1. A Common Vision for Undergraduate Mathematical Sciences Programs in 2025
AMATYC webinar
June 21, 2016

2. Challenges facing our community
Mathematics and statistics courses function as gateways to many majors are crucial for preparing scientifically literate citizens. Yet:
Only ~50% of students earn a grade of A, B, or C in college algebra courses.
Women are almost twice as likely as men to choose not to continue beyond Calc I, even when Calc II is required for their intended major.

3. Challenges facing our community
Mathematics and statistics courses function as gateways to many majors are crucial for preparing scientifically literate citizens. Yet:
In 2012: 19.9% of all bachelor's degrees were awarded to URM students (9.5% to Blacks, 9.8% to Hispanics).
But only 11.6% of math bachelor's degrees were awarded to URM
students (4.9% to Blacks, 6.4% to Hispanics).
Failure rates under traditional lecture are 55% higher than for more active approaches to instruction

4. Impetus to change
Engage to Excel: Producing One Million Additional College Graduates with Degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (PCAST, 2012)
The Mathematical Sciences in 2025 (NRC, 2013)
Both reports criticized the collective enterprise of teaching mathematics to undergraduates
Certainly there were other factors, but these were primary influence.
PCAST: dissatisfied with how math is taught to students outside the math major. Outdated course materials and teaching techniques have not provided students with the quantitative skills needed for employment and good citizenship.
NRC: calls for math teaching that better aligns with other disciplines.

5. Common Vision Project
National Science Foundation funded the project in 2014 (NSF DUE ).
To develop a shared vision in the mathematical sciences community of the need to modernize undergraduate mathematics programs, especially the first two years.
To catalyze grassroots efforts to address the collective challenges we face.

6. Common Vision Project “Program” comprises:
Curricula (courses, topics, electives)
Instructional methodologies
Support structures
Extra-curricular opportunities
We are thinking of “programs” comprehensively

7. Common Vision Project “Modernized” programs will:
Reflect the changing face of our discipline, especially with respect to inclusion of data science, modeling, and computation.
Reflect the increasingly cross-disciplinary nature of STEM fields.
Provide a coherent, intriguing introduction to collegiate mathematics for all students.

8. Common Vision Project
Representation from the five professional associations who focus on undergraduate mathematical sciences programs as an integral part of their mission
American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC)
American Mathematical Society (AMS)
American Statistical Association (ASA)
Mathematical Association of America (MAA)
Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM)

9. Common Vision Project Leadership Team
Karen Saxe, Principal Investigator, Macalester College
Linda Braddy, co-PI, MAA
John Bailer, ASA, Miami University
Rob Farinelli, AMATYC, College of Southern Maryland
Tara Holm, AMS, Cornell University
Vilma Mesa, RUME community, University of Michigan
Uri Treisman, TPSE, University of Texas at Austin and Charles A. Dana Center for Innovation in Math and Science Education
Peter Turner, SIAM, Clarkson University
The organization listed was the primary reason we invited them – they were named as “official representatives” of that association. But there is a lot of overlap of association affiliation. EX: Tara is both AMS and TPSE

10. Common Vision Project Phase 1 of a 2-part initiative Introspective
To articulate an internally coherent vision within our community
Next phase proposed as outward-looking, focused on
Grassroots efforts
Efforts that build on existing work
Dissemination and implementation of modernized curricula and delivery methods
Widespread, large-scale change

11. Common Vision Project
We spent the first six months drafting a report of common themes found in existing curricular guides published by the five associations.
Beyond Crossroads, AMATYC, 2006 (update of the 1995 publication Crossroads in Mathematics: Standards for Introductory College Mathematics Before Calculus)
Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education College Report, ASA, 2012
Guidelines for Undergraduate Programs in Statistical Science, ASA, 2014
There were other reports we considered as well, for example, a 1998 document from the AMS (included in our reference list).

12. Common Vision Project
We spent the first six months drafting a report of common themes found in existing curricular guides published by the five associations.
2015 CUPM Guide to Majors in the Mathematical Sciences, MAA, 2015 (update of ​Undergraduate Programs and Courses in the Mathematical Sciences: CUPM Curriculum Guide 2004)
Partner Discipline Recommendations for Introductory College Mathematics and the Implications for College Algebra, MAA, 2012
Modeling across the Curriculum, SIAM, 2012
Undergraduate Programs in Applied Mathematics, SIAM, 2014
There were other reports we considered as well, for example, a 1998 document from the AMS (included in our reference list).

13. Common Vision Project May 2015 workshop
~50 participants from higher education institutions & advocacy organizations, and industries
Provided feedback for refining report
Drafted proposals for specific initiatives to improve curricula and instruction

14. Common Vision Accomplishments
Published a final report
Hard copies available upon request (while supplies last)
Synthesis of the common themes, based on our research and input from project participants and other leaders in our community
Summary of four broad areas that need attention and action from our community
Curricula
Course structure
Workforce preparation
Faculty development

15. Common Vision Accomplishments
Published a final report
Foundation for future work
Guide for funding agencies – best bets for targeted federal investments likely to have transformative impact
Call to “collective action”
A coordinated effort supported by major players from all existing sectors is more effective than an array of new initiatives and organizations. (Kania & Kramer, 2011, on “collective impact”)
Improving teaching and learning requires well-coordinated efforts among faculty, administrators, employers, professional associations, and funding agencies.

16. Common Vision Accomplishments
Published a final report
We intentionally did not focus on
Developmental/remedial courses
K-12 education
because we had limited time and financial resources.
We reserved those for “Phase 2” efforts.

17. Common Vision Accomplishments
Policy efforts
White paper sent to John Holdren (OSTP, PCAST), members of Congress, chairs and ranking members of House and Senate committees on education.
Calls to action in professional associations’ publications.
Science policy panel with Rush Holt (Congress, AAAS) and Jim Gates (PCAST) at 2016 Joint Mathematics Meetings.
Endorsement from the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences.
See

18. Common Vision Report Common Themes in Curricular Guides
The status quo is unacceptable
More statistics, modeling, simulation, and computation
Less traditional lecturing & more ‘active learning’ techniques
Multiple pathways:
Through general education mathematics and statistics requirements
Into and through majors in the mathematical sciences
Increasing role of two-year colleges

19. Common Vision Report Common Themes in Curricular Guides
Attention to student transitions & transfer between institutions
Technology to enhance student learning
Curricula development efforts with partner disciplines
Emphasis on developing students’ communication skills
Faculty reward systems (e.g., tenure and promotion criteria) are outdated
Sustainability of initiatives

20. Common Vision Report Other Important Themes
Themes present in some, but not all, guides
Themes that warrant considerable attention
Student diversity
Our inability to attract and retain a diverse student population in the mathematical sciences is a dreadful shortcoming that must be remedied
1998: Stiff & Harvey called the mathematics classroom one of the most segregated places in the U.S.
Today: Upper-level mathematics classes remain predominantly white
Today: The performance gap in mathematics is evident as early as 4th grade
It is our responsibility to remove barriers; we should not presuppose minorities and women are less capable or less prepared

21. Common Vision Report Other Important Themes Student mobility
Almost half of all students in four-year institutions have credit on their transcripts from two-year institutions
Most prevalent among low-income students
We have a shared responsibility across all levels of education, P-20
Contingent faculty
Any non-tenure-track position (full-time, part-time, short-term, long-term)
More and more
and more and more
and more and more…..76% of appointments in higher ed
Up to 2/3 part-timers in two-year institutions
Need professional development and support
Graduate teaching assistants
Some of the same issues as with contingent faculty

22. Common Vision Report Other Important Themes Future teachers
The specialized knowledge needed for teaching is distinct from the knowledge needed for other math-intensive professions (different, not less)
2001 CBMS MET report
2012 CBMS MET II report
Failure rates
The high rate of failure in post-secondary math classes is an embarrassment to our profession
Math courses are the most significant barrier to degree completion in
all fields

23. Common Vision Report Other Important Themes Developmental courses
60% of entering community college students
Most students (70% at CC’s) deemed unready for a credit-bearing math course will never graduate
Calculus
Technology enabled delivery methods
Assessment
Scaling (broader issue related to sustainability)

24. Common Vision Report Recommendations for the Community at Large
Update curricula
Scale up the use of evidence-based pedagogical methods
Articulate clear pathways between curricula driven by changes at the K-12 level and the first courses students take in college
Find ways to remove barriers facing students at critical transition points (e.g., placement, transfer)
Establish stronger connections with other disciplines

25. Common Vision Report Recommendations for Specific Stakeholders
Institutions should provide instructors with training, resources, and rewards for their efforts to adapt curricula, develop new courses, and incorporate pedagogical tools and technology to enhance student learning.
Departments should update curricula, establish multiple pathways into and through majors, and move toward environments that incorporate multiple pedagogical approaches throughout a program.

26. Common Vision Report Recommendations for Specific Stakeholders
Instructors should present key ideas and concepts from a variety of perspectives, employ a broad range of examples and applications to motivate and illustrate the material, promote awareness of connections to other subjects, and introduce contemporary topics and applications.
Students should learn to communicate complex ideas in ways understandable to collaborators, clients, employers and other audiences.
This is who we want to influence and how we are attempting to influence them.

27. Common Vision Report Call to Action
To ensure students graduate with skill sets to match expectations of prospective employers, our community must modernize curricula with input from representatives in partner disciplines, business, industry, and government.
While intellectual domains fragment and coalesce over time, a central task for mathematics faculty at institutions of higher education, and more broadly, the mathematical sciences community as a whole, is to create a coherent, intriguing introduction to collegiate mathematics for all students.

28. Common Vision Report Call to Action
This work should aim to narrow the gap between mathematics as practiced in the academy and other employment sectors and mathematics as experienced in higher education's instructional programs.
“Collective action”
A coordinated effort supported by major players from all existing sectors is more effective than an array of new initiatives and organizations. (Kania & Kramer, 2011, on “collective impact”)

29. Common Vision Report Call to Action
Common Vision built on the work of the INGenIOuS project, and we also reiterated a call to action from their report (Zorn, et al, 2014):
We acknowledge that changing established practices can be difficult and painful. Changing cultures of departments, institutions, and organizations can be even harder. But there is reason for optimism. In mathematical sciences research we are always willing, even eager, to replace mediocre or “somewhat successful” strategies with better ones. In that open-minded spirit we invite the mathematical sciences community to view this call to action as a promising opportunity to live up to our professional responsibilities by improving workforce preparation (p. 25).

30. Moving Forward - Build, Collaborate
Common Vision leaders and participants worked together to identify common themes in existing curricular guides that have been endorsed by the participating associations and to propose a path forward for continued collaboration.
We believe it is critical to maintain the collective connection and dialogue among the associations established during this initial phase of Common Vision.
We do not view the distinct efforts of various associations as competing efforts, but instead as the basis and strong foundation for collective action that is informed by a variety of perspectives.

31. Moving Forward - Build, Collaborate
A primary point emphasized by all the guides is that the status quo is unacceptable. Change is unquestionably coming to lower-division undergraduate mathematics, and it is incumbent on the mathematical sciences community to ensure it is at the center of these changes, not on the periphery.
We hope other individuals and groups will come alongside us in this effort, capitalize on the momentum we have built and goodwill we have established, and move this effort forward into a second phase focused on implementation initiatives.

32. Building, Collaborating – Recent Efforts
MAA has begun work on an Instructional Practices Guide which will be the first of its kind; involves all five Common Vision associations, builds on that effort (Diane Briars, NCTM, is on advisory board).
AMATYC has begun its latest update of its curricula recommendations (Beyond Beyond Crossroads? ) with the Common Vision report as its foundation (I am on the writing team).
TPSE Math is focusing on policy efforts and efforts to engage mathematics department chairs and other administrators and is using the Common Vision report as a guide (Brit Kirwan, TPSE senior advisor and chair-elect of CBMS, wrote foreword for the CV report; lots of overlap with Common Vision leadership).
CBMS: Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences

33. Building, Collaborating – Recent Efforts
NCTM is working to build out from Common Vision into the K-12 sector.
MAA submitted “StatPREP” grant proposal to NSF in January (looks like it might be funded)
$2 million, 5 years
Aims to revolutionize the way we teach statistics
PD for faculty at all types of institutions, but focuses on community colleges
MAA submitted “PMET II” grant proposal to NSF in January
$3 million, 5 years
Aims to assist faculty who prepare secondary mathematics teachers
Focus on Common Core ideals
CBMS: Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences

34. Building, Collaborating – Principles
Two profound principles will help ensure our forward progress and success (and are reflected in these recent efforts):
We must stop reinventing the wheel.
We especially must stop reinventing the flat tire.

35. Thank you!
Linda Braddy

36. References
Kania, J. & Kramer, M. (2011). Collective Impact, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Winter (Available at
National Research Council. (2013). The Mathematical Sciences in Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. (Available at
President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. (2012). Engage to Excel: Producing One Million Additional College Graduates with Degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Washington, DC: White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

37. References
Saxe, K. & Braddy, L. (2015). A Common Vision for Undergraduate Mathematical Sciences Programs in Washington, DC: Mathematical Association of America. (Available at
Stiff, L. V., & Harvey, W. B. (1988). On the education of black children in mathematics. Journal of Black Studies, 19(2), 190–203.
Zorn, P., Bailer, J., Braddy, L., Carpenter, J., Jaco, W., & Turner, P. (2014). The INGenIOuS Project: Mathematics, Statistics, and Preparing the 21st Century Workforce. Washington, DC: Mathematical Association of America. (Available at