| NSF Org: |
DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | July 31, 2017 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | July 8, 2019 |
| Award Number: | 1726891 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Sandra Richardson
srichard@nsf.gov (703)292-4657 DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education EDU Directorate for STEM Education |
| Start Date: | August 15, 2017 |
| End Date: | July 31, 2021 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $305,110.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $305,110.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
5983 MACON CV MEMPHIS TN US 38134-7642 (901)333-5643 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
TN US 38134-7642 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | IUSE |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.076 |
ABSTRACT
Two-year colleges maintain a central and rapidly expanding role in the development of the scientific and technical workforce specifically, as well as of a well-educated citizenry. Current efforts in two-year college mathematics targeted towards increasing student success and accelerating student progression have provided momentum for improvement. Two-year college faculty are uniquely positioned to provide insight into the varieties of prior mathematical experiences and practical understandings that their students bring to classrooms and thus can play a central and meaningful role in the development of the education research base needed to inform and support lasting improvement. Crucially, research conducted by practitioners for practitioners holds the promise of immediate relevance and great impact for the development and growth of empirically-based improvement efforts. Unfortunately, for a variety of systemic reasons, there has been a dearth of such research by community college faculty for community college contexts. This exploratory project will provide the foundation for developing two-year college mathematics faculty researchers engaged in classroom inquiry through the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). SoTL has been demonstrated to be a transformative practice of simultaneous knowledge generation, professional development, and teaching and learning advancement in postsecondary education, but has not been comprehensively examined within the unique contexts of two-year college mathematics.
This project will address the research gap surrounding two-year college mathematics faculty SoTL research by first conducting a critical analysis and synthesis of existing programming and the literature base that focuses on the intersection of SoTL, two-year college faculty research, and mathematics education research in postsecondary contexts. Central to this inquiry will be an examination of the relationship between faculty researcher needs and the structures of two-year colleges. Following this needs, barriers, and opportunities analysis, the results will be used to develop and implement a pilot national program initiative to engage two-year college mathematics faculty in SoTL research. The pilot program will be a fifteen-month comprehensive faculty association with the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges that provides training in SoTL, as well as support in undertaking this scholarship and in navigating the structures of two-year colleges that might pose challenges to engaging in SoTL. In this pilot program, six two-year college mathematics faculty will implement a SoTL project in their classroom and plan for the dissemination of the results. The pilot will be evaluated to refine its design to meet the needs of participants and to allow for future expansion of the program and related programs.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
This project resulted in the development and pilot of a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) professional development program hosted by the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC), called the AMATYC Project SLOPE Research Fellows Program. Six faculty members who teach introductory mathematics at associate degree granting institutions were named as Project SLOPE Fellows. Fellows conducted a SoTL project in the context of their teaching, participated in an online community, attended an in-person workshop, and shared their SoTL results with their peers. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many of the SoTL projects were delayed and/or adapted to fit the transition to remote learning in 2020 and 2021, and the program was timeline was extended to support the Fellows and their projects.
The SoTL projects advanced the knowledge of mathematics teaching and learning in two-year college by exploring: student experiences with Systemic Initiative for Modeling Investigations and Opportunities with Differential Equations activities in a Differential Equations course, instructor influence on equity in Calculus, student self-efficacy and reflection in Adult Basic Education mathematics, student perspectives on statistics and scientific inquiry, and student experiences in Inquiry Based Learning College Algebra.
The AMATYC Project SLOPE Research Fellows Program was designed using the outcomes of a national survey of two-year college faculty who were engaged in SoTL that was administered the first year of the project. Survey results emphasized the need for sustained mentorship through community support, focused training in SoTL skills, and opportunities to share results at conferences. With the input from the survey, the program was designed using principles of a Faculty Learning Community, and included peer support among the Fellows, and one-on-one mentoring from experienced educational researchers. The SoTL process was scaffolded across the timeline of the program. Fellows shared their SoTL experience and project outcomes at national and regional conferences, and in AMATYC publications.
AMATYC, as a professional society, played an important role in hosting Project SLOPE and providing an avenue for Fellows to share their work. Project SLOPE research on the role of professional societies and instructional change programs (such as SoTL) highlighted the importance of building organizational-based psychological ownership in professional society leadership. Psychological ownership allows for the leaders of the professional society to assume the rights and responsibilities for sustaining the project. Project SLOPE built this connection through engaging with AMATYC?s leaders throughout the program (e.g., recruitment and selection, webinars and training and dissemination) and aligning Project SLOPE?s structure with the AMATYC?s policies and projects.
Last Modified: 11/29/2021
Modified by: Megan Breit-Goodwin
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