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1. Empowering Course Coordinators: Examining Foundational Math Coordination Orientations

   Rogers, K C; Long, N G (August 2025, Proceedings of the Annual Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education)

   Cook, S; Katz, B P; Mulhuish, K (Ed.)

   This study explores the evolving approaches of eight foundational math course coordinators, uncovering key insights into their coordination strategies and mechanisms to enhance their efforts. These coordinators oversee critical courses, including College Algebra, Quantitative Reasoning, Introductory Statistics, Math for Architecture and Construction Management, Precalculus, Calculus, and mathematics courses for prospective elementary teachers. Through a dataset derived from surveys, self-reflections, and professional development workshops, we investigated their perspectives and experiences as coordinators. We analyzed data from both the coordinators and the graduate student instructors they oversee. Specifically, we highlight the integration of instructional routines that promote mathematical reasoning and the development of course-specific dynamic calendar systems, both of which have the potential to improve the instructional effectiveness and coordination of foundational math courses. Our findings offer fresh perspectives on how to better support course coordinators in their crucial role, ultimately benefiting both instructors and students. 

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2. Instructional Characterizations of Foundational Math Coordinators with Attention to Instructor-Student Interactions

   Rogers, Kimberly C; Grey, Camryn; Long, Nicholas (October 2024, 26th Annual Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education)

   Cook, Sam; Katz, Brian; Moore-Russo, Deborah (Ed.)

   We aimed to get a better understanding of participants’ (eight foundational math course [FMC] coordinators’) teaching approaches. In the first year of this grant project, we primarily gathered data (through surveys, self-reflections, and class observations) on these individuals as instructors. These data were compiled into narrative summaries for each participant and analyzed and compared. We discuss our findings from this analysis, using the instructional triangle as a framework, and particularly focusing on instructor-student interactions. This project aims to develop an understanding of what is needed to support instructional change in FMCs by evaluating how math-specific professional development (PD) cycles affect FMC coordinators’ teaching practices and perspectives. We seek audience feedback on potential next steps towards fostering effective instructor-student interactions and future PD cycles. 

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3. Instructional Characterizations of Foundational Math Coordinators with Attention to Instructor-Student Interactions

   Rogers, Kimberly C; Grey, Camryn; Long, Nicholas (August 2024, 26th Annual Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education)

   Cook, Sam; Katz, Brian; Moore-Russo, Deborah (Ed.)

   We aimed to get a better understanding of participants’ (eight foundational math course [FMC] coordinators’) teaching approaches. In the first year of this grant project, we primarily gathered data (through surveys, self-reflections, and class observations) on these individuals as instructors. These data were compiled into narrative summaries for each participant and analyzed and compared. We discuss our findings from this analysis, using the instructional triangle as a framework, and particularly focusing on instructor-student interactions. This project aims to develop an understanding of what is needed to support instructional change in FMCs by evaluating how math-specific professional development (PD) cycles affect FMC coordinators’ teaching practices and perspectives. We seek audience feedback on potential next steps towards fostering effective instructor-student interactions and future PD cycles. 

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4. 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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5. Examining whether and how instructional coordination occurs within introductory undergraduate STEM courses

   https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1156781  

   Couch, Brian A.; Prevost, Luanna B.; Stains, Marilyne; Whitt, Blake; Marcy, Ariel E.; Apkarian, Naneh; Dancy, Melissa H.; Henderson, Charles; Johnson, Estrella; Raker, Jeffrey R.; et al (April 2023, Frontiers in Education)

   Instructors’ interactions can foster knowledge sharing around teaching and the use of research-based instructional strategies (RBIS). Coordinated teaching presents an impetus for instructors’ interactions and creates opportunities for instructional improvement but also potentially limits an instructor’s autonomy. In this study, we sought to characterize the extent of coordination present in introductory undergraduate courses and to understand how departments and instructors implement and experience course coordination. We examined survey data from 3,641 chemistry, mathematics, and physics instructors at three institution types and conducted follow-up interviews with a subset of 24 survey respondents to determine what types of coordination existed, what factors led to coordination, how coordination constrained instruction, and how instructors maintained autonomy within coordinated contexts. We classified three approaches to coordination at both the overall course and course component levels: independent (i.e., not coordinated), collaborative (decision-making by instructor and others), controlled (decision-making by others, not instructor). Two course components, content coverage and textbooks, were highly coordinated. These curricular components were often decided through formal or informal committees, but these decisions were seldom revisited. This limited the ability for instructors to participate in the decision-making process, the level of interactions between instructors, and the pedagogical growth that could have occurred through these conversations. Decision-making around the other two course components, instructional methods and exams, was more likely to be independently determined by the instructors, who valued this autonomy. Participants in the study identified various ways in which collaborative coordination of courses can promote but also inhibit pedagogical growth. Our findings indicate that the benefits of collaborative course coordination can be realized when departments develop coordinated approaches that value each instructor’s autonomy, incorporate shared and ongoing decision-making, and facilitate collaborative interactions and knowledge sharing among instructors. 

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