I will give an account of implementing assessment practices that support learning while resisting being circumvented by the use of generative AI. The context is an eighty-student introduction-to-analysis course at Cornell. Considerations I  would like to discuss include: Why do you use generative-AI? How can we win student buy-in to use homework as a learning tool? What are the advantages and disadvantages of a cycle of in-class quizzes? What are the practicalities, the scope, and the limitations of these approaches?

All students who are enrolled in college courses have the ability to succeed. However, most undergraduate mathematics students do not have effective learning strategies, and they resort to memorizing formulas and solutions to specific problems just before tests. Additionally most view homework as a task to complete and submit, not as a learning tool. This interactive webinar will introduce faculty to cognitive science research- based learning strategies that will help all students experience meaningful, transferable learning. The session will focus...

Although many math courses are described as “applied math” it would be more accurate to say they teach “applicable math”. Students are rarely given the opportunity to behave like applied mathematicians in most courses.  Let us fix this by re-imagining applied mathematics as a conversation with reality and analyzing how to carry out this conversation, starting with a common textbook example. We will draw on the history of mathematics to see what aspects are left out of most treatments of...

 In this talk, I will share my insights from creating and teaching Quantitative Reasoning (QR) courses over the past 25 years.  In particular, we will explore how to use spreadsheets to engage students in QR classes.  The ultimate goal for these courses is to produce quantitatively literate students capable of actively participating as citizens and workers in the 21st century.  QR courses are increasingly being offered as alternative pathways for students seeking a different mathematical experience from the traditional college algebra...

The long term success of a new course depends on a lot of factors: personnel to teach the course, student incentives to take the course and learning goals (careful, different interested parties are likely to see these differently). I will tell some stories of course development spanning courses for pre-service teachers, calculus courses, and graduate level applied mathematics. Questions that will arise include whether to tweak an existing course versus re-invent from scratch and what pedagogies to build into the...

Abstract: The members of the Inquiry-Oriented Linear Algebra (IOLA) design team have recently completed their second round of large-scale, NSF-funded instructional task design. These research-based materials promote a student-centered approach to the teaching and learning of introductory linear algebra at the university level. In this talk, I will discuss the current state of the materials, including a discussion of the underlying research design theory and the research team’s methods. I will provide a tour of the IOLA website and demonstrate some...

Mathematical reasoning and proof writing are essential in science and engineering programs, butmany students find them challenging. I’ll discuss the redesign of a first-year linear algebra course for Applied Mathematics students aimed at explicitly teaching proof writing alongside course content. Rather than treating proof instruction separately, all activities and assessments were aligned with this goal. The course uses interactive videos, quizzes, and classroom activities, plus a weekly low-stakes “proof of the week” assignment focused on effort, with feedback through peer...

Fifteen years ago, math majors told my colleague Jeff Humpherys and me, “We majored in math because we like it, but we know it won’t get us a job unless we want to teach.” This inspired us to create the applied and computational mathematics (ACME) program at BYU, which combines deep, beautiful mathematics with practical skills in demand by employers. Since launching twelve years ago, our number of majors has nearly doubled, with ACME students now making up two-thirds of...

Mathematics courses have traditionally been characterized by impersonal instruction and assessment centered on timed, high-stakes exams; as a result, they have traditionally failed to promote the success of all students taking the courses.  In this talk we describe a course redesign of our introductory courses to focus instruction on the success of all students and to restructure assessment to reduce the weight of timed, high-stakes exams by adding repeatable mastery assessment.  Initial evaluation of the impact of these changes suggests...

Project EMBER is a national initiative that aims to ensure every higher education math student succeeds in introductory mathematics aligned with their interests – starting at the research institutions that influence all other sectors of the higher education system. Project EMBER seeks to remove mathematics as a barrier for students by empowering Teaching Focused Faculty and equipping them with the tools and resources needed to implement research-backed innovations at scale across a robust network of vertically-integrated teams of teaching-focused faculty,...

Linear Algebra is often an obstacle for students whose only prior experience is with calculus. I discuss a textbook I’m writing that takes a very different approach from existing textbooks. The target audience is ordinary students, not honors students. A key organizing principle is for the course to have a narrative arc, with near term and longer-term goals pointing the way forward at each stage. The arc for the first part of the course focuses on diagonalization, first for the...

In 2014, Teaching TRIOS at Middle Tennessee State University introduced an innovative peer observation model for STEM educators. TRIOS, based on being Time-sensitive, Reciprocal, Inclusive, Operative, and Strength-Based, transforms observation from evaluative to reflective, focusing on faculty strengths to drive change. In this OLSUME talk, I’ll discuss a decade’s worth of lessons from practice, theory, and empirical research. Practically, I’ll detail structuring TRIOS groups in STEM departments, offering guidance for adopting this strategy. Theoretically, I’ll discuss our NSF-funded ACT-STEM project,...