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Jim Olsen's Home Page |  |
| James R. Olsen, Ph.D. Western Illinois University |
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Exciting News: WIU has recieved a $1.4 million grant to recruit, support, train, and place STEM teachers in the high-needs school districts around the region, state, and country. This Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program will provide teacher education majors with scholarships for the junior and senior years. Click here for the flier. Click here for the webpage and to apply.
Annual Western Illinois University Mathematics Teachers Conference was held April 14, 2023! We had a great turnout. It was fun to again have teachers at WIU, excited about professional development. We look forward to again hosting the annual WIU in 2024.
We are excited to announce that our new Master of Science in Teaching Mathematics degree has been fully approved. This masters degree is designed for current teachers of secondary mathematics and the courses will all be offered in an online format. More information here.
The Many Rich Meanings of the Geometric Mean - Presented at the Annual Meeting of the NCTM, in Washington, DC, October 26, 2023.
Math Olympiad at Macomb Middle School - In October 2023 we began Math Olympiad at Macomb Middle School.
Hands-on Division with Fractions for Student Understanding - Presented at the NCTM Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL, September 26, 2024 and ICTM Annual Conference in Naperville, IL, October 7, 2023. Links to the handouts and slides for the presentations can be found here.
My Top Eight Reasons for Using Technology to Help Students Learn Mathematics, with Examples of Each - Handout and Slides. Presentation at the Mini-Conference on Secondary Mathematics Teaching, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019.
The Many Rich Meanings of the Geometric Mean - Presented at the 69th Annual Western Illinois University Mathematics Teachers' Conference, April 14, 2023.
Materials for Promoting Problem Solving and Experiencing the Beauty of Mathematics - Poster Presentation at Educating the Educators III international conference in Freiburg, Germany, October 7-8, 2019. Handout of problems.
Online Teaching of Math and Technical Subjects Series - Three sessions, fall 2019, given for CITR at WIU. Top 10 Suggestions, Sept. 26: slides; handout. Zoom Videoconferencing, Oct. 24: slides; Introductory Zoom, Sychronous example, Whiteboard example. WesternOnline, Nov. 14 slides; handout.
Converting to Online Instruction: Workshop on WesternOnline and Google Hangouts Meet, hosted by Jim Olsen on March 16, 2020 for Math and Philosophy Dept. Slides here. Video part 1 here. Video part 2 here. Notes page here. Workshop description here.
Postsecondary & Workforce Readiness Act - Statewide Transitional Math: Competencies and Policies - PDF updated 2021 (released August 2018). 
WIU
is an accepting university
for both Transition to STEM and Transitions to Quantitative
Literacy/Statistics courses. See the
IBHE
website and
WIU Math Placement website. More information:
PWR Transitional Math. Main PWR Act website.
See also the
Portability Dates & Decisions page ("sorted by school district") for the
current list of schools that have approved transitional math courses. FAQ
Deepening an Understanding of Division and Problem Types - Handout , Student handout, and Slides for presentation by Kim Hartweg & Jim Olsen at the 68th Annual Western Illinois University Mathematics Teachers' Conference, April 12, 2019. Link to GeoGebra, Division I app: bit.ly/division-1
Look For and Make Use of Structure, Symmetry, and Similarity - handouts (pdf) for presentation at ISMAA at Southern Illinois University – Carbondale, March 30, 2019.
Slides for presentation titled, The Conceptual Understanding-Procedural Fluency-Problem Solving Trifecta in Mathematics: Helping Students Learn, presented at the Educational Essentials Conference, Sept. 21, 2018, at Western Illinois University.
Look For and Make Use of Structure, Symmetry, and Similarity - handouts (pdf) for presentation at 34th Annual Conference on Teaching Mathematics at Southern Illinois University – Carbondale, Feb. 21, 2019.
Handouts and Slides [ICTM] for presentation titled, Beautiful Geometric Diagrams and Connecting the Mathematics Beneath, presented at ICTM, Oct. 19, 2018, in Tinley Park, IL.
Slides [WIU Math Ts Conference] for Look For and Make Use of Structure, Symmetry, and Similarity, presentation at the Annual Western Illinois University Mathematics Teachers Conference, April 13, 2018. bit.ly/WIUMath2018
Slides [Math Club] for Some Rich Geometric Diagrams and Connecting the Mathematics Beneath, presentation at the W.I.U. Math Club, April 11, 2018. bit.ly/WIUMATHCLUB4-18
Slides [Valpo] for Some Rich Geometric Diagrams and Connecting the Mathematics Beneath, presentation at the TRISECTION MEETING of the Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan Sections of the MAA, March 23, 2018. bit.ly/OlsenValpo-2018
Adding Teaching Endorsements Now Easier in Illinois - Once a teacher has a PEL (Professional Educator License), adding endorsements (even in at a different grade level) has become easier in Illinois. ISBE page.
Logic for Middle School - web site created by Jesus Aguirre, Alejandro Rangel, and Jim Olsen of Western Illinois University
Geometry.drjimo.net - this is a new (therefore under construction) web site. This website provides geometry problems which are mathematically beautiful in their own right, and which also help our students reason mathematically, see connections in mathematics, and improve problem-solving abilities.
Math Education Research and a Plethora of Committee and Government Reports - Originally compiled on the occasion of the Common Core State Standards (the reports were the precursors for the CCSS). Updated periodically.
