MATHEMATICS AND THE FIRST-YEAR SEMINAR

ABSTRACT

The First Year Seminar (FYS) is a component of the general college curriculum used to help introduce the academic expectations of college. Although the FYS differs in spirit and objectives from typical mathematics courses, participation in the FYS by mathematics faculty can be beneficial for students, faculty, and the institution. This article begins with a discussion of FYS programs in general, and then gives a detailed description of a mathematical FYS designed and taught by the author, on the subject of chaos and fractals.

KEYWORDS:

• Academic expectations
• chaos
• critical thinking
• fractals
• first year seminar
• freshman seminar
• library
• mathematics
• reform
• undergraduate
• writing