How you might use this page (Faculty)

Welcome!

There are many ways you can use this site.  Here are a few suggestions, with the most extensive  one last.

1. There is a hyperlinked version of the syllabus!  Provide your students with a link to the site on the syllabus and through your Blackboard and/or Open Lab pages.  Suggest they watch the videos linked to each lesson:
   • When they miss a class;
   • To review for an exam;
   • When they are struggling with a homework problem.
2. To create space for in-class activities
   • In-class activities can be a great way to increase the active learning engagement in your students.  With a jam-packed syllabus, it can be tricky to find time to do such things.  Try assigning your students the videos for one topic in advance, then doing an activity in class.  Below is an example active learning lesson.
   • One point of difficulty for many students is the how abstract functions learned in math classes might have anything to do with real world data.  In this in-class exercise described on the SIMIODE website (an organization dedicated to using modeling in classroom teaching of mathematics) students create data by conducting a simulation of a population with births and deaths using m&m’s.  For a free teacher version, create a member account on the site (supposing you are a teacher).  In the classroom activity students create a difference equation model using their data, so one might have students watch the series of videos here on exponential functions.  As for difference equations, you could help them discover them on their own, or you could describe them to the students   If you’d rather not give them any kind of hints, you could lead them through the activity in class first and give them the videos to support out-of class homework problems.  A project such as this one is a great opportunity to discuss when things get messy in mathematics, such as making assumptions in modeling and how models don’t tend to fit data exactly.  (With enough time, one could even address the fact that error from the data isn’t the only criterion in model selection.).
3. Real-world applications
   • Our students frequently struggle to see how the material from our courses can be applied in the real world.  Try assigning videos for the algorithmic methods outside of class, and then focusing on problems using actual data or a real scenario in class.  Below is an example of a real world application of MAT 1275 material.  Before having students do this problem (which could be done in or out of class), they could watch the series of videos on applied quadratic equations here.
   • We teachers expose students to many quadratic equations, but aside from balls and bombs, we don’t give them many examples of projectile motion.  So, do you want the rope or not? is a standard problem from physics with a quadratic model, told as a story with a problem that needs to be solved.  The same mathematical problem is presented on the SIMIODE webpage here (with a teacher version, if you care to register for an account), and doesn’t have a story component.   The students will need to make assumptions to solve the problem.
4. Create a Student-Centered Classroom
   • When most of us were in school, the professor stood at the front of the room and did all the talking.  If you have the sense that your students are engaging with the material, or if you want more time to be able to work with them in small groups and one-on-one, you might consider turning the tables by flipping your classroom.  Below you will find a short annotated bibliography of suggested reading containing a few articles about flipped classroom pedagogy.
5. Flipped Classroom Bibliography
   • This is a short, annotated bibliography of papers one might read to get a better understanding of what a flipped classroom is, of the flipped classroom pedagogy, and of the benefits and possible obstacles and pitfalls to teaching a flipped class.Resources ordered roughly by increasing article length.  Only articles that are freely available are listed, along with links where they can be found, with one exception —an entire issue of the Taylor and Francis Journal PRIMUS dedicated to Flipped Classroom implementation in college mathematics.  That journal and issue are available through the CUNY library.
     • Tucker, Bill. “The flipped classroom.” Education next 12.1 (2012).   Accessed July 12, 2017.  http://www.msuedtechsandbox.com/MAETELy2-2015/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/the_flipped_classroom_article_2.pdf

     A short article that addresses some of the fears of flipped classrooms, and expresses views of the Washington types (namely — the internet is here, the world is already changed, educators must adapt.)

     • Pearson Education. (n.d.). Pearson case study: Flipped Learning Model Increases Student Engagement and Performance.  Accessed July 12, 2017.  http://assets.pearsonschool.com/asset_mgr/current/201320/Byron_standalone_casestudy.pdf

     A short read describing how one struggling and underfunded high school improved performance.

     • Bishop, Jacob Lowell, and Matthew A. Verleger. “The flipped classroom: A survey of the research.” ASEE National Conference Proceedings, Atlanta, GA. Vol. 30. No. 9. 2013.  Accessed July 12, 2017.  https://www.asee.org/public/conferences/20/papers/6219/view

     A survey of literature and studies, but not especially current. From (2013).

     • Betty Love, Angie Hodge, Cynthia Corritore & Dana C. Ernst. Inquiry-Based Learning and the Flipped Classroom Model. PRIMUS Vol. 25 , Issue 8,2015

     This article deals with how Inquiry-Based Learning can be achieved using the flipped classroom model.  See this whole issue: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/upri20/25/8)

     • Herreid, Clyde Freeman, and Nancy A. Schiller. “Case Studies and the Flipped Classroom.” Journal of College Science Teaching, vol. 42, no. 5, 2013, pp. 62–66.  Accessed July 12, 2017.  https://my.nsta.org/resource/?id=10.2505/4/jcst13_042_05_62

     A short read describing how to use out-of-class videos to set the scene for content delivery or in-class activities.

     • Flipped Learning Network. “The four pillars of FLIP.” (2014).  Accessed July 12, 2017.  http://classes.mst.edu/edtech/TLT2014/BCH120/Abkemeier–FLIP_handout_FNL_Web.pdf

     Another short read that describes some people’s push to standardize terminology (as well as reasons that people saying the same thing but meaning different pedagogies can be a problem).