Lee’s NASCM Makes Strides With Help Of NSF Grant

  • Monday, December 17, 2018
  • Collette Bliss, Lee University
Dr. Caroline Maher-Boulis with co-presenters at the 2018 Transforming STEM Higher Education Conference
Dr. Caroline Maher-Boulis with co-presenters at the 2018 Transforming STEM Higher Education Conference

Lee University’s Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics has been actively participating in conferences, consortiums, and partnerships which work to improve the quality of mathematics higher education on institutional, state, and regional levels. These improvements have been funded by a grant received from the National Science Foundation in September 2016.

The 2016 grant, $155,000 over five years, was part of a $2.6 million NSF grant for Collaborative Research: A National Consortium for Synergistic Undergraduate Mathematics via Multi-Institutional Interdisciplinary Teaching Partnerships. 

“Through the SUMMIT-P project we have been able to create several faculty learning communities on our campus,” said Dr. Caroline Maher-Boulis, professor of mathematics. “This year, the mathematics division at Lee has had interdisciplinary discussions and collaborations with faculty in numerous departments on our campus, including health, secondary education, political science, humanities, behavioral and social sciences, and history.” 

The Mathematical Association of America’s CRAFTY (Committee on Curriculum Renewal Across the First Two Years) designed the SUMMIT-P project as a consortium of 10 colleges and universities, including Lee University, that are working together to improve math courses for first- and second-year students based on the needs of partner disciplines.  The goal of these improvements is to make the math courses more meaningful to students in their chosen disciplines. 

“By discussing and cooperating with other disciplines, we are able to provide instruction in our mathematics courses that is informed by and relevant to these departments,” said Dr. Maher-Boulis. “This helps students to better understand the utility of the mathematical content in their other courses, which in turn leads to greater retention.”

Lee’s SUMMIT-P team is led by Dr. Maher-Boulis and includes Dr. Bryan Poole, assistant professor of psychology; Dr. John Hearn, assistant professor of chemistry; and Dr. Jason Robinson, assistant professor of education.

The Lee group hosted the first webinar in a SUMMIT-P series offered by the MAA. This webinar series is designed for post-secondary faculty who wish to reexamine and refine mathematics courses in collaboration with partner disciplines.

"The webinar was well-received by the national mathematical community, with 60 attendees from across the nation,” said Dr. Maher-Boulis. “In addition to showcasing the work the Lee team has done on our campus, participants were able to discuss the benefits and challenges of incorporating such a project on their own campuses. We were honored to share our experience at the national level.”

The Lee team also recently collaborated with two other SUMMIT-P institutions to present at the 2018 Transforming STEM Higher Education Conference, which is part of the Association of American Colleges and Universities’ Network for Academic Renewal conference series. The group—Dr. Maher-Boulis, Mike May of Saint Louis University, and Victor Piercy of Ferris State University—presented, “Improving Mathematics Connections for Majors and Non-Majors through Interdisciplinary Partnerships,” discussing the SUMMIT-P program, the research which inspired it, applied implementation of the findings, and analysis of the collaboration across institutions.

In addition to these conferences and webinars, Lee’s NASCM is partnering with Bradley County Schools to offer professional development for mathematics instructors.

“Having the opportunity to partner with Bradley County Schools has been a great experience for those of us involved with the grant,” said Dr. Robinson. “Mrs. Beth Fugate, mathematics coordinator for the school system, has worked hard to provide superior professional development opportunities for our Lee University math instructors and for that, we are truly thankful.”

The Southeastern Section of the MAA will host their annual regional conference on Lee’s campus March 7-9, 2019.

For more information about the National Science Foundation, visit https://www.nsf.gov/

For more information about the Mathematics Association of America and CRAFTY, visit https://www.maa.org/programs-and-communities/member-communities/curriculum-department-guidelines-recommendations/crafty

For more information about the SUMMIT-P project, visit https://www.summit-p.com/

For more information about the Association of American Colleges and Universities and the Transforming STEM Higher Education conference, visit https://www.aacu.org/conferences/stem/18

For more information about the MAA-SE conference in the spring, visit https://maasoutheastern.org/2019-conference/



 

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