Dana C. Ernst

Northern Arizona University | NAU · Department of Mathematics and Statistics

A subset of the vertex set of a graph is geodetically convex if it contains every vertex on any shortest path between two elements of the set. The convex hull of a set of vertices is the smallest convex set containing the set. We study two games where two players take turns selecting previously-unselected vertices of a graph until the convex hull o...

Any two reduced expressions for the same Coxeter group element are related by a sequence of commutation and braid moves. We say that two reduced expressions are braid equivalent if they are related via a sequence of braid moves, and the corresponding equivalence classes are called braid classes. Each braid class can be encoded in terms of a braid g...

We study an impartial achievement game introduced by Anderson and Harary. The game is played by two players who alternately select previously unselected elements of a finite group. The game ends when the jointly selected elements generate the group. The last player able to make a move is the winner of the game. We prove that the spectrum of nim-val...

We study an impartial game introduced by Anderson and Harary. The game is played by two players who alternately choose previously-unselected elements of a finite group. The first player who builds a generating set from the jointly-selected elements wins. We determine the nim-numbers of this game for finite groups of the form $T \times H$, where $T$...

We study an impartial game introduced by Anderson and Harary. The game is played by two players who alternately choose previously-unselected elements of a finite group. The first player who builds a generating set from the jointly-selected elements wins. We determine the nim-numbers of this game for finite groups of the form $T \times H$, where $T$...

We study two impartial games introduced by Anderson and Harary and further developed by Barnes. Both games are played by two players who alternately select previously unselected elements of a finite group. The first player who builds a generating set from the jointly selected elements wins the first game. The first player who cannot select an eleme...

In this editorial, we provide an introduction to the special issue on Inquiry-Based Learning in First and Second Year Courses. We also discuss the essential features of inquiry-based learning and provide a brief overview of the literature and evidence for its effectiveness.

Inquiry-based learning (IBL) can manifest itself differently in various classroom settings. Historically, IBL was most often implemented in proof-based courses. Lately it can be found in university mathematics classrooms at all levels. This paper provides an overview of IBL followed by three detailed examples of what IBL can look like in particular...

We study an impartial game introduced by Anderson and Harary. This game is played by two players who alternately choose previously-unselected elements of a finite group. The first player who builds a generating set from the jointly-selected elements wins. We determine the nim-numbers of this game for generalized dihedral groups, which are of the fo...

We study two impartial games introduced by Anderson and Harary. Both games are played by two players who alternately select previously-unselected elements of a finite group. The first player who builds a generating set from the jointly-selected elements wins the first game. The first player who cannot select an element without building a generating...

A simple and connected $n$-vertex graph has a prime vertex labeling if the vertices can be injectively labeled with the integers $1, 2, 3,\ldots, n$, such that adjacent vertices have relatively prime labels. We will present previously unknown prime vertex labelings for new families of graphs including cycle pendant stars, cycle chains, prisms, and...

Using the standard Coxeter presentation for the symmetric group $S_n$, two reduced expressions for the same group element are said to be commutation equivalent if we can obtain one expression from the other by applying a finite sequence of commutations. The resulting equivalence classes of reduced expressions are called commutation classes. How man...

We study an impartial avoidance game introduced by Anderson and Harary. The game is played by two players who alternately select previously unselected elements of a finite group. The first player who cannot select an element without making the set of jointly-selected elements into a generating set for the group loses the game. We develop criteria o...

The flipped classroom model of teaching can be an ideal venue for turning a traditional classroom into an engaging, inquiry-based learning (IBL) environment. In this paper, we discuss how two instructors at different universities made their classrooms come to life by moving the acquisition of basic course concepts outside the classroom and using cl...

In many mathematics classrooms, "doing mathematics" means following the rules dictated by the teacher, and "knowing mathematics" means remembering and applying them. However, an inquiry- based-learning (IBL) approach challenges students to create or discover mathematics. According to the Academy of Inquiry-Based Learning [1], IBL is a method of tea...

This study investigates the effects of applying an inverted classroom model in a second-semester calculus course at a large regional university in the southwest during the Spring of 2013. The sample consisted of four class sections with the same instructor, with a total of 173 students; two class sections were in the experimental group, whereas the...

The Temperley--Lieb algebra is a finite dimensional associative algebra that arose in the context of statistical mechanics and occurs naturally as a quotient of the Hecke algebra arising from a Coxeter group of type $A$. It is often realized in terms of a certain diagram algebra, where every diagram can be written as a product of "simple diagrams."...

In a previous paper, we presented an infinite dimensional associative diagram algebra that satisfies the relations of the generalized Temperley-Lieb algebra having a basis indexed by the fully commutative elements of the Coxeter group of type affine C. We also provided an explicit description of a basis for the diagram algebra. In this paper, we sh...

In the Spring of 2011, two of the authors of this paper taught number theory courses at their respective institutions. Twice during the semester, students in each class submitted proofs of two to three theorems to be peer reviewed by students in the other class. Each student wrote anonymous and formal referee reports of the submitted theorems, whic...

In this chapter, the authors define inquiry-based learning (IBL), briefly explain some evidence for IBL as a method of instruction in STEM courses, and then explore the meaning of IBL in more detail by examining the specific structure of three mathematics courses taught by the authors: mathematics for elementary teachers, calculus, and introduction...

These notes are an IBL task sequence for an introduction to proof course. The task-sequence was written by Dana Ernst (Northern Arizona University), but the first half of the notes are an adaptation of notes written by Stan Yoshinobu (Cal Poly) and Matthew Jones (California State University, Dominguez Hills).

These notes are an IBL task sequence for an undergraduate abstract algebra course that emphasizes visualization. The task-sequence was written by Dana Ernst (Northern Arizona University).

In the fall of 2011, the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Northern Arizona University began the process of redesigning the delivery of three freshman-level mathematics courses from a traditional model to one that would be web-based in nature. These redesigned courses would then be offered in an emporium-style setting beginning in the fal...

In the fall of 2011, the President of Northern Arizona University mandated that the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at NAU begin the process of redesigning the delivery of some freshman-level mathematics courses from the traditional model to one that would be web-based. These redesigned courses would then be offered in an emporium-style se...

In this paper, we present an infinite dimensional associative diagram algebra that satisfies the relations of the generalized Temperley--Lieb algebra having a basis indexed by the fully commutative elements (in the sense of Stembridge) of the Coxeter group of type affine $C$. Moreover, we provide an explicit description of a basis for the diagram a...

Let W be an arbitrary Coxeter group. If two elements have expressions that are cyclic shifts of each other (as words), then they are conjugate (as group elements) in W. We say that w is cyclically fully commutative (CFC) if every cyclic shift of any reduced expression for w is fully commutative (i.e., avoids long braid relations). These generalize...

Let $(W,S)$ be a Coxeter system and suppose that $w \in W$ is fully commutative (in the sense of Stembridge) and has a reduced expression beginning (respectively, ending) with $s \in S$. If there exists $t\in S$ such that $s$ and $t$ do not commute and $tw$ (respectively, $wt$) is no longer fully commutative, we say that $w$ is left (respectively,...

In this thesis, I present an associative diagram algebra that is a faithful representation of a particular Temperley--Lieb algebra of type affine $C$, which has a basis indexed by the fully commutative elements of the Coxeter group of the same type. The Coxeter group of type affine $C$ contains an infinite number of fully commutative elements, and...

For a real oriented hyperplane arrangement, we show that the corresponding Salvetti complex is homotopy equivalent to the complement of the complexified arrangement. This result was originally proved by M. Salvetti. Our proof follows the framework of a proof given by L. Paris and relies heavily on the notation of oriented matroids. We also show tha...