Capstones

All TCNJ students fulfill a capstone experience as part of their major.  In the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, the Liberal Arts Mathematics and Statistics majors complete the capstone by researching and presenting an expository paper on a mathematics or statistics topic. The Mathematics – Secondary Education and Mathematics Education majors complete the capstone through their student teaching.

Information on Capstones for Liberal Arts Mathematics and Statistics Majors

Information and Advice on writing and presenting an expository paper in mathematics and statistics can be found here.    We have listed below titles of past capstone papers.  The last name of the faculty advisor is indicated in the parentheses.

Spring 2012 Capstones

Coming Soon!

Fall 2011 Capstones

Liberal Arts Mathematics Majors

  • William Franczak (Curtis) – “Compactifications of Hausdorff Spaces”
  • R. J. Leiser (Clark) – Laminar Definition of Effective Conductivity”
  • Julie Melzer (Navard) – “The Expectation Maximization Algorithm”
  • Robert Moore (Clark) – “An Introduction to the Calculus of Variations”
  • Shane Mullin (Hagedorn) – “How to Factor x³ – 1: The LLL Algorithm and its Applications”
  • Anastasia Pastino (Navard) – “Computing Transition Probabilities with Markov Chains”
  • Katharine Pelican (Gevertz) – “Bifurcation Diagrams of First Order Differential Equations”
  • Michael Stefanelli (Gevertz) – “Nonlinear Systems and Limit Cycles”

Mathematics Secondary Education (Electronic Portfolios)

  • David Arva – “Increasing Students’ Abilities in Simplifying Complex Expressions”
  • Patrick Catalano – “Evoking Frequent, High-Quality Questions in the Math Analysis Classroom”
  • Amanda Huelbig – “Improving the Quality of Pre-calculus Students’ Written Responses to Mathematical Problems”
  • Daniel Hughes – “Writing and Solving Word Problems – Mathematics in a Real Life Context”
  • Andrea Krsnak – “The Effects of Teacher Expectation on Student Explanation”
  • Marissa Maiello – “Improving Student Writing in Middle School Mathematics”
  • Amanda Ruch – “Analyzing Students’ Problem-Solving Abilities”
  • Daniella Teplinsky – “Algebra II Students’ Abilities to Symbolize Word Problems Through Algebraic Representations”

Previous Capstones:

Fall 2010-Spring 2011