80

Works Cited Score: ________/ 10

Wow Points: __________

OVERALL SCORE: ___________ / 90

Comments: _________________________________________________________________________

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