SSI 2014 marks the second time the Engaging Mathematics partners came together as a group since the project’s kick-off meeting in January of this year.
On the second day of the Institute, project Co-PI Cindy Kaus led a work session called “SENCER Mathematics Across the Curriculum.” The session attracted an interdisciplinary audience, which was indeed the goal—”My title worked!” Cindy proclaimed at the session’s start, after asking how many in attendance were professors of a subject other than math.
During the session, project members and session attendees gave short presentations about the interdisciplinary civic issues within their courses. The slides from the partners’ presentations are available as an online resource.
Other presentations given by Engaging Mathematics faculty during SSI included:
- A concurrent session by Barbara Gonzalez (along with SENCER Leadership Fellow Melanie Pivarski) on creating and implementing student-generated Calculus II-based projects;
- A concurrent session by Mangala Kothari and Milena Cuellar on creating a community of practice through connecting math, the environment, and society; and
- A poster presentation by Barbara Gonzalez and Cathy Evins outlining their multi-step plan to enhance college algebra.
The Institute also provided opportunities for the partners to meet as a team. During these meetings, partners were able to pose questions to the group, discuss topics relevant to the project, and plan for the project’s next steps. A few outside parties joined these meetings, and expressed enthusiasm about creating Engaging Math-style courses of their own.
We are eager to see the progress made by our partners this fall after a productive Summer Institute, and welcome others who are interested in combining mathematics education with interdisciplinary civic issues to contact our partners for more information. You can also connect with the project on Twitter at @MathEngaging.
Article originally published on August 14, 2014.
