26 May 2015: Seminar by Professor Miroslav Lovric, McMaster University, Canada, "Learning Mathematics within an Interdisciplinary Science Programme"
McMaster University's Interdisciplinary Science (iSci) program has been designed to "put into practice many of the innovative concepts linking science education and science research" with the aim to present a "holistic view of science through the interaction between various science disciplines." Going beyond anecdotes and personal experiences, I have been asking myself — What is the impact of this interdisciplinary approach on learning mathematics? Do students know and understand mathematics better? In what sense are they different from the students who do not have similar experiences? These questions helped me form a research goal - to determine whether (or not) the rich environment within the iSci program enhances learning mathematics. I plan to discuss results of the survey I have conducted, which lead to some (perhaps) surprising conclusions.
Miroslav Lovric is a Professor of Mathematics at McMaster University, Ontario, Canada. His areas of research interest include mathematical modeling in biology and medicine and mathematics education. Besides publishing in his research areas, Miroslav wrote textbooks on vector calculus and mathematics for life sciences, which have been used in universities across North America and Europe.
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