In this classroom note, we outline a system of assessment used by the authors since 2020 to deliver individualized summative assessments to students from first- and second-year mathematics courses. Our system comprises three modular components allowing a mix-and-match of different technological approaches and mathematical question types. First is…

A key motivational tactic in undergraduate mathematics teaching is to launch topics with fundamental questions that originate from surprising or remarkable phenomena. Nonetheless, constructing a sequence of tasks that promotes students' own routes to resolving such questions is challenging. This note aims to address this challenge in two ways.…

Introduction: The proposed poster will describe the observational data collection methodology and preliminary findings from a large-scale efficacy study examining a corequisite mathematics intervention at the community college level. Specifically, the larger study is conducting a randomized controlled trial of the Carnegie Math Pathways (CMP)…

In this paper we provide a detailed account of how to implement a peer role model (PRM) program similar to the one that we developed at San Diego State University (SDSU) to broaden participation of college women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). In particular, we summarize our findings of the PRM program's best practices,…

Harvesting models based on ordinary differential equations are commonly used in the fishery industry and wildlife management to model the evolution of a population depleted by harvest mortality. We present a project consisting of a series of scenarios based on fishery harvesting models to teach the application of theoretical concepts learned in a…

As educators, it is important for us to recognize that our assessment methods affect student attitudes. If we want students to learn from their mistakes and counteract a fixed-mindset of learning, perhaps we should look at what we incentivize in the classroom. Some professors are attempting to counteract math and test anxiety, poor STEM retention,…

Some research has suggested the use of mancala games in mathematics education. The immediate concepts associated with playing mancala games have been limited to counting as well as addition and subtraction, so the potential of mancala has remained limited to primary school education. This proposed adaptation of a mancala game allows for teaching…

While you may be ready to make the change to implementing Mastery Grading, you may still wonder exactly how to do this. This paper seeks to compile recommendations on implementing mastery grading from various sources as well as examples from our own experiences. The reader should expect a detailed overview of the components involved in mastery…

Calculus has frequently been called one the greatest intellectual achievements of humankind. As a key transitional course to college mathematics, it combines such elementary ideas as rate with new abstract ideas--such as infinity, instantaneous change, and limit--to formulate the derivative and the integral. Most calculus texts begin with the…

This article highlights three of the eight Mathematics Teaching Practices (MTP) published in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' (NCTM's) "Principles to Actions: Ensuring Mathematical Success for All" (2014): (1) facilitating meaningful mathematical discourse (MTP 4); (2) posing purposeful questions (MTP 5); and (3)…

Statistics educators have long recognized the importance of empowering students with statistical thinking skills that could be applied beyond the classroom. However, there is a dearth of research on how students deem statistical topics as having practical future relevance after they complete introductory courses. Focusing on student interest in…

Polynomials with rational roots and extrema may be difficult to create. Although techniques for solving cubic polynomials exist, students struggle with solutions that are in a complicated format. Presented in this article is a way instructors may wish to introduce the topics of roots and critical numbers of polynomial functions in calculus. In a…

Motivated by the observation that formal logic answers questions students have not yet asked, we conducted exploratory teaching experiments with undergraduate students intended to guide their reinvention of truth-functional definitions for basic logical connectives. We intend to reframe the relationship between reasoning and logic by showing how…

The purpose of this article is to share a new approach for introducing students to the definition and standard examples of Abelian groups. The definition of an Abelian group is revised to include six axioms. A bullseye provides a way to visualize elementary examples and non-examples of Abelian groups. An activity based on the game of Jenga is used…

How can we teach inquiry? In this paper, I offer practical techniques for teaching inquiry effectively using activities built from routine textbook exercises with minimal advanced preparation, including rephrasing exercises as questions, creating activities that inspire students to make conjectures, and asking for counterexamples to reasonable,…