This fall, I’m starting a new organization for math-lovers that I’m calling the Calculus Wave Club. Click here to apply.
A club of math enthusiasts who want to learn and share interesting math ideas, with an emphasis on calculus.
Most students study calculus, but few get to enjoy it and see its ideas come alive. Calculus is everywhere and has a rich story of past and present that impacts how we view the world and deal with change. It’s also an essential topic to understand for the actuarial exams.
The stories we all have about how calculus has come alive for each of us are worth sharing with our peers. Calculus goes from being a subject you study in class to an experience that changes your perspective on life. I find that I benefit from documenting what I learn in a format that others can read. Also, I benefit from being around other people who also want to learn more interesting math.
We all benefit when we can catch a wave. Calculus has an amazing history. Here is an opportunity to learn what others before us have done and benefit from their work. Our celebration of their ideas form the first ripple that has the potential to turn into a wave of inspiration for others to see what we see in calculus and catch the wave for themselves. So, there is an opportunity to “give back.”
Coaching Actuaries is creating an online course that provides a fresh perspective on calculus. This is a free course to help others enjoy and understand calculus. Calculus Club Wave members will have an opportunity to create content for this course. The content primarily would involve writing practice problems, reviewing other members’ problems, or drafting solutions. It’s an opportunity for us to give back to the math community, as well as an opportunity for members and I to work together. Also, members may learn more about e-learning from a math education perspective.
I see 3 roles to begin with:
We’ll meet once a month on the first Tuesday of the month. Our first meeting will be held Oct 2, 2019. We would commit to meet for one year and then evaluate whether it is worth pursuing further. The goal is for the club to continue and for us to then identify potential new leadership positions.
I envision a typical meeting including the following activities:
If the membership size increases beyond about 25, then changes would need to be considered.
Our first round of membership applications is open for any Coaching Actuaries student with a passion for calculus and is interested in learning more and working with me to help others discover the beauty of calculus.
Each meeting will be held online via Zoom. Members can join via Zoom or meet in person in CA’s home office in Des Moines, IA.
Some of that will evolve based on the club membership goals. Personally, I hope that it grows in quality (people learning and sharing more interesting math) and quantity (more members). If there is numerical growth beyond 25 or so members, then that would be managed by the club.
We shouldn’t view math just as numbers, formulas, and problems. Math is much more.
If you’re a college student pursuing actuarial science, you probably have two key goals: exams, and internships. Both are essential ways you can distinguish yourself from others when you’re pursuing your first job as an actuary.
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I’ve been helping aspiring actuaries for more than 20 years. When I’m not teaching, I like to read, run, and listen to good math stories. When I was preparing for the actuarial exams, there was nothing like Coaching Actuaries. Now, we combine teaching and technology to guide the next generation of actuarial students.