Invited Workshop on Alternative Assessments

Dan was invited to run an afternoon workshop for MAA Seaway members and for members of Seaway NExT at the spring meeting Seaway Section of the Mathematics Association of America at SUNY Fredonia April 19-20. During the workshop, Dan and the participants discussed the value of traditional grades, as well as dissecting the point of grades. (For example, in-semester grades are intended to track a student’s progress, giving them chances to improve, while final grades signal competency levels to students, future instructors, and future employers.) The group then discussed whether our current system best meets those goals and what alternatives exist. More information about this section meeting can be found here: https://maaseaway.org/meetings/home/2024/spring

Dan received his PhD from Boston University studying Complex Dynamics, and he currently serves as the Rutherford Professor of Mathematics at St. Lawrence University. His research includes the dynamics of rational functions (with a particular interest in Sierpinski curve Julia sets and Julia sets related to the geometric action of circle inversion), text mining/stylometry, popular culture uses of mathematics in early 20th century pulp fiction, and mathematics pedagogy. Among other work, he has performed stylometric analyses of Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories and their various pastiches and written about H. P. Lovecraft’s use of non-Euclidean geometry for an invited paper in Lovecraft Annual. In his non-professional time, Dan enjoys spending time with his amazing spouse and their four cats, playing Dungeons & Dragons, running, and running while thinking about playing Dungeons & Dragons.