Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an educational framework that provides students with avenues for access to course material. The core principles of UDL are to provide learners with multiple means of engagement, representation and action and expression. In the context of the design of a new second-year undergraduate statistics course, we have developed course materials, including...
The Haynes Scholars Program at James Madison University is an academic residential learning community for a cohort of first-year STEM majors that emphasizes early research and fostering a sense of belonging. Over the past year, we co-taught the program's sequence of two research courses, where small groups of first-year students worked on accessible projects in mathematical biology with a...
The Ford Versypt Lab uses mathematical biology methods to study tissues, treatments, and toxicology. We introduce new undergraduate students to a suite of techniques for these topics in mathematical systems biology. To onboard students in a semester or summer research experience, we use a structured approach with two phases: the training phase and the research phase. We have crafted a series...
Place-based mathematics pedagogy can increase student engagement and persistence in the classroom, at a time when maintaining student attention is increasingly difficult. By focusing on relevance, this pedagogical framework enables students to connect their lived experiences to mathematics, thereby supporting engagement and persistence in the classroom. Mathematical biologists often focus on...
Many mathematical problems that students encounter in typical undergraduate mathematics courses are designed so that an exact solution can be found without using a computational tool. While this is beneficial for learning fundamental mathematics, large-scale โreal-worldโ applications that students may encounter after college, especially in the life sciences, frequently require complex and...
Open-ended evaluated class projects provide an opportunity for students to take ownership of mathematical ideas, develop persistence, and enhance skills in communicating mathematics. By allowing students to choose project topics, they can engage with material that is relevant to their lives and interests. In this talk, I will reflect on my experiences in working with undergraduate students on...
Workshops embedded within biologically focused conferences can be effective ways to bring new people into mathematical biology. They create accessible entry points for experimentalists, field biologists, and early-career researchers to learn modeling, while also giving mathematicians a chance to teach, build collaborations, and connect with real data and systems. In this talk, we share our...
In a flipped life-sciences classroom, base concepts are presented asynchronously and students spend instruction time actively applying their problem-solving skills with the expert guidance of the teacher. Educational theory suggests that emphasizing application and analysis skills may benefit students, particularly in the advent of Artificial Intelligence as a learning tool for undergraduates....
The minisymposium brings together educators to examine current challenges and innovations that highlight the impact of integrating mathematics and biology in the classroom. The Education minisymposium has long been a cornerstone of SMB annual meetings emphasizing the essential role of education in translational science and in cultivating the next generation of mathematical biologists. A strong...
