These comments were written on cards distributed at the TPSE Math Panel at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in Baltimore on January 17, 2014. In no particular order:
- Existing curriculum-focused efforts (e.g., MAA CUPM) & existing professional development efforts (e.g., MAA Project Next).
- IHE should distinguish "education" from mere "completion." More panels like this.
- Content-based mathematical/computational programming. Re-connection of math and CS departments. Scientific unification with math at its core.
- The panel in this meeting composed of F. Hrabowski, R. Tapia, and J. Gates ["Access and opportunities in STEM education"] provided significant insights relevant to this issue. I would encourage building on that - preferably by those 3 (along with others).
- Our cultural bias against being smart in science, i.e. nerdyness. Legislatures should make sure to have mathematicians as consultants, and should listen carefully.
- Strategies for creating/supporting cultural change in a department.
- Community colleges are caught between the Scylla of Common Core and the Charybdis of pressure for "completion" through Alternate Pathways. Who will chart a path to clear waters?
- Bring teaching-focused colleges and universities into the conversation. Data shows even those of us who are not highly selective (my institution has 35% first gen college students and family income less than state universities in Indiana) graduate a higher percentage of students in 5 years or less at a lower cost. We are often ahead on the issues cited. Be sure we're included in the conversation.
- CBMS is planning a forum on these issues. We need to stay in close contact on this.
- Find ways to encourage research faculty to support changes needed.
- Change culture to get all faculty, especially research faculty, to invest themselves in (lower level) [e.g. calculus] undergraduate education.
- Articulation between high school, community college & 4-year institutions.
- 1) improving freshman level mathematics instruction; 2) the mathematical education of teachers
- Computational science for STEM majors (a problem-solving course for science majors at the freshman level); critical thinking, trouble shooting, achieving results.
- 1) what specific content should come/go from u.g. curricula; 2) developing metrics for improvement in pedagogy
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