Dr. Peterson’s class was an out-of-book experience that emphasized the beauty of mathematics rather than the applications. From the beginning, we learned to generalize proofs instead of testing specific cases. We learned pure mathematics, starting from basic axioms of geometry to seeing results of Paul Erdös in Graph Theory. This class has strengthened the foundation of our developing knowledge of the field and has exponentially broadened our scope of reasoning to allow us to apply the same logic when approaching real world problems. It is almost as if a new dimension of thinking has been opened to us and we’re one step closer to an infinite sequence of mathematical enlightenment.

Student Projects (click on the group names)

 

 

During the week students worked on creating their own mathematical conjectures.  They were encouraged to prove these conjectures ... or at least provide several examples to convince the class they were true.  Of course this is often the way mathematicians begin to solve problems.
Zac, Tony, Katie 
Robbie, Sankeerth, Jasdev
Nishant, Lyniesha, Steven
Woojin, Jane, Sharon
Will, Kidai, Alan
Will, Mary Beth, Jennet

On Fridays the students presented their findings to the class.

Click here to see example conjectures

Click on the names above to see all their conjectures in a "Math Zine" format!

Not bad for high school students huh?
   

 

Occasionally, if pressed I would present a (hopefully) new topic of mathematics to the class while trying not to interrupt or corrupt their creativity.

 

Thanks for a great Summer!!!!!