November 19, 2008

A Mathematician Goes to Indonesia. presented by Dr. Joe Watkins

A film clip of middle school Indonesian children singing in chorus while garbed in native dress set the stage for Dr. Watkins presentation. Participants could sense the cultural change in traveling to this, the fourth most populous country, with current population- 229,700,000 (after China, India, and the United States).

Dr. Watkins traveled to Indonesia to consult with government officials regarding national policies. Issues included land allocation, efficiency of crop cultivation, and gene dominance. Participants used a card-shuffling activity to model some of the interactions.

This presentation stretched our understandings of the role played by applied mathematicians. The connections to statistics, biology, agriculture, and sociology were strongly illustrated. Dr. Watkins is very active and knowledgeable in culturally and ecologically responsible behaviors on a world scale. His messages were much appreciated.

The ideas and strategies presented were beyond the norm of middle school mathematics, yet numerous standards were addressed. Some of the AIMS Standards included are:
1.3.1 Use estimation to determine the reasonableness of a solution.
1.3.4 Determine when an estimate is more appropriate than an exact answer.
2.1.1 Display data as lists, tables, matrices, and plots; make predictions and observations about patterns or departures from patterns.
2.1.2 Draw inferences about data sets from lists, tables, matrices, and plots.
2.1.5 Organize collected data into an appropriate graphical representation.
2.1.6 Evaluate the reasonableness of conclusions drawn from data analysis.
2.1.7 Explain misrepresentations and distortions in displays of data.
2.1.8 Design simple experiments or investigations and collect data to answer questions.