Abstracts of Papers Presented at Mathfest 2021 August 4 – August 7, 2021
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Abstracts of Papers Presented at MathFest 2021 August 4 – August 7, 2021 1 Contents Alternative Assessments: Lessons from the Pandemic ................................................................................. 3 Closing Wallets while Opening Minds: Adopting Open Educational Resources in Mathematics ............. 10 Computational Investigation in Undergraduate Mathematics ..................................................................... 12 Creating Relevance in Introductory Mathematics Courses ......................................................................... 15 Cross-Curricular Applications for Pure Mathematics Courses ................................................................... 18 Ethnomathematics: Culture Meets Mathematics in the Classroom ............................................................ 19 Games in Math Circles ................................................................................................................................ 21 Inquiry-Based Learning and Teaching ........................................................................................................ 23 Insights into Quantitative Literacy and Reasoning from the COVID-19 Pandemic ................................... 26 Math In Action ............................................................................................................................................ 28 MathArt, ArtMath at MathFest ................................................................................................................... 32 Mathematics and Sports .............................................................................................................................. 35 Mathematics and the Life Sciences: Initiatives, Programs, Curricula ........................................................ 37 Modeling in Your Differential Equations Course-- Just Do It! .................................................................. 40 Promoting Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice ........................................................................ 45 Recreational Mathematics: Puzzles, Card Tricks, Games, and Gambling .................................................. 49 Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education .................................................................................. 53 Rethinking Mathematics Placement ............................................................................................................ 61 Using Inquiry and Collaboration in Faculty Professional Development during the Pandemic and Beyond .................................................................................................................................................................... 64 PosterFest 2021: Scholarship by Early Career Mathematicians ................................................................. 67 MAA Outreach Poster Session ................................................................................................................... 70 2 Alternative Assessments: Lessons from the Pandemic Part A: Wednesday, August 4, 11:00 a.m. - 11:55 a.m. Part B: Wednesday, August 4, 1:00 p.m. - 3:55 p.m. Part C: Thursday, August 5, 11:00 a.m. - 11:35 a.m. Part D: Thursday, August 5, 3:00 p.m. - 3:55 p.m. Part E: Saturday, August 7, 10:00 a.m. - 11:55 a.m. Part F: Saturday, August 7, 2:00 p.m. - 3:40 p.m. Organizers: David Clark, Grand Valley State University,Mike Janssen, Dordt University, Austin Mohr, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Mariah Birgen, Wartburg University, Beste Gucler, U Mass Dartmouth, Michael Tallman, Oklahoma State University, Jessica OShaughnessy, Shenandoah University Debra Borkovitz, Boston University Trusting Students: Assessment in the Pandemic Pre-pandemic, Jesse Stommel’s four word teaching philosophy, “Start by Trusting Students,” helped me rethink many of my teaching practices; when I found myself wanting to make a pedagogical decision based on my own fears, I would first ask whether students had violated my trust, and the answer was usually no. During the pandemic, this philosophy has guided me in taking risks and making changes in my assessment practices. In this talk, I’ll share some examples of assessments in my remote synchronous Linear Algebra, Discrete Mathematics, Introductory Statistics, and Mathematical Explorations courses, with class sizes ranging from 22 to 122. The assessment ideas draw from a mix of proficiency grading, specifications grading, labor-based grading, and ungrading. Mike Janssen, Dordt University Pseudo-Ungraded Exams Proponents of ungrading identify many of the usual problems with traditional assessment, and further argue that all coursework should receive meaningful instructor feedback, be supplemented with student self-reflection, and assessed by the students themselves. I will discuss an experience integrating some of these ideas into an exam structure for Calculus I and linear algebra students in Fall 2021, particularly as a way of continuing to do authentic assessment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Anne Sinko, College of St. Benedict/St. John's University Ungrading: Assessment from Beyond Mastery Grading At its core, Mastery grading shifts the student focus to feedback by modifying the student perception of “score” to improve learning. Ungrading works to shift the student focus to feedback by removing all scores, even if the “score” is complete versus keep working. In other words, Ungrading is a no grades, only feedback approach to assessment. The pandemic offered me a unique opportunity to try out this approach in an upper division elective during the Spring 2021 term. This talk will present the ideas behind ungrading, how the pilot went, student perspectives on Ungrading, and thoughts for future. Jessie Hamm, Winthrop University A First Attempt at Mastery Based Grading The pandemic caused us to all rethink the way we deliver content. For some of us, including myself, it also led to a change in the way we assess our students. This past year I attempted mastery based grading for the first time in multiple upper-level courses. In this talk I will discuss successes, failures, and student perception. I have not yet mastered this grading technique but am ready for a reattempt this fall! 3 Rachel Grotheer, Wofford College New Job, New Modalities, New Assessment: Lessons from my Dive into Mastery Grading The fall of 2020 brought a host of changes for everyone. For me, on top of wading into using hybrid teaching modalities for the first time, I also found myself starting a job at a new institution. After a lot of research into mastery and proficiency-based grading systems, but having only briefly dipped by toes in them in the past, I decided to make a fresh start of everything in the fall to rework all my classes to use these systems for assessment. This talk outlines how I decided to set up assessment for undergraduate courses at three different levels, how I adapted those assessments to a hybrid environment, the challenges I encountered, and the benefits I discovered along the way, all explained from the point of view of a pre- tenure faculty member in her first year at a new institution. Kristen Sellke, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota A Pandemic First Attempt at Mastery/Specifications Grading for a Joint Precalculus and Calculus I Course In Fall 2020 the pandemic grading plan for this course consisted mainly of weekly online quizzes and paper and pencil homework sets collected every three weeks. Neither the students nor the instructor missed the exams, but the homework sets were not as useful in assessment as hoped. In Spring 2021 the homework sets were reimagined in a mastery approach where each student received three attempts to master each problem. The course grade itself was based on achieving that grade in all four course components (online quizzes, homework sets, daily feedback questions and two integrative assessments). Instructor successes and challenges and student survey responses to the spring grading system will be shared as well as ideas and plans for the next attempt in Fall 2021. Mona Mocanasu, MSU Denver Reconsidering Final Exams as Mastery Assignments When we talk to our colleagues, we say that every math course is different, and that every university has its rules and methods, adapted to their student body. And then there is Calculus - our universal base line. Many of us teach some form of Calculus I, II or III - with a common core of topics that we expect all students to master, and hopefully to remember for their academic life. At my university, these Calculus courses were offered in-person only, with a common syllabus for all sections; the curriculum underscored computational methods and formula memorization, alongside applications and conceptual topics. So, last summer when I signed up to teach Calculus II, I knew I had to reconsider and redesign most of my assessment plan – to balance our standard in-class midterms and final exam with artifacts that are better suited to the online world with open-book exams and unlimited cheating temptations. In this presentation I describe my new grading scheme and mastery assignments, as well as the changes I implemented in the course over three online semesters, to help students stay on track and master the material in an asynchronous format, as well as to discourage cheating. I also share how I want to implement some of these changes as we return to campus, and how my own perception of final exams has transformed. Emily McMillon, University of Nebraska-Lincoln;