SIGMA on RUME Pre-Conference Working Groups
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WG1: Fire Circles on Undergraduate Mathematics Education Research with Indigenous Communities
WG3: Research Mentoring in RUME
WG4: Research on Community College Mathematics
WG5: Research on Technology in Undergraduate Mathematics Education
WG6: Fostering Mathematical Exploration and Conjecture in Linear Algebra Using Digital Worksheets
WG7: Research in Graduate Mathematics Education
WG8: Teaching Geometry for Secondary Teachers
WG9: Stochastics Education Research
WG10: Research on College Mathematics Instructor Professional Growth
WG1: Fire Circles on Undergraduate Mathematics Education Research with Indigenous Communities
| Organizers: Vilma Mesa (University of Michigan); Belin Tsinnajinnie (Wested); Lisa Savcak (Wested) | Contact: vmesa@umich.edu |
| We convene researchers interested in building and continuing understanding the scope of research that can be pursued with Indigenous communities on aspects of mathematics teaching, learning, curriculum, and professional development. A secondary goal of this group is to sustain a network of scholars who are interested in advancing research on these areas and who are pursuing or planning to start projects with a focus on Indigenous communities in the United States, the Americas, and internationally. The structure and design of this working group is based on frameworks developed by Indigenous scholars. | |
WG2: Education Research at the Interface of Mathematics and Science: Theory and Frameworks Across DBER
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Organizer: Jon-Marc Rodriguez (University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee) |
Contact: rodrigjg@uwm.edu |
| Education Research at the Interface of Mathematics and Science is an ongoing working group at RUME that has served the role of making connections between researchers and topics across discipline-based education research (DBER). This year the working group will focus on theory and frameworks in DBER. Within DBER fields, there is a shared norm regarding incorporating theory and frameworks in research. That said, although discussions of interdisciplinary work often emphasize the shared concepts (e.g., infinitesimals) or skills (e.g., graphical reasoning) that connect disciplines, at a larger level, DBER fields are connected through shared assumptions reflected in theories and frameworks. Nevertheless, DBER fields may use different frameworks to investigate the same construct or DBER fields may use the same framework in different ways. To this end, we intend to open a dialogue, using the following questions as a starting point: (1) What are examples of theories and frameworks that have broad applicability? (2) What are some ways that theories and frameworks have been adapted for a different context? (3) How do fields develop, refine, and evaluate theories and frameworks? (4) What can we learn from the ways other fields apply theories and frameworks? (5) How can we support new and emerging researchers in applying theories and frameworks in education research? In our working group, we seek to address these questions from different perspectives, drawing on the experience and expertise of RUME participants from science and mathematics. Providing opportunities for small-group and whole-group discussion, the working group will identify areas of future inquiry, as well as resources and structures for supporting researchers. | |
WG3: Research Mentoring in RUME
| Organizers: Emily Cilli-Turner (University of San Diego); Emilie Hancock (Central Washington University); Gulden Karakok (University of Northern Colorado); Milos Savic (University of Oklahoma) | Contact: ecilliturner@sandiego.edu |
| Research mentoring has emerged as a top priority of the RUME community in recent years with the release of documents such as the position statement on mentoring in 2018. However, formal conversations about how best to mentor those wanting to research in RUME have rarely taken place. Additionally, while STEM research mentoring training programs exist (such as those run by the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER)), none are RUME specific. We hypothesize that mentoring emerging researchers in RUME may be very different from other STEM fields as many come to RUME from the mathematics research community. In this working group, we will (i) compare and contrast different perspectives that mentors utilize in their research, and (ii) identify ways in which these different perspectives help to mentor emerging RUME scholars (those who would like to join the RUME community). Participants will be introduced to existing research on various mentorship models (i.e., Johnson, 2015) and asked to share their own productive and unproductive mentorship experiences. By the end of the session, the Working Group will have generated: (i) a list of best practices for research mentorship centered around the themes: aligning expectations, articulating a mentoring philosophy, assessing understanding, fostering independence, maintaining effective communication, and promoting mentee’s research self-efficacy and (ii) action steps for facilitating mentorship for individual participants and the collective working group. We will also create a discussion group on MAA connect to continue these discussions and share practices after the working group concludes. | |
WG4: Research on Community College Mathematics
| Organizers: Katie Bjorkman (Richard Bland College); Claire Wladis (City University of New York); Branwen Schaub (Wenatchee Valley College) | Contact: kbjorkman@rbc.edu |
| This working group brings together researchers who focus on teaching and learning in community college mathematics. Several new themes were brought forward at the 2023 working group, including a recentering of our work as necessarily equity work due to the demographics of community college students and inequities that are perpetuated by issues such losing credits during transfer or teaching of students with non-standard educational backgrounds and trauma.
We welcome new working group participants who are seeking to conduct or are conducting research in mathematics teaching and learning within community colleges and are interested in advancing this agenda through collaborative or coordinated research projects and focused plans for the dissemination of research. The focus for 2024 is to collaborate on: (1) continuing work on the themes of equity, trauma-informed pedagogy, and defining college-level mathematics; (2) exploring overlap with other threads of research such as general education mathematics courses, developmental mathematics courses, the PC-C2 sequence, and equity research; (3) developing specific mentoring, networking, or other support plans for community college mathematics education researchers, practitioners, and doctoral students with a research interest in community colleges; and (4) further developing our interprofessional organization collaborations for future conferences and special publications focused on community college mathematics research. |
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WG5: Research on Technology in Undergraduate Mathematics Education
| Organizers: Darryl Chamberlain Jr. (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University — Worldwide); Zackery Reed (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University — Worldwide) | Contact: Darryl.Chamberlain@erau.edu |
| In this returning working group, participants will work with colleagues across RUME (Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education) to learn about what research has been published around the use of technology in undergraduate mathematics teaching and learning and brainstorm how to design new studies. For this group, the term technology will be used broadly to mean any tools that are connected to computers and calculators. Specific breakdowns into categories may include online synchronous teaching and learning, online asynchronous teaching and learning, digital tools for mathematical student learning in general (including in-person teaching), using computer programming for mathematical learning, using technology in the social context of learning (e.g., digital didactic objects), technology in statistics and data science education, and other categories that might emerge as the working group comes together. Participants may bring their own ideas and proposals for research in technology to share and discuss. Graduate students and early researchers are encouraged to participate. The results of the working group will include ongoing collaborations among the participants, plans for addressing gaps in the research, and disseminating to researchers and practitioners what work has been published and what is to come. | |
WG6: Fostering Mathematical Exploration and Conjecture in Linear Algebra Using Digital Worksheets
| Organizers: Ryan Peffer (Washington State University); Judi McDonald (Washington State University); Sepideh Stewart (University of Oklahoma) | Contact: ryan.peffer@wsu.edu |
| Linear algebra is a subject rich with opportunities for students to engage with novice-accessible proof and formal mathematics that might otherwise be new to them. We wish to develop a core community rooted in mathematical practices of observation, conjecture, and proof. In this workshop, we will leverage technology for the purpose of facilitating experimentation with linear algebraic objects, particularly matrices. Going beyond purely visual ideas and references in 2D and 3D space requires a more algebraic treatment and understanding of these objects. The overall goals include: (a) illustrate using rectangular arrays as a visual source of intuition and insight; (b) implement a set of digital linear algebra worksheets to place student cognitive load on linear algebraic ideas; and (c) collaborate with participants to create strategies and refinements for the design and implementation of digital worksheets and how to assess student thought processes. We will employ an adaptation of Tall’s three worlds of mathematics as a theoretical framework for our workshop. Recommended to bring device with Wolfram Digital Player installed, available for free at https://www.wolfram.com/player/ |
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WG7: Research in Graduate Mathematics Education
| Organizers: Brady Tyburski (Michigan State University); Tim McEldowney (West Virginia University) |
Contact: tybursk2@msu.edu |
| Despite the importance of graduate education to the field of mathematics, there has been minimal research on graduate mathematics education, especially compared to undergraduate mathematics education. Recently, however, there has been significant emerging interest in graduate mathematics education from both practitioners and researchers. Still, there are few formal research venues (or “homes”) for this work to occur in a sustained fashion. We envision this working group as filling this gap and providing space for stakeholders—researchers, graduate mathematics faculty (especially graduate program directors), representatives of mathematics professional organizations, and, of course, graduate students—to convene and work collaboratively on research-based solutions to improving graduate mathematics education. The goal of this working group is to create a formal research venue for graduate mathematics education research within the RUME community. As the primary research community in post-secondary mathematics education, we are well positioned to extend our theories and methods concerning adult learning to improve the state of graduate mathematics education. In particular, given the explicit goals of the RUME community toward mentoring graduate students, it is important to use our research base to improve their learning environment and ensure that space is equitable. The session will start with an exploration of current research and areas of need through short contributed talks. Before the conference, we will invite interested participants—either researchers or other stakeholders—to share brief talks on either completed, in-progress, or proposed research or suggestions for research from leaders and practitioners of graduate education. This is to tailor the working group to the needs of participants. We have also invited representatives from professional organizations and graduate mathematics programs to contribute talks. The later half of the session will be devoted to break-out groups, which will include (1) creating new research teams on shared topics of interest as well as (2) equipping interested graduate students with the reflexive research skills necessary to advance literature on graduate education learning environments. Finally, we will reconvene as a whole group to share out what topics, ideas, and questions arose during the breakout time. This discussion space will allow us to collaboratively summarize some key contours of graduate mathematics education and some shared future goals. |
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WG8: Teaching Geometry for Secondary Teachers
| Organizers: Patricio Herbst (University of Michigan); Steve Szydlik (University of Wisconsin, Osh Kosh); Sharon Vestal (South Dakota State University) | Contact: rumegetWG@umich.edu |
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We convene attendees who teach or do research on college geometry courses taken by secondary teachers (GeT courses hereafter). During the first segment of the working group session, attendees will learn about the activities of a online community of geometry instructors (GeT: A Pencil) which has been convened for 5 years with ongoing NSF-funded support. Of particular focus, attendees will have the chance to learn more about a set of Student Learning Outcomes (SLO) for geometry courses and the state of a book project that contributes to the elaboration and improvement of these SLOs. The instructors in GeT: A Pencil conceive of the SLOs as a living document—one that will change over time with input from other instructors and stakeholders–and have an online forum to collect reactions. During the second segment, members of this community will share how their syllabi have changed to make room for the SLOs, then the participants will have a chance to peruse other (anonymized) syllabi from GeT courses around the country to see the extent to which the SLOs are present and how they are articulated with other content in those other courses. During the third segment, participants will engage in an item camp of sorts, discussing and revising assessment items and instructional tasks that might be instrumental for teaching or assessing each SLO.
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WG9: Stochastics Education Research
| Organizers: Neil Hatfield (Pennsylvania State University); Kristin Roland (University of Virginia); Sherri Johnson |
Contact: neil.hatfield@psu.edu |
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This working group solicits individuals interested in learning about and pursuing research on the teaching and learning of undergraduate stochastics—statistics, probability, and data science. This includes research interests pertaining to, but not limited to, the theoretical analysis and/or empirical investigation of introductory and advanced courses in these fields. In addition to these strands of research we welcome those researchers who work in the space of stochastics education pertaining to pre-service and in-service teacher (K-12) courses oriented as well as courses aimed at prepare graduate students to teach in these fields. Further, we encourage individuals interested in problem spaces shared between the undergraduate mathematics, stochastics (statistics, probability, and data science), and computer science communities to consider taking part in the working group. With growing enrollments in Statistics, Probability and Data Science courses and the increasing demand for a data-skilled workforce, there is a need for research into how students think and learn about concepts and practices in these fields. Often, researchers interested in these areas are isolated. This working group provides a means for those researchers interested in statistics and data science education to come together to share their knowledge and ideas, while building a lasting community dedicated to moving the research field of statistics and data science education forward. Such collaborations may inform the practices and research agendas in all communities. Join us as our community grows. We are a small and supportive group and want to help anyone with an interest in statistics and data science education. |
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WG10: Research on College Mathematics Instructor Professional Growth
| Organizers: Shandy Hauk (San Francisco State University); Natasha Speer (University of Maine); Sean Yee (University of South Carolina); Wendy Smithy (University of Nebraska--Lincoln) |
Contact: hauk@sfsu.edu |
| This long-standing working group focuses on research on the professional development and growth of college mathematics instructors, regardless of their level of experience or expertise. Many current members have a particular interest in the professional growth of novice college teachers (e.g., graduate students in their first teaching roles). The group meets online periodically throughout the year and face-to-face at the RUME conference annually. The group’s goals, historically and currently, continue to drive the focus of annual meetings. Working group time at the conference is structured to bring in researchers new to the field through a variety of scholarly activities: exploring and discussing literature, giving and receiving feedback on research projects that are in progress, brainstorming potential collaborations and mentoring relationships for both long- and short-term studies, and continuing to discuss issues central to the field along with ways to address them. Participants in this group include researchers in all areas of the professional preparation, induction, and development of college mathematics instructors, from across institutional types. Research areas include, but are not limited to, factors that shape instructional practices and related professional learning activities, experiences of instructors as they attend to student thinking in their teaching, and changes in instructional orientations, planning, and practices as teaching experiences accumulate. Researchers need not present their own work to participate in the group. Dissemination from the group is broad, from publications aimed at education research audiences to practice-oriented college mathematics instructor and mathematician communities. What drives the working group is meeting the needs of its members. Working group facilitators have been involved in various related groups (e.g., MAA-AMS Joint Committee on Teaching Assistants and Part-Time Faculty, MAA Committee on Professional Development), have conducted grant-funded research in the area, and have presented at the Conference on RUME previously. | |