National Science Foundation NSF and Undergraduate Mathematics Education Jim Lewis National Science Foundation October 31, 2015 AMS Committee on Education

National Science Foundation The call to improve mathematics instruction in our colleges and universities is not new.

National Science Foundation Towards Excellence Towards Excellence: Leading a Mathematics Department in the 21 st Century, was written by the AMS Task Force on Excellence. The opening line was: We have a simple message: To ensure their institution’s commitment to excellence in mathematics research, doctoral departments must pursue excellence in their instructional programs. Supported by NSF (RED ) and EXXON Education Foundation

National Science Foundation Applying the Science of Learning to the University and Beyond It would be difficult to design an educational model that is more at odds with the findings of current research about human cognition than the one being used today at most colleges and universities. Change, July/August 2003

National Science Foundation AMS Task Force on First-Year Mathematics Recommendations: “First things first.” Leadership matters—success in this area depends upon the value assigned to it by a department’s leadership; Harness the power of technology to improve teaching and learning; Invest in teaching graduate students to be good teachers. AMS Notices, June/July 2009

National Science Foundation Context Today there is Intense National and Federal interest in improving STEM Education – Engage to Excel – Co-STEM 5-year strategic plan Importance of first two years of STEM education – in particular, success in mathematics is key Upper division mathematics is also important – The Mathematical Sciences in 2025 The mathematics community is paying attention TPSE, AMS, MAA, SIAM

National Science Foundation Federal Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education 5-Year Strategic Plan Priority Areas/Interagency Working Groups P-12 STEM education Undergraduate education Graduate education Broadening participation Public engagement

National Science Foundation Strategic objectives for Federal investment in undergraduate education Implementation of evidence-based instructional practices and innovations Improve STEM education at 2-year colleges and transfer to 4-year colleges Support the development of university- industry partnerships to provide relevant and authentic experiences Address high failure rates in introductory undergraduate mathematics

National Science Foundation Now is the time to focus on mathematics at the undergraduate and graduate level Mathematics is essential in the preparation of the STEM workforce The nature and practice of science is becoming computationally intensive and data- driven across most fields New technologies and new understandings about learning and teaching allow new possibilities for instruction. If mathematics departments don’t own the problem, someone else will.

National Science Foundation Goals of the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) Prepare the next generation of STEM professionals and attract/retain more Americans to STEM careers Develop a robust research community that can conduct rigorous research and evaluation to support excellence in STEM education Increase the technological, scientific and quantitative literacy of all Americans Broaden participation and close achievement gaps in all STEM fields.

National Science Foundation EHR Thematic Framework Learning and Learning Environments Learning and Learning Environments – Develop understanding of the foundations of STEM learning; emerging contexts and tools; building new environments for learning in a technological society Broadening Participation in STEM Broadening Participation in STEM – Increase the scientific workforce by engaging and building capacity in all people in STEM learning and professional training STEM Professional Workforce Development STEM Professional Workforce Development – Improve the education and preparation of a STEM professional workforce 11

National Science Foundation EHR mathematics funding Mathematics funding in EHR overall (FY2014) 11% of proposals contained a focus on mathematics 7.5% of proposals were focused exclusively on mathematics 2014 Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) competition: ~6%

National Science Foundation Directorate for Education and Human Resources EHR has a budget of $866 M Division of Graduate Education273M Division of Research on Learning222M Division of Undergraduate Education227M Division of Human Resource Development144M EHR is not mentioned in The Mathematical Sciences in 2025

National Science Foundation We see key areas of opportunity Transition from HS to undergraduate education Implementation of active learning instruction Engagement of students from groups traditionally underrepresented in STEM Learning supported by technology New curriculum, data science, and computational approaches Partnerships across disciplines

National Science Foundation Potential of Active Learning Strategies PCAST: “Classroom approaches that engage students in “active learning” improve retention of information and critical thinking skills, compared with a sole reliance on lecturing, and increase persistence of students in STEM majors.” Freeman et al. (2014). “Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Meta-analysis of 225 studies that reported data comparing student performance in STEM courses under traditional lecturing versus active learning.

National Science Foundation Impact of Active Learning

National Science Foundation Outcomes of Active Learning (Freeman et. al, 2014) Increases in examination performance would raise average grades by a half a letter. Failure rates under traditional lecturing are 55% higher than the rates observed under active learning.

National Science Foundation A special opportunity for mathematics: NSF “Dear Colleague Letter: Increasing College Opportunity Through Improved Mathematics Success in the First Two Years of College” (Archived) Only received 41 proposals : EAGERs, Supplements, Workshops. Successful proposals range from research intensive universities to community colleges. Awards: $6,151,962 from several EHR sources Why weren’t there more proposals?

National Science Foundation Example Topics Graduate Assistant (GA) preparation for teaching, mentoring, and advising undergraduates (while they are GAs and when they enter the workforce). Dual Enrollment (e.g., college algebra while in high school) Development of Pedagogy Guide for departments’, faculty & GAs to use (in the sense of MAA’s Curriculum Guide) Assessment: Develop, evaluate, implement: Quantitative Biology Concept Inventory (QBCI)—assessment of mathematics and quantitative concept learning goals in the context real-world life Novel approaches to lower level mathematics: (e.g., use of animations, data examples, etc.)

National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate Education Core DUE programs Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) Noyce Teacher Scholars Program (Noyce) Scholarships in STEM (S-STEM)

National Science Foundation IUSE: EHR Deadlines (FY 2016) 11/03/201501/13/2016 Engaged Student Learning Exploration and Design Development & Implementation I & II Institutional and Community Transformation Exploration and Design Development & Implementation

National Science Foundation Our Reality Distribution of available funds depends on proposal pressure

National Science Foundation Proposal Pressure – FY14 Discipline/EmphasisExploration Tier Design and Development Tier TEACHER PREP722 PHYSICS & ASTRO3037 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES 5755 CHEMISTRY5326 COMPUTING6250 EARTH SCIENCES2230 ENGINEERING INTER & MULTI- DISCIPLINARY MATHEMATICS5266 SOC. & BEHAV. SCI.3123

National Science Foundation Attributes of successful proposals Collaborations with education researchers, cognitive/learning scientists Interdisciplinary opportunities

National Science Foundation Scholarships + Noyce: pre-service teacher preparation audience S-STEM: scholarships and co-curricular support for students with academic talent, who demonstrate financial need

National Science Foundation HRD Programs that include an undergraduate focus LSAMP: To significantly increase the numbers of students (historically under-represented in STEM) who successfully complete high quality degree programs in STEM disciplines (focus primarily on undergraduate level) ADVANCE: To develop systemic approaches to increase the representation and advancement of women in Academic STEM Careers CREST: To strengthen the national research competitiveness of Minority-serving institutions HBCU-UP: To enhance the quality of undergraduate STEM education and research at Historically Black Colleges or Universities TCUP: To promote high quality STEM education, research, and outreach programs at Tribal Colleges, Alaska Native-serving, and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions

National Science Foundation Additional Programs of Interest EHR Core Research (ECR) Discovery Research K-12 (DRK12) Graduate Research Fellowships (GRFP) NRT (Innovations in Graduate Education) EAGER, RAPID CAREER

National Science Foundation Early-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) To support exploratory work in early stages on potentially transformative research ideas or approaches Two years, up to $300,000 (total) Must contact a Program Director Grants for Rapid Response Research (RAPID) To support projects having a severe urgency Must contact a Program Director Facilitating Research at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (NSF ) Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) Research Opportunity Awards (ROA)

National Science Foundation CAREER Faculty Early Career Development Program Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) NSF  To prepare the next generation of scientist educators  For untenured assistant professors seeking to integrate research and teaching in innovative ways

National Science Foundation Example Projects CAREER ( ) M. Wawro (Virginia Tech) “An Interdisciplinary Study of Learning: Student Understanding of Linear Algebra in Physics” CAREER ( ) J. Noll (Portland State University) “Transforming College Students’ Statistical Thinking: Data, Technology & Modeling” ( ) D. Farmer (American Institute of Mathematics – AIM) “Open resources for the mathematics curriculum” Multi-format, high quality, field tested materials

National Science Foundation A Theme - Graduate Student (GA) Preparation (IUSE) ( ) D. Maki-PI (Indiana) (10/14) “A Planning Conference/Workshop On Preparing Mathematical Sciences Graduate Students For Careers Teaching, Advising, and Mentoring Undergraduates”

National Science Foundation Graduate Student TA Preparation ( ) M. Jacobson-PI, University of Colorado at Denver “MATH:EAGER:Promoting Undergraduate Success in Early College Mathematics through Graduate Teacher Training ( )–PI J. Bookman (Duke) MAA project. “Improving the Preparation of Graduate Students to Teach Undergraduate Mathematics.” Vision: To enhance the mathematics community's ability to provide high quality, teaching-related PD & resources for GAs.

National Science Foundation Bressoud, Rasmussen, Braddy et. al. Characteristics of successful programs in college calculus (NSF# ) Progress through calculus (NSF# )

National Science Foundation Tips for Success Start EARLY (at LEAST 6 months prior to deadline) Get acquainted with FastLane ( READ the Program Solicitation Know the program’s specific guidelines and follow them! Contact a program officer to discuss your idea May provide useful information and help you refine your idea May also prevent you from applying to the wrong program “Attend” program webinars Sign up for NSF Updates ( Become an NSF reviewer (And then become an NSF rotator )

National Science Foundation Coming Attractions Special “pre-session” on funding opportunities and proposal writing at the AMS Department Chairs meeting at JMM – Monday afternoon 01/04/2016

National Science Foundation Thank you Jim Lewis