Blogs

IMPACTful Blog - Teacher Prep - Time for an Update?

By Keith Nabb posted 8 days ago
Contrary to the widespread belief that education is slow to change, mathematics education has seen frequent changes in the last few decades. Student needs have changed, resulting in a reformulation of what courses and pathways are meaningful for today’s students. Instructional technology has changed the ways teachers might introduce an idea. Today, Artificial Intelligence has the potential to radically reformulate pedagogy in light of both its power to illuminate thinking and the dangers of outsourcing such thinking. Is it time for mathematics educators to rethink what is important for K-8 students to know about mathematics? What do you think? What feelings ...

IMPACTful Blog (Teacher Prep): Do your students love math?

By Xianwei Van Harpen posted 25 days ago
“I’ve always been terrible at math.” While common in mainstream American culture, this statement should concern us when coming from a prospective 3 rd grade teacher—someone who bears the responsibility of educating children in a variety of subject areas. Will this negative sentiment be passed down to his students? Will she allot less time to a subject she does not like or understand? Will a child’s creative solution fail to be recognized? We feel everyone can learn to love mathematics if they understand it. If students are given the space to explore and opportunities to share, this platitude may one day become, “I’ve always loved math. It has always made sense ...

IMPACTful Blog - The Synergistic Power of Interdisciplinary Teaching

By Jillian Miller posted 06-19-2024
SPECIAL NOTE: This blog has been posted on behalf of a QB@CC colleague, Joseph Esquibel . Joe teaches biology at Lansing Community College in Michigan. Hello! As a biology professor in this QB@CC interdisciplinary network, I’ve seen the impact of interdisciplinary education from a slightly different perspective. I was always interested in adding a numerical and quantitative focus to my teaching. However, it wasn't until I joined this network and worked closely with teams of math and biology faculty that I really reached this goal. My classes feel transformed. It is easy to think of classroom time as a zero-sum game, that time spent on one ...

IMPACTFUL Blog: Interdisciplinary Collaborations Empower Students & Faculty

By Jillian Miller posted 06-03-2024
“When am I ever going to use this?!” Math educators hear this question time and time again. Quantitative Biology at Community Colleges (QB@CC) is a 5-year NSF RCN-UBE funded project aimed at helping math instructors answer this age-old question for their students, especially their biology students who may not recognize the importance of quantitative skills in their chosen discipline. The primary objective of the project is to build a network of math and biology faculty from community colleges around the nation who work together to enhance students’ quantitative skills by creating, publishing, and disseminating open-access cross-curricular materials. Small ...

IMPACTful Blog - Developmental Math

By Kathleen Almy posted 05-15-2024
When we’re teaching a developmental math class, we often have two goals: student engagement and learning. There are many ways to accomplish each. Below is a framework I use when teaching developmental math, but also college-level math, and even professional development. It’s both effective and flexible. Assess – Before starting into objectives, a lesson, or an activity, first find out where your students are and what they need. This can be mentally (Are they stressed? Tired? Overworked?) and/or mathematically (How has the content been lately? Do they need more or less of a particular skill or concept?). Achieving this can happen in many ways, so take ...

IMPACTful Blog (DM): Teaching Soft Skills in College Math Classes

By Kim Granger posted 05-01-2024
One of the benefits of the developmental math course sequence that many institutions (and even states!) have phased out was that students had the opportunity to learn and develop soft skills over the course of multiple semesters before they reached college-level math courses. These skills helped prepare students for a higher level of success in their college-level coursework. In addition, the students who missed crucial content in high school or middle school during the pandemic are now arriving on our college campuses; some of these students have grown accustomed to receiving more flexibility than college faculty used to be willing to hand out. Now, more ...

IMPACTful Blog: Do we teach the way we were taught?

By Frank Marfai posted 04-01-2024
Stigler and Hierbert (1999) note that teaching is cultural, and that we teach the way we were taught. Foreign born instructors when coming to the United States, may have experienced a “culture shock” which had required them to vary their approaches to teaching mathematics. Likewise, mathematics teachers in the United States, through the process of professional development and studying research, have professionally grown in their teaching practices. Some have experienced this growth also through observing international colleagues and students. We invite you to join our conversation this month with your experiences related to this topic. Sources: ...

IMPACTful Blog - Quantitative Reasoning

By Gregory Foley posted 03-19-2024
I have always loved mathematics and been fascinated by mathematics in nature—from the Fibonacci sequence in the spirals on pinecones and the heads of sunflowers to fractals in trees and coastlines. Over the past few decades, however, I have come to realize that many students like more practical applications than these, such as the mathematics of personal finances and health decisions. Lynn Steen, Bernie Madison, Iddo Gal, Ellen Peters, the MAA’s special interest group of quantitative literacy (SIGMAA-QL), and the National Numeracy Network have opened a new world to me— and consequently to my students! I have learned that quantitative literacy enhances and ...

IMPACTful Blog - Quantitative Reasoning

By Rick Powers posted 03-08-2024
Quantitative reasoning (QR) is often associated with mathematics and science courses, but it goes beyond those areas. Colleges and universities are integrating QR skills into various academic settings, from the humanities to the arts. In this blog post, we explore how institutions like Wellesley, Millikin, and Carleton are expanding the reach of QR education by offering courses in unconventional disciplines. Wellesley College has a foundational QR requirement, coupled with a Data Literacy (DL) requirement ( https://www.wellesley.edu/qr/requirement ). One of the latter courses is “Network Analysis for Art History,” where students are doing the following: ...

How can digital platforms help us pursue proficiency through students’ engagement?

By Lucie Mingla posted 02-04-2024
How can digital platforms help us pursue proficiency through students’ engagement? One of IMPACT’s pillars is Proficiency . The National Institution of Health (NIH) proficiency scale describes an individual’s level of proficiency in a particular competency. 1 - Fundamental Awareness (basic knowledge) 2 - Novice (limited experience) 3 - Intermediate (practical application) 4 - Advanced (applied theory) 5 - Expert (recognized authority) In a similar way we think of proficiency in learning a topic, or skill in class. To become proficient means to become an expert on the field. However, mastering the concepts and skills can only ...

IMPACTful Discussion/Blog - Linear Algebra

By Robert Cappetta posted 01-02-2024
In several discussions with members of the Math Intensive Academic Network, we have identified several challenges with the linear algebra courses taught at two-year colleges. These include prerequisite courses, curriculum design and transfer issues. Additionally, advances in technology provide opportunities that were previously unavailable. Some two-year colleges require an advanced prerequisite like multivariate calculus (Parkland College, Monroe Community College), others integral calculus (College of DuPage, College of Southern Nevada, Miami Dade College), and still others differential calculus (Bucks College, Community College of Baltimore County, ...

IMPACTful Discussion/Blog - Curiosity in Assessment

By Luke Walsh posted 10-06-2023
When educators reflect on the assessment implemented in their courses, there are many curiosity perspectives that can take shape. For example, the assessment results could lead to a curiosity about why some students were successful and why some students struggled. Or, in other words, was there an inequity in the assessment that privileged a group of students? I have been curious about the format of tests and how each format can provide a barrier for a certain type of student. While some students are more successful with a very structured test format, like timed, seated, and paper, other students experience a high level of anxiety with a structured format and ...

Engaging Students by Inspiring Their Hearts and Minds

By Jennifer Ackerman posted 09-22-2023
As a math teacher, how often do you hear, “this is the last class I need to graduate” or “I just want to get through this class”? The growth of quiet quitting by employees is something that math instructors have experienced for years in their classes: students performing the minimum amount of work that they can to get through and pass the class. Students frequently attempt to memorize content that they’re required to know. They’ll memorize formulas and steps without any real understanding. They keep trying to memorize more and more until eventually, they reach a tipping point where they can’t keep up and it all comes crashing down. What if instructors could get ...

IMPACTful Discussion/Blog - Change to Precalculus and Calculus Curricula?

By Robert Cappetta posted 07-11-2023
There are demands to change the precalculus and calculus curricula. Do students still need to learn topics like synthetic division or Descartes’s Rule of Signs? Might it be valuable to increase the use of real data analysis in those courses? As technology evolves, what do students really need to know from the calculus curriculum? Are the techniques of integration as important today as they were a generation ago? What should be the role of infinite series in an evolving curriculum? Since most traditional differential equations problems can be solved immediately with technology, should the course become more theoretical, more applied, or disregarded completely? ...

IMPACTful Discussion - a Brief History of AMATYC's Signature Documents

By Evan Evans posted 01-01-2023
The Standards Committee 2023 New Year's resolution: To make IMPACT a living document and update AMATYC’s three signature documents; Crossroads, Beyond Crossroads, and IMPACT . Here is a brief description and history of our Signature Documents : Crossroads (1995) The purpose of Crossroads in Mathematics: Standards for Introductory College Mathematics Before Calculus is to address the special circumstances of, establish standards for, and make recommendat ions about two-year college and lower-division mathematics programs below the level of calculus. Three sets of standards for introductory college mathematics are defined in Chapter ...

IMPACTful Thoughts - Mathematics and Applications for Careers

By Christine Mirbaha posted 10-11-2022
Many community college students are focusing on programs that help them learn or reinforce the skills needed to land their desired job or advance within their current work environment. Others are in STEM programs that are preparing them for immediate entry into the field of their dreams. Providing meaningful applications of mathematics for career programs in various courses is engaging and motivating to students. Their proficiency in these applications is essential to their success in the workforce. Join us as we explore various aspects of applications of mathematics for career programs.

IMPACTful Thought - Flipped Teaching

By Kim Granger posted 09-05-2022
More than likely, you have heard about flipped teaching. Many faculty, upon hearing about the flipped teaching model, recognize that it makes a lot of sense and recognize that it would be an effective way to engage students in the classroom with the result being increased student success. Perhaps you have considered using the flipped teaching model but have not gotten started yet, with the fear that it is an overwhelming task and you are just too busy right now. If you know that flipped teaching would benefit your students and if you are interested in discovering some ways to flip your class without flipping out, then this is a great time to get started. ...

IMPACTful Thought - Small Changes for Student Success

By Kelly Spoon posted 08-01-2022
Back when the Statistics Anet hosted IMPACT Live! in May , Mark Earley posted the following discussion question: “What is the biggest change you've made to your introductory statistics class in the last 3 years? Why did you make the change and what impact has it had on your students?“ While there are some big changes I’ve made in my classroom over the years (like flipping my class or trying standards-based grading), some of the most impact ful changes in terms of student success have been small changes. This ties into the theme that the Innovative Teaching and Learning Anet and Project ACCCESS had for this month’s Impact Live! : A small idea ...

IMPACTful Thought - Student Success in Data Science

By Evan Evans posted 07-04-2022
Author: Rachel Saidi In looking broadly at student success, one can define it based on outcomes, principles, and practices. Joe Cuseo of Marymount College wrote a column, “The Big Picture,” in Esource for College Transitions, which was published by the National Resource Center for First-Year Experience & Students in Transition (2007). Cuseo defined student success in terms of the following: Student Retention (Persistence): Entering college students remain, re-enroll, and continue their undergraduate education. Educational Attainment: entering students persist to completion and attainment of their degree, program, or educational goal. Academic ...

IMPACT Plus - Racial Equity in the STEM Math Pathway

By Helen Burn posted 06-17-2022
I remember our outpouring of commitment to building racial equity in the fall of 2020 as the effects of structural and ideological racism were brought into relief through the twin crises of the pandemic and police killings of unarmed African Americans. To be sure, the effects of structural racism were already well known by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color). Likewise, BIPOC students and colleagues have lived experiences with structural and ideological racism in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), while the various forms of racism remain hidden to racial groups that dominate STEM who hide behind the veneer of STEM disciplines ...