Finite Mathematics has become an enormously rich and productive area of contemporary mathematical biology. Fortunately, educators have developed educational modules based upon many of the models that have used Finite Mathematics in mathematical biology research. A sufficient variety of computer modules that employ graph theory (phylogenetic trees,…

We describe a project to restructure the way Applied Calculus is taught at our university to improve student success rates. Eliminating large lecture sections, re-evaluating the needs and expectations of our students, developing uniform course delivery and grading systems, incorporating active learning teaching methods, and focusing on conceptual…

This article describes a system of specifications-based grading used in an introduction to proofs course. The system was introduced to address two issues that arose in the course: how to spend less time grading and how to encourage use of feedback. We describe the implementation of the system and the results on grading and on students.

The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the relationships between student persistence and students' attributes or perceptions of instructional pedagogies, as well as to examine whether the identified relationships are moderated by three different instructional settings. Improving student persistence in science, technology, engineer, and…

Dennis Pearl is Professor of Statistics at Pennsylvania State University and Director of the Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate Statistics Education (CAUSE). He is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association. This interview took place via email on November 18-29, 2016, and provides Dennis Pearl's background story, which describes…

Knowing an equation has a unique solution is important from both a modelling and theoretical point of view. For over 70 years, the approach to learning and teaching "well posedness" of initial value problems (IVPs) for second- and higher-order ordinary differential equations has involved transforming the problem and its analysis to a…

The Russian and international legislation ensure equal educational rights to all people regardless of whether have a disability or not. However, traditional approaches to organization of educational activities often do not provide a high enough level of education (including higher education) for people with disabilities as they do not take into…

In this paper, we discuss the Experimental Mathematics course taught at Valparaiso University since 2009. We focus on aspects of the course that facilitate students' abilities to ask and explore their own research questions.

This paper raises the possibility of enhancing prospective and practicing teachers' awareness of example use in classrooms by using theories to analyze an authentic case. The study was carried out in the context of a university course where participants analyzed an excerpt from a tenth-grade geometry class. A qualitative analysis of participants'…

In the age of the internet, it is increasingly difficult to write homework assignments in a way that encourages students to struggle with a problem on their own without seeking answers from other sources. This is especially true in lower-level courses, where students often start with the attitude of "I can't do this." In this article, I…

Investigations into attrition of STEM-intending students indicate that poor experiences in introductory courses are at least partly to blame, specifically the students' frustration with lecture-driven teaching methods. In this research, hierarchical linear modeling is used to identify the individual and situational characteristics of instructors…

The mathematics education community has long emphasized applying wordproblem tasks in mathematics classrooms to foster understanding of mathematical concepts. As such, teachers of mathematics are eager to expose students to wordproblem mathematical tasks. However, students find such mathematical tasks particularly challenging, leading teachers to…

The purpose of this paper is to explain a newly implemented interactive delivery model for students at the Colorado School of Mines (Mines) repeating Calculus for Scientists & Engineers I during the spring of 2017. Since calculus is a necessary component for so many STEM degrees, it will continue to be a gateway to obtaining such degrees and…

This paper describes the development and implementation of course modules intended to encourage creative thinking in an undergraduate general education mathematics course. The modules were designed to address the characteristics of creativity outlined in the literature through explorations of mathematics relevant to non-mathematics majors. A…

This work outlines a model for creating momentum for active learning at the departmental level through a Community of Practice. This approach focuses on empowering members of the community by providing easy access to active learning tasks, pacing guide, and teaching tips for the course.