Engaging Large Calculus Classes with In-Class Polling Activities This example showcases the use of active-learning and retrieval practice, which have been shown to be effective teaching strategies. The Calculus for Life Sciences courses highlighted here are large (400-700 students in each), and each lecture section has about 120-150 students. View Example Active Learning Assessing & Activating Prior Knowledge Data-Informed Instruction Formative Assessment & Practice Peer Collaboration
Engaging Students with Amplify Amplify Classroom provides students with opportunities to see mathematics in new ways and truly interact with it. Jill Vettrus would have a difficult time teaching without it. View Example Active Learning Assessing & Activating Prior Knowledge Formative Assessment & Practice Peer Collaboration
Learning about Students Through Their Favorite Quotes Sharing favorite quotes has really helped Jill Vettrus to connect with her students from day one and gain a little insight into them as both a person and a student. View Example Fostering a Sense of Belonging Instructional Transparency
Celebrating Student Progress and Providing Wise Feedback Many mathematics faculty understand the value of real-life applications, writing, and projects in the mathematics classroom. Fewer implement these practices, often due to workload and time constraints, but digitally enabled tools can be used to support efficiency. View Example Active Learning Formative Assessment & Practice Instructional Transparency Metacognition & Self-Regulated Learning
Excel Helps Students Determine: Is it Too Good to Be True? Instructors of mathematics want students to use mathematical reasoning to understand the world around them, question false claims, and be critical thinkers inside and outside of the classroom. Get-rich-quick schemes often rely on numbers that sound reasonable but can be carefully unpacked using tools like spreadsheet technology. View Example Active Learning Assessing & Activating Prior Knowledge Formative Assessment & Practice
Digital Spreadsheets Build Financial Literacy through Quick Comparisons Financial literacy is a key area where students can learn mathematics that is relevant to their present and future lives. Digital spreadsheets and well-organized scenarios can support students to understand how compound interest works, exposing them to the basics of taking out loans and saving for retirement. View Example Active Learning Assessing & Activating Prior Knowledge Peer Collaboration
Twenty Miles a Day is the Way to Get an A! Students benefit from instructional transparency moves which support their understanding of what is required and how to succeed in a class. Once students understand expectations, instructors can provide explicit opportunities for reflection and self-assessment of their learning strategies and processes towards meeting course expectations. View Example Assessing & Activating Prior Knowledge Instructional Transparency Metacognition & Self-Regulated Learning
Using Algebraic Reasoning and Spreadsheets to Work with Real World Data Students may struggle with this eye-opening and fun exercise, but with practice they will appreciate the difficulty inherent in working with real world data. View Example Active Learning Assessing & Activating Prior Knowledge Peer Collaboration
Playing an Instrument Instead of Just Talking About Playing an Instrument This activity uses digital spreadsheets to illustrate the key concepts underlying the Central Limit Theorem and occurs after introducing basic descriptive statistics and the normal distribution as an example of a histogram. View Example Active Learning Assessing & Activating Prior Knowledge Formative Assessment & Practice Peer Collaboration
Modeling Review Strategies with An End-of-Unit Wrap-up Routine An end-of-unit wrap-up via a reading and discussion can support students to practice metacognition by reflecting on their learning processes and understanding, making big ideas and real-world connections transparent. View Example Assessing & Activating Prior Knowledge Data-Informed Instruction Formative Assessment & Practice Instructional Transparency Metacognition & Self-Regulated Learning Peer Collaboration
Emphasizing the Importance of a Course Syllabus and Supporting Students to Understand It Faculty work hard to make a course syllabus clear, inviting, and informative. Dr. April Crenshaw has developed a video and quiz system which helps her get students to actually read this important document at the start of the term. View Example Formative Assessment & Practice Fostering a Sense of Belonging Instructional Transparency Metacognition & Self-Regulated Learning
Using Daily Warm-up Questions to Activate Prior Knowledge Reviewing a previous class day’s notes through a warm-up question allows an instructor to simultaneously re-emphasize important material and activate students’ prior knowledge. This can deepen understanding and enhance connections with new material. View Example Assessing & Activating Prior Knowledge Formative Assessment & Practice Metacognition & Self-Regulated Learning
Online Graphing Calculators Support Students to Focus on Mathematical Patterns Using an online graphing calculator can allow students to quickly see mathematical patterns, without the risk of being distracted by minor calculation errors or mistakes plotting points by hand. View Example Active Learning
Using an Online Simulation to Connect Linear Equations and Electrical Circuits Active learning through online simulations and explorations increases student participation, moving them beyond receiving information to creating knowledge. This particular example builds connections between the theory of solving one-step linear equations and the application of Ohm’s law and electric circuits. View Example Active Learning Assessing & Activating Prior Knowledge Instructional Transparency
Making Math Help Accessible Through Smart Scheduling Learning difficult material can be challenging enough without the added physical separation from instructor support. April Crenshaw uses a digital scheduling system to remove common barriers to help-seeking, reducing the challenge of connecting students to support. View Example Fostering a Sense of Belonging Instructional Transparency Metacognition & Self-Regulated Learning
Creating an AI Tutor to Support Precalculus Students When They Need It Recognizing that her precalculus students work full-time, have caregiving responsibilities, or face transportation barriers that prevent them from accessing an on-campus Math Center or an instructor’s student support hours, April Crenshaw has designed an AI tutor. This AI tutor provides 24/7 access to academic support, allowing students to get help when and where they need it. View Example Formative Assessment & Practice Fostering a Sense of Belonging Metacognition & Self-Regulated Learning
Study Skills Videos Support Student Development of Learning Strategies This study skills video series is designed to support students enrolled in developmental and introductory mathematics courses or corequisite courses. The videos serve students early in their math sequence and focus on building learning strategies, confidence, and persistence rather than introducing new mathematical content. View Example Assessing & Activating Prior Knowledge Fostering a Sense of Belonging Instructional Transparency Metacognition & Self-Regulated Learning
Student-designed AI Chatbot Lab Teaches Both Math Content and AI Literacy This activity is implemented as a low-stakes lab designed to support conceptual understanding of challenging integration techniques while simultaneously teaching responsible, effective use of generative AI as a learning tool. View Example Active Learning Formative Assessment & Practice Fostering a Sense of Belonging Metacognition & Self-Regulated Learning
Structured Online Discussions in Calculus Students engage in a structured online discussion process designed to deepen understanding and foster community. View Example Active Learning Formative Assessment & Practice Fostering a Sense of Belonging Instructional Transparency Peer Collaboration
Assignment Rubrics Ensure Instructional Transparency A digital assignment rubric allows all students to fair and equal access to the standards their grade on an assignment will be assessed by. View Example Instructional Transparency Metacognition & Self-Regulated Learning
Using Practice Exams to Increase Proficiency and Reduce Anxiety Online practice exams create transparency around exam format and identify areas where students should practice more before the actual exam. View Example Assessing & Activating Prior Knowledge Formative Assessment & Practice Instructional Transparency Metacognition & Self-Regulated Learning
Testing Probabilistic Intuition Using Thousands of Trials in a Digital Environment Students are directly engaged through hands-on coding and experimentation in R, rather than passively receiving information. They create simulations, run trials, visualize outcomes, and dynamically explore probabilistic concepts, thus becoming deeply embedded in their own learning process. View Example Active Learning Fostering a Sense of Belonging Instructional Transparency Metacognition & Self-Regulated Learning Peer Collaboration
Learning About Students Through an Introductory Online Survey In recent years, Latulippe has begun using a brief online introductory survey to get to know a little bit more about students in her courses. She uses Microsoft Forms, but there are many other digital survey tools available including Qualtrics, Google Forms, Survey Monkey, or a quiz built into your LMS or online homework system. View Example Fostering a Sense of Belonging Metacognition & Self-Regulated Learning
Confirming Our Worth as Human Beings via an Online Discussion Board Precalculus students listen to and discuss a talk which communicates to students that they have an inherent dignity apart from their grades. This message is foundational to creating a sense of belonging both in the classroom and in STEM fields. View Example Fostering a Sense of Belonging Metacognition & Self-Regulated Learning
Using Field-Relevant Digital Tools for Coursework and Projects Maria Tackett, a professor of statistical science, uses a combination of RStudio, Quatro, and GitHub to achieve this for her Statistics 210: Regression Analysis students. GitHub allows students to collaborate and have version control over their work, and finish the class with a portfolio piece relevant to the broader statistics field. This shows students the ‘why’ of the coursework. View Example Instructional Transparency
Using LMS Platforms and Discipline-Specific Digital Tools that Have Peer Assessment Features Maria Tackett, a professor of statistical science, employs peer assessment as a part of her overall statistics course structure the utilizes a self-created website and a GitHub repository. As a part of students’ main team project, they review other team’s projects and leave feedback directly within GitHub. Dr. Tackett uses GitHub and RStudio so that students leave the course with a resume-enhancing skills-based project to share in the future. View Example Instructional Transparency Peer Collaboration
Using Online Quiz Tools to Assess Prior Knowledge Professor Kimberly Jackson uses Chem Quiz to assess how students are progressing and determine any gaps in instruction that she can address. Professors address specific learning needs, adjust pace, and provide supportive pathways when necessary. This knowledge informs the course content, helping professors address specific learning needs and and provide supportive pathways when necessary. View Example Assessing & Activating Prior Knowledge
Using Quiz Tools to Offer Frequent Opportunities for Practice Professor Kimberly Jackson uses Canvas combined with Aktiv Chemistry to provide daily and pre-class quizzes for her students. Depending on the course, students can earn tokens by taking daily quizzes, which can be used to retake “Mastery Quizzes,” or can earn participation tickets. View Example Formative Assessment & Practice
Utilizing Technology to Equitize Syllabus and Course Design James Gray, a professor of mathematics, clearly outlines the course structure on his equitizing syllabus for students. The progression of the course and its main components are explained, explicitly showing how the course is designed so that students know what to expect. Professor Gray’s approach could be translated to the set-up and design of a course’s LMS. View Example Instructional Transparency
Virtual Breakout Rooms for Student Co-Participation in a Course Edray Goins, a professor of mathematics and statistics, has students work on differential equation problems in Sakai LMS in virtual breakout groups. Working problems out in small groups allows students to work out numerical examples before coming back together to discuss with the larger class. View Example Active Learning Peer Collaboration
Using Digital Discussion Platforms to Enable Students to Problem Solve Together Binyomin Abrams, a professor of chemistry, and Edray Goins, a professor of mathematics and statistics, use Piazza and Overleaf, which in particular, brings STEM-specific collaboration to a centralized digital space. Both professors utilize its LaTeX editor, anonymous posting, and customizable polls to encourage peer collaboration. View Example Active Learning Peer Collaboration
Question Embedded Videos with Low- to No-Stakes Assessment Professor Binyomin Abrams started the Abrams Research Group, which provides question-embedded videos for K-12 and college-level science education. Questions on foundational concepts are embedded at key points throughout Abrams Research Group videos for students to informally assess their understanding of the material. View Example Active Learning Formative Assessment & Practice
Proactive Interventions and Adjustments Based on Student Performance in Courseware Kimberly Jackson, a professor of biochemistry, uses Aktiv Learning for Chemistry, which provides real-time results from students’ submitted answers and the top three most common mistakes on each problem, allowing instructors to immediately address challenges students are encountering. View Example Data-Informed Instruction
Modeling Learning Tools and Strategies Through Courseware Data Reporting Features Michele Hampton, a professor of economics, uses McGraw Hill Connect’s learning reports for this purpose. She teaches students how to read and interpret the data in the reports to assess their learning and progress. She also models for students how to use these reports by allowing the reports to shape her teaching. When the data reveals that a concept was challenging for many students, she uses that data to adjust in-class instruction time. View Example Data-Informed Instruction Metacognition & Self-Regulated Learning
Leveraging Student Interests and Experiences Through Gamified Digital Assessment Michele Hampton, a professor of economics, uses Kahoot! to recap lectures and award students extra credit points if they make it into the top three of the class. Content can be tailored to student interests, and easily adjusted in real-time. Professor Hampton also incorporates celebratory music videos into her Kahoot! quizzes, adding an element of engagement and belonging to the activity. View Example Assessing & Activating Prior Knowledge Fostering a Sense of Belonging
Initial Knowledge Checks in Courseware Kimberly Jackson, a professor of biochemistry, uses ALEKS in her general chemistry courses, which includes an initial knowledge check for students to complete. Based on how much students know and remember from high school, she can adjust how she covers certain chemistry and mathematics concepts, and ALEKS will use that same data to generate a personalized study path for students. View Example Assessing & Activating Prior Knowledge
Engaging Students Through Gamified Digital Learning Curriculum Neil Garg, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry, and a group of UCLA students developed the app, Backside Attack, to help students learn the SN2 mechanism, a key concept for organic chemistry. The app mixes both games alongside assessment pieces to ensure that students can translate what they are learning to how they may be assessed in a course. View Example Active Learning Formative Assessment & Practice
Digital Workspaces that Allow Students and Professors to Build Social Connections While Learning HollyAnne Lee, a professor of Mathematics and Statistics Education, and Professor Edray Goins use Slack and Discord workspaces to communicate with students. The ability to create separate channels for things like announcements and assignment reminders, alongside social connection channels like sharing life updates or photos of pets, creates a community that can help students better connect with each other and their professor. View Example Fostering a Sense of Belonging Peer Collaboration
Digital Assignments and Tools that Foster Inclusive Practices and Norms One of Professor Neil Garg’s assignments asks students to identify a problem in STEM education to solve through a digital solution. QR Chem, a mobile-device compatible digital molecular model tool, was created through this assignment to provide a free, more accessible alternative to physical molecular model kits, which are required for many chemistry courses. View Example Fostering a Sense of Belonging
Culturally and Socially Relevant Virtual Labs Kimberly Jackson, a professor of biochemistry, has developed culturally and socially relevant labs that create opportunities for students to share and draw from their cultural identities. She sets the cultural context for their organic chemistry lab, for example by having students read Audre Lorde’s book Journey, about her struggle as a queer black woman dealing with breast cancer, then applies that cultural context to hands-on learning as they try to treat breast cancer cells in the lab. In other examples, labs have centered on whiskey or black women’s hair. These labs can be made more accessible to students through virtual tools such as Labster, a tool Professor Jackson explored during the COVID-19 pandemic. View Example Fostering a Sense of Belonging
Creative Assignments that Leverage Technology for Peer Collaboration Neil Garg, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry, assigns projects that ask students to translate chemistry concepts into creative exercises. In his organic chemistry music video assignment, he has students form groups to create music videos illustrating chemistry concepts that in turn teach their peers. More than 1200 students in Neil’s Chem 14D course have worked together to produce more than 500 music videos about organic chemistry. View Example Active Learning Peer Collaboration
Creating Virtual Discussion Spaces with Perusall Kimberly Jackson, a professor of biochemistry, uses Perusall to enable Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) activities by creating question prompts and having students digitally respond to their peers in groups. Professor Jackson creates question prompts in Perusall and has students digitally respond to their peers in groups. View Example Active Learning Peer Collaboration
Creating Digital Exam Wrappers to Support Students Practicing Metacognition Meredith Burr, a professor of mathematical and statistical sciences, has developed an exam wrapper that is built in the statistical software used by students in the course. By completing the wrapper in the software, students are being put into the mindset they will need for the exam as they reflect on their preparation plans; following the exam, students can review their performance at the exam problem level and identify which skill or concept they need to develop their understanding of further. They use Canvas Quiz to distribute exam wrappers; the use of technology allows it to be scalable, easily implemented and distributed, and quickly graded. View Example Metacognition & Self-Regulated Learning
Creating Digital Curriculum that Features Positive Representations of Students’ Identities BACON, led by Neil Garg, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry, is an online organic chemistry tutorial that draws connections to human health and pop culture. BACON includes “Sizzling Scientists,” which features scientists from underrepresented backgrounds and their contributions to the field. View Example Fostering a Sense of Belonging
Collecting Real-Time Data Through Digital Assessments Maria Tackett, a professor of statistical science, has students submit their homework through Gradescope, a grading and assessment tool. Gradescope offers professors robust data on students’ performance on assignments, allowing instructors to identify areas where further instruction and clarification are needed for the class as a whole as well as individual students. View Example Data-Informed Instruction
Automated Formative Assessments to Give Timely and Targeted Feedback Professor Kimberly Jackson and her colleagues use auto-graded practice tests in Canvas and ALEKS. Students can receive immediate feedback, rather than waiting on their professor to grade the quiz and offer feedback. The immediacy of feedback allows students to quickly identify which concepts they will need to revisit before the exam. View Example Formative Assessment & Practice
Assessing Interests and Experiences with Digital Survey Tools Maria Tackett, a professor of statistical science, uses digital surveys in Qualtrics at the beginning of her statistics course to assess student experience and interests. These survey responses inform both course subject matter, for example types of data sets they might look at, as well as how Dr. Tackett groups students into project groups based on relevant experiences and interests. View Example Assessing & Activating Prior Knowledge Fostering a Sense of Belonging
Welcoming Students and Setting Them up for Success Jennifer Byall encourages students to get off to a strong start through early communication and suggestions prior to the first day of classes. View Example Fostering a Sense of Belonging Instructional Transparency Metacognition & Self-Regulated Learning
Alternative Assessment Strategies David Clark and Robert Talbert, two professors of mathematics, provide a number of resources and reflections on alternative assessment strategies on their website Grading for Growth and their book by the same name. View Example Formative Assessment & Practice
