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1. Mentoring Faculty Through a Quantitative Reasoning Professional Development Program: Why do Faculty Participate and What do They Get Out of It?

   Wilder, Esther Isabelle (July 2020, Journal of General Education)

   Although quantitative reasoning (QR) is central to general education, many college students lack fundamental numeracy skills. In response, The City University of New York established a QR faculty development program that trained instructors across the disciplines through teaching exercises, guided discussions, hands-on activities, the development of instructional/assessment materials, and feedback from mentors and peers. Ten cohorts, 2010–2019, responded to surveys that evaluated their motives for participating and the extent to which they felt their goals were met. Faculty joined the program due to factors including their concern for students, their commitment to QR instruction, and their desire to build professional networks. Program completers reported a better understanding of QR, a greater commitment to QR instruction, increased awareness of tools and techniques (e.g., progressive pedagogies, active learning and constructivist approaches), a clearer sense of students’ needs, a commitment to assessment, and strong engagement with CUNY’s multidisciplinary, multi-institutional QR community. Overall, the perceived benefits of the program match participants’ motives for joining. Respondents’ comments suggest that faculty development for general education requires motivated participants, opportunities for networking, thoughtful discussion of readings and videos, modeling of best practices, a student-centered curriculum, sensitivity to participants’ backgrounds, adequate incentives, effective mentorship, and institutional commitment. 

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2. Inservice teachers’ attributions for mathematical success.

   Cross Francis, D.; Jessup, J.; Yavuz, S.; Franklin, J.; Pierce, S.; Gustaveson, A.; Jacobson, E. (October 2023, Proceedings of the 45nd Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education)

   Beliefs teachers hold influence the judgments they make about their students, and opportunities they provide for engaging them in rigorous mathematics. While math-related beliefs have been widely studied, less is known about teachers’ attributional beliefs (i.e., beliefs about people’s actions or behaviors) for mathematical success. In this study we investigated in-service elementary teachers’ stated beliefs about mathematical success. Findings show that teachers attribute mathematical success to factors that are both internal and external to the student. Although teachers explicitly stated that race and gender were not factors, many used descriptors that served as proxies for students’ demographic markers. 

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3. CHARACTERIZATION OF UNDERGRADUATE BIOLOGY INSTRUCTORS’ GOALS AND STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTING QUANTITATIVE REASONING

   Khushal, Anum (August 2025, University of Nebraska Digital Commons)

   Quantitative reasoning (QR) is the ability to apply mathematics and statistics in the context of real-life situations and scientific problems. It is an important skill that students require to make sense of complex biological phenomena and handle large datasets in biology courses and research as well as in professional contexts. Biology educators and researchers are responding to the increasing need for QR through curricular reforms and research into biology education. This qualitative study investigates how undergraduate biology instructors implement QR into their teaching. The study used pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and a QR framework to explore instructors’ instructional goals, strategies, and perceived challenges and affordances in undergraduate biology instruction. The participants included 21 biology faculty across various institutions in the United States, who intentionally integrated QR in their instruction. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data focusing on participants’ beliefs, experiences, and classroom practices. Findings indicated that instructors adapt their QR instruction based on course level and student preparedness. In lower-division courses, strategies emphasized building foundational skills, reducing math anxiety, and using scaffolded instruction to promote confidence. In upper-division courses, instructors expected greater math fluency but still encountered a wide range of student abilities, prompting a focus on correcting misconceptions in integrating math knowledge and fostering deeper conceptual understanding in biology. Many instructors reported that their personal and educational experiences, especially struggles with math, often shaped their inclusive and empathetic teaching practices. Additionally, instructors’ research backgrounds influenced instructional design, particularly in the use of authentic data, statistical tools, and real-world applications. Instructors’ teaching experiences led to refinement in lesson planning, pacing, and active learning strategies. Despite their efforts, instructors faced both internal and external challenges in implementing QR, including discomfort with teaching math, time limitations, student resistance, and institutional barriers. However, affordances such as departmental support, interdisciplinary collaboration, and curricular flexibility helped to overcome some of these challenges. This study highlights the complex relationships between instructors’ experiences, beliefs, and contextual factors in shaping QR instruction. This calls for professional development that supports reflective practice, builds interdisciplinary competence, and promotes instructional strategies that bridge biology and mathematics and will help instructors design a learning environment that better support students’ development of QR skills. These findings offer valuable guidance for professional development aimed at helping biology instructors incorporate quantitative reasoning into their teaching. Such efforts can better equip students to meet the quantitative demands of modern biology and promote their continued engagement in STEM fields through more inclusive and integrated instructional approaches. 

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4. Faculty and student perceptions of instructional servingness in gateway mathematics courses at a Hispanic-Serving Institution

   Leyva, L. A.; Mitchell, N. D.; McNeill, R. T.; Byrne, M. H.; Ford, B.; Chávez, L. A.; & Abreu-Ramos, E. D. (January 2022, Proceedings of the 44th Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education)

   Lischka, A.; Dyer, E. B.; Jones, R. S.; Lovett, J. N.; Strayer, J.; & Drown, S. (Ed.)

   Research exploring how Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) serve Latin* STEM students has largely focused on features of organizational structures (e.g., support programs), but minimally examined instruction and classroom experiences. This is an important gap to fill, especially in gateway mathematics courses, where faculty relationships and quality of instruction impact Latin* students’ persistence and identities in STEM. To advance such research, this report presents findings from an analysis of how perspectives from HSI mathematics faculty and students about instruction in introductory statistics converged and diverged in terms of serving Latin* populations. We present two illustrative cases of dissonant and resonant perspectives on serving Latin* students through instruction that frames mathematical ability expansively (e.g., not limited to being fast or correct). We conclude with research and practice implications. 

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5. STEM faculty members and their perceptions of mentoring: “I do not want to be a role model”

   https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMCE-07-2020-0035  

   Olson, Joann S.; Nayar-Bhalerao, Sneha (December 2020, International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education)

   null (Ed.)

   Purpose The purpose of this case study is to explore the perceptions of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) faculty members toward mentoring undergraduates. Design/methodology/approach Within the context of a student scholarship and faculty development project, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), STEM faculty members were interviewed at a small teaching-focused university in South Texas, United States. This research study utilized a qualitative case study approach based on semi-structured interviews with nine Mathematics and Computer Science faculty members. Transcripts were coded thematically, beginning with open coding and continuing with repeated rounds of comparison leading to the identification of four themes. Findings Four themes were identified in the data: describing settings where mentoring occurs, identifying the tasks of mentoring, developing skills for mentoring others and inhabiting the identity of a mentor. These findings suggest that increasing faculty engagement and effectiveness in mentoring STEM students may be a matter of broadening the definition of mentoring and helping faculty members develop the identity of a mentor. Practical implications In an effort to promote retention of students, specifically within STEM fields, many initiatives highlight the importance of faculty mentoring for undergraduate students. This research suggests that faculty members' perceptions of the role and structure of a mentoring relationship will shape this relationship and have an impact on student persistence and success. Originality/value While most studies of faculty–student mentoring focus on the experiences of students, this study explored faculty members' perceptions of that relationship. 

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