Tree indiscernibilities, revisited

We give definitions that distinguish between two notions of indiscernibility for a set \{a_\eta \mid \eta \in \W\} that saw original use in \cite{sh90}, which we name \textit{\s-} and \textit{\n-indiscernibility}. Using these definitions and detailed proofs, we prove \s- and \n-modeling theorems and give applications of these theorems. In particular, we verify a step in the argument that TP is equivalent to TP$_1$ or TP$_2$ that has not seen explication in the literature. In the Appendix, we exposit the proofs of \citep[{App. 2.6, 2.7}]{sh90}, expanding on the details.Comment: submitte

Products of Classes of Finite Structures

We study the preservation of certain properties under products of classes of finite structures. In particular, we examine age indivisibility, indivisibility, definable self-similarity, the amalgamation property, and the disjoint n-amalgamation property. We explore how each of these properties interact with the wreath product, direct product, and free superposition of classes of structures. Additionally, we consider the classes of theories which admit configurations indexed by these products.Comment: 33 page

Using online lectures to increase in-class collaboration

In Fall 2015, I recorded screencast lectures for the Wednesday meetings of my two sections of Single Variable Calculus. Students viewing the screencast saw my writing on the screen next to an online copy of the text and heard my voiceover. Students viewed the lecture online in advance of our Wednesday meeting, sometimes in groups. In-class time was devoted to taking a peer quiz on the lecture material that was then peer-graded. Remaining time was spent working in groups on homework due Friday. Watching the recorded lecture was self-paced and allowed students to occasionally pause and discuss with peers if they were watching in groups. Pushing easier procedural material outside of class allowed students to bring more refined, conceptual questions for in-class discussion. I think this use of blended learning had some advantages and some drawbacks, sometimes differing from student to student. However, the number of students who reported that their understanding of the subject matter increased was much greater than in the same version of the course taught previously. The reasons could be various, ranging from the accessibility of the material in different formats, the mandatory group work, student leadership in learning, or increased time for instructor-student discussions on Wednesdays. I would argue that this is a promising model for the first-year Calculus course because students bring diverse preparation and may need increased assistance in forming peer study groups. Further applications could benefit from online self-quizzing tools, to better target the material that should be emphasized in-class

Using online lectures to increase in-class collaboration

In Fall 2015, I recorded screencast lectures for the Wednesday meetings of my two sections of Single Variable Calculus. Students viewing the screencast saw my writing on the screen next to an online copy of the text and heard my voiceover. Students viewed the lecture online in advance of our Wednesday meeting, sometimes in groups. In-class time was devoted to taking a peer quiz on the lecture material that was then peer-graded. Remaining time was spent working in groups on homework due Friday. Watching the recorded lecture was self-paced and allowed students to occasionally pause and discuss with peers if they were watching in groups. Pushing easier procedural material outside of class allowed students to bring more refined, conceptual questions for in-class discussion. I think this use of blended learning had some advantages and some drawbacks, sometimes differing from student to student. However, the number of students who reported that their understanding of the subject matter increased was much greater than in the same version of the course taught previously. The reasons could be various, ranging from the accessibility of the material in different formats, the mandatory group work, student leadership in learning, or increased time for instructor-student discussions on Wednesdays. I would argue that this is a promising model for the first-year Calculus course because students bring diverse preparation and may need increased assistance in forming peer study groups. Further applications could benefit from online self-quizzing tools, to better target the material that should be emphasized in-class

Transfer of the Ramsey property by semi-retractions

In this talk we introduce a weaker form of bi-interpretability and see how it can be used to transfer the Ramsey property across classes in different first-order languages. This is a special case of a more general theorem about what we will call color-homogenizing embeddings.Non UBCUnreviewedAuthor affiliation: California State University, San BernardinoResearche