Change in Departments and Institutions via Active Learning

University Of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln NE

Investigators

Abstract

This project aims to address the national call for broader student participation and success in mathematics-intensive fields. It will do so by organizing a conference focused on improving undergraduate mathematics education. Over the past five years, studies of undergraduate calculus education have shown that many undergraduate students who initially express interest in STEM majors, become disheartened and change to non-STEM majors after completing a calculus course. To address the need for increased student success in STEM, many efforts have focused on improving instructional practices and high failure rates in the calculus sequence, in particular for underrepresented groups including women and students of color. Such efforts have inspired mathematics departments and university administrators to try to improve mathematics instruction through professional development, course coordination, instructional materials, and student supports. This conference will develop and expand a network of partners to include researchers, mathematics faculty, and administrators. It will also encourage and support data-informed improvement efforts in undergraduate calculus education and document lessons learned to share nationally. The conference organizing committee has worked with undergraduate mathematics departments through the NSF-funded Progress through Calculus (DUE-1430540) and Student Engagement in Mathematics through an Institutional Network for Active Learning (DUE-1624643, 1624610, 1624628, and 1624639). These efforts identified a strong interest among mathematics faculty in participating in a Networked Improvement Community that shares resources, data, and lessons learned regarding implementing and sustaining active learning in the calculus sequence. Sustaining and expanding such efforts requires significant shifts in departmental culture. To this end, the conference has three main goals: (1) Connect conference participants to an existing community of mathematics faculty, researchers, and administrators dedicated to educational innovation in Precalculus through Calculus 2 courses; (2) Leverage these connections to share and generate knowledge of strategies for initiating, implementing, and sustaining cultural change that supports the improvement of courses in the calculus sequence; and (3) Foster instructor development by encouraging participants to share highly effective instructional practices and tasks for an active learning classroom. Speakers from different institutions will share their research during concurrent workshop sessions focused on four major themes: attention to equity, diversity and inclusivity in the classroom; departmental culture and change strategies; course and curriculum redesign; and professional development. These sessions will actively involve attendees, reflecting the conference’s commitment to the use of evidence-based instructional practices to best support learning. In addition to the sessions, there will be a panel of university administrators who have supported successful change efforts, to engage participants in a discussion on how to leverage administrator support when making changes to the calculus sequence. There will also be two plenary sessions to focus on issues of equity, institutional change, and the roles of faculty and administrators. This project is funded by the NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education Program: Education and Human Resources. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.