Panels and Workshops

This workshop focuses on the NSF S-STEM grant pre-award phase. The RFP has requirements all proposals need to address, but only a few proposals get funded. What gives your proposal the edge? In this workshop, participants will engage with key elements of the application, have the opportunity to contrast successful and unsuccessful proposals, and workshop around their proposal ideas.

Students preparing for careers in the Health Sciences need quantitative skills that are somewhat different from both traditional college algebra and more recently developed quantitative reasoning courses. Recently, the MAA partnered with several other groups to form a task force to address this discrepancy. This session will focus on the work of that group, recently published national recommendations, as well as best practices in curriculum and pedagogy for math for the Health Sciences.

You're about to earn a degree in mathematics. Now what? You may be surprised to know that teaching isn't your only option; in the "real world” mathematical knowledge is a valued commodity, and there are many interesting job opportunities for mathematicians in business, industry, and government. Whether you are a mathematics student looking for a job once you graduate or an advisor looking for advice to give to future job-seeking students, this session will help you gain new perspectives on a range of career experiences and what employers value in their employees. Panelists will share their paths to their current positions and offer advice to others looking for employment in similar venues.

Since its founding in 1971, the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) has been a force for positive change in the culture and demographics of the mathematics world and an effective voice of support for women in the mathematical sciences. This panel is one of several events to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the organization's founding. The panel will feature mathematicians who are founders and leaders of programs designed to encourage young women to engage in doing mathematics. Such programs offer high school students, undergraduate and graduate students with a strong interest in mathematics an opportunity to pursue more advanced mathematics while immersed in a community of other young women with similar interests. The panel will engage with the audience in a discussion about how math educators of any gender can support girls and women toward academic development at different critical stages.

Visiting faculty, instructors, non-student TAs, adjunct faculty, and lecturers -- collectively VITAL faculty, or generally non-tenure track -- are becoming increasingly more common in many math departments. Panelists from a variety of institutions, including VITAL faculty, will discuss ways in which departments can best support this group. VITAL faculty on the panel will discuss departmental culture and practices that are most supportive. Departmental representatives will talk about their own practices for supporting these needs. Panelists will share their perspectives and there will be time for questions, input from the audience, and conversation. We hope that the audience will be able to share their ideas and get inspiration for their own faculty and institution. This panel is sponsored by the Membership Committee and aligns with the current emphasis on how the MAA can best support VITAL faculty.

Many states and institutions are moving to co-requisite models for developmental mathematics. This panel discusses best practices of such models, as well as issues with implementation. In particular, how does a state or system support co-requisite creation? Are there policies that impede the formation of a model? What is the process for creation of co-requisite courses at the institution level?

This session is aimed at graduate students and recent PhDs. An overview of the employment process will be given with ample opportunity for participants to ask questions. Questions that will be addressed include: How do you find which jobs are available? How do you choose which jobs you want to apply for? What are academic and other employers looking for in the materials that you send? How should you tailor your application materials for the job that you are applying for? How do schools conduct interviews?

Data science applies tools from computer science, statistics, and mathematics to understand data. Driven by growth in careers and increasing student interest, academic institutions have been developing a wide variety of data science programs. Speakers on this panel represent programs at various levels of development: from programs just leaving the visioning phase to those that have been established for years.

Teaching future K-12 teachers is challenging because teaching-to-teach requires a skill set beyond teaching mathematics. Often, young faculty members find themselves solely responsible for instructing future teacher content courses and have few available resources for guidance. In this panel, we explore effective methods for teaching preservice K-12 mathematics teachers. Join us as our panelists share key experiences and lessons learned.

The members of this panel will introduce the MAA publications, discuss how to write for these periodicals, and answer questions about writing for the publications. There will be time allotted to be meet with the individual editors to ask questions about specific journals and blogs.