Almost all finite groups encountered by undergraduates can be represented as multiplicative groups of concise block-diagonal binary matrices. Such representations provide simple examples for beginning a group theory course. More importantly, these representations provide concrete models for "abstract" concepts. We describe Maple lab…

The Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Adelphi University engaged in a year-long program revision of its mathematics major, which was initiated by a longitudinal study and the publication of the 2015 Curriculum Guide by the MAA's Committee on Undergraduate Programs in Mathematics. This paper stands as a short story, so to speak, of…

This article chronicles the author's positive experience of conducting a liberal arts mathematics course with no testing whatsoever. The format of the course is discussed, and student responses to the format are summarized.

This study involved an intervention designed to examine whether employability prospects for STEM students studying mathematics could be improved. It incorporated use of non-routine problem solving in second-year mathematics courses at two New Zealand universities. From a theoretical standpoint, we conceptualised a novel construct called…

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…

For countries concerned about equity and access to higher education, providing support services for academically underprepared students is critical to increasing their probabilities of success. Corequisite math courses provide opportunities for underprepared students to develop their basic math skills through simultaneous enrollment in…

Mathematics education faculty working in mathematics departments are commonly involved in teaching undergraduate mathematics courses, teaching and supervising postgraduate students of mathematics education, and developing mathematics teachers (pre-service and/or in-service). This paper proposes a new elective course that can be taken by either…

In introductory level math classes, writing prompts can be used as part of weekly homework assignments to encourage students to think more deeply about the subject at hand. These writing prompts present scenarios related to recently learned material in a new context and require students to submit a short written response online. Writing prompts…

Collegiate mathematics instructors are moving away from traditional lecture-based teaching practices to accommodate the pedagogies that support more active student learning. As part of the movement, groupwork has been increasingly implemented. At the same time, mathematics classrooms have become increasingly diverse and also in the distribution of…

In this paper, we provide an overall perspective on the teaching and learning of discrete mathematics. Our aim is to highlight what research has been conducted in this area and to connect it to existing research ideas for future work. We begin by characterizing discrete mathematics and its role in the school curriculum, highlighting themes,…

The widely used Draw a Scientist Test was revised to focus on statistics and 110 Elementary Statistics students were asked to draw a statistician. In addition, to better understand students' drawings and have some relative comparison, 173 College Algebra students were asked to draw a mathematician. A detailed analysis of students' images and…

The authors describe working with partner disciplines during the process of updating mathematics courses for the general education quantitative literacy requirement. The conversations resulted in significant changes to the business calculus course and a rich listing of applications to be incorporated into the college algebra course from technical…

Following a modeling-first approach to differential equations, inquiry-based learning activities on modeling and controlling the growth of locally relevant species, such as lionfish or sea turtles, are developed by the authors. Emerging exemplary practices are presented, building towards a balanced teaching of differential equations involving…

Meaningful mathematics learning requires creating opportunities for learners to make use of their awareness to contact important mathematical structures. Four first year undergraduates studying engineering, mathematics and education were invited to construct examples meeting specified constraints in order to investigate their awareness of…

This paper deals with writing a proof text as the final step of the proving process at university level, particularly when it results in a disorganized, unclear draft. The reported study concerns third year university students when dealing with proof tasks for which the proving process has to be built up, as opposed to tasks that students may…