Patrick Rault

University of Arizona
Associate Professor & Program Director of Mathematics for the UA’s distance program

October 27, 2017 (Fri)
12:30 – 2 pm
SCP – SCP 229

Micro-Workshop on Inquiry-Based Learning

 

Abstract:

Active learning strategies have gained significant endorsements in recent years, most notably from the NSF with a 2014 press release titled “Enough with the lecturing” and a 2016 CBMS statement from the presidents of the major mathematics organizations.  The latter explicitly cites Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL), which is a subset of active learning in college mathematics.  Laursen et al’s team of researchers have studied IBL in depth, which has led to a newly accepted definition of IBL as anything which focuses on the following twin pillars:

1.     deep student engagement in rich mathematics;

2.     opportunities for students to collaborate (with peers and with the instructor).

In this micro-workshop for faculty, we will engage in an activity to help us think about student learning in depth.  Participants will engage in a short IBL problem solving process as students.  This inquiry will be followed by discussion on how the students may be thinking about the problem and how the instructor can guide that process to maximize learning.