One of the exciting elements of being the Communications Editor is that I get to connect people with the exciting papers in PRIMUS that I think will impact their professional work for the better. In support of this goal, Taylor & Francis allows us (Matt Boelkins, Kathy Weld, and me) to select papers each year as Editors’ Picks and makes them freely available for download to all without login, without requiring access to the journal. This blog post is intended to share a little about the categories of Picks and why I am excited about these particular papers. In general, …
Author: Brian P Katz (BK)
One of the most common conversations I have with authors is about my strong, negative reaction to the term real-world. I believe that this seemingly-innocuous term embeds a problematic ideology in at least two related ways. Let me explain: Real-world problems implies the existence of rational-/natural-world problems. I think that most people use the term real-world to assert that a phenomenon is realistic, messy, or authentic because its origins are not in a school context. I certainly support educators in attending to these aspects of learning environments beyond the famously shallow levels seen in problems about 57 watermelons. But the …
PRIMUS is pleased to announce a new special issue, “Teaching Linear Algebra: an International Perspective”. Linear algebra is the mathematics of the 21st Century and makes the digital world work. In our fast-growing technological world, advancement in industry relies heavily on linear algebra, and it is becoming ever more critical for future employees to be familiar with the subject (Stewart et al., 2022). After students take a first course in linear algebra, they go on to use it in a wide range of settings. Majors in computer science, engineering, or economics may use it in applied ways; majors in mathematics …
Call for Papers- Teaching Linear Algebra: an International PerspectiveRead More »
We are excited to announce a new class of paper in the journal: a Curated Collection, which is similar to an editorial for a Special Issue, but is instead based on our existing archive of papers that we have published in PRIMUS. The goal of a Curated Collection is to help identify connections between and among PRIMUS papers and to organize the PRIMUS archive for readers. Since not all of the big themes in the journal are represented in Special Issues, and some themes have continued to develop since the publication of a special issue, Curated Collections will help readers …
The journal PRIMUS announces a special issue on resources for undergraduate cryptology. Stuart Boersma (Central Washington University), Chris Christensen (Northern Kentucky University), and Christian Millichap (Furman University) will guest edit the special issue. Description: Cryptology is an area that includes many topics and applications that are interesting and engaging for undergraduate mathematics majors. Additionally, cryptology also includes interesting and engaging topics that are accessible to non-mathematics majors. In increasing numbers, cryptology courses are being offered in mathematics departments. Sometimes these courses are being developed to support programs in mathematics, applied mathematics, and/or computer science. Sometimes these courses target non-math majors to fulfill …
Call for Papers: Special Issue on Resources for Undergraduate CryptologyRead More »
I believe that PRIMUS has a very supportive review and editorial process, perhaps even distinctively supportive, and I wanted to reflect briefly on how and why. First, what do I mean by supportive? As an editor, I regularly get notes about how thoughtful and helpful the reviewers’ comments were for authors, and the journal is full of examples of authors adding acknowledgements about how the feedback helped them strengthen their ideas. This stands in contrast with the tale of a paper getting contorted into some form of Frankenstein’s Monster in order to appease Reviewer #2. And as an author, I …
One of the exciting elements of being the Communications Editor is that I get to connect people with the exciting papers in PRIMUS that I think will impact their professional work for the better. In support of this goal, Taylor & Francis allows us (Matt Boelkins, Kathy Weld, and me) to select papers each year as Editors’ Picks and makes them freely available for download to all without login, without requiring access to the journal. This blog post is intended to share a little about the categories of Picks and why I am excited about these particular papers. In general, …
Intro With the invention of smartphones has come a new genre of video games commonly referred to as “idle games”. Frankly, I love them. The term “idle” comes from the fact that most of these games are designed to progress regardless of whether the player is logged into them (or really, they just recompile based on time elapsed when you do log in). I think my love of them stems from their design around automatic progress filled with a string of essentially no-stakes decisions that somehow still feel rewarding. These games often feel overtly math-y, and, when they don’t, they …
The comment I write most frequently as a reviewer or editor involves the word “traditional”. In most cases, I don’t think this word is doing what it needs to do, and in a lot of cases, I think it’s doing some harm. First, the term “traditional” doesn’t communicate anything about that tradition. Lots of authors contrast their pedagogical idea with an unspecified “traditional teaching”; others frame their pedagogical activity as being embedded in something more “traditional”. But this doesn’t mean anything unless the reader shares the same understanding of what is traditional and knows in detail about that tradition. Here’s …
The journal PRIMUS (Problems, Resources, and Issues in Mathematics Undergraduate Studies) announces a special issue on developing the teaching capacity of early-career mathematics instructors. Jessica Deshler (West Virginia University) and Sarah Mayes-Tang (University of Toronto) will guest edit the special issue. An often-told anecdote among mathematicians is that of being handed a textbook and a class schedule, many times as they were just beginning graduate school, with the assumption that their years as a student would provide sufficient guidance in how to teach. Indeed, novice instructors usually teach in the way that they were taught. However, these ways of teaching are …
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