Writing Projects for Mathematics Courses

Beginning Mathematical Writing Assignments

“…For the poker assignment, we are considering requiring students to find the probability of a "high card," (the most difficult to explain), including a wild card (i.e., a card that can take on any value or suit), or perhaps a variant game with a different number of card values and/or suits. 4 In the future, we hope to further incorporate a small reflection piece after each assignment in which the students will reflect on their process of writing, which may (should) include revision, peerreview, editing, etc. We hope to use this information to enlighten students to the effective writing processes that not only make them stronger writers but also, more immediately, result in better grades.…”

“…These writing assignments were developed using a combination of strategies including ideas from Walvoord [11], Bahls [1], Bean [2], and Crannell et al [4] as well as ideas stemming from our own personal experience in taking and teaching courses in mathematics over the years. The assignments were intended to foster effective writing habits and, at the same time, develop students' skills in the areas of argumentation, analysis and synthesis.…”

“…The authors' tongue-and-cheek approach was inspired by Gavin LaRose[4] 3. This idea is courtesy of Dr. Annalisa Crannell.…”