Friday, August 21, 2015

Announcement: $2.8 Million National Science Foundation IUSE Grant (PRODUCT)

I am pleased to officially announce that the National Science Foundation has awarded a $2.8 million grant, called PRODUCT to (a) expand the IBL Workshop professional development network so that more participants can attend an IBL Workshop annually, and (b) offer IBL Workshops or the next five years for 300+ participants.  PRODUCT stands for PROfessional Development and Uptake through Collaborative Teams (PRODUCT): Supporting Inquiry Based Learning in Undergraduate Mathematics.

This is exciting news for us behind the scenes working in higher education reform, and much, much more it's provides further opportunities for faculty to attend IBL Workshops and provide research-validated, student-centered math courses at the undergraduate level.  What this means for the math profession is that we will be able to offer 300+ participants spots at 4-Day IBL Workshops over the next 5 years, and thousands more of students will have opportunities to experience IBL in the future.  Other main activities include developing short workshops for outreach purposes and hosting a professional developers meeting to share knowledge among those working in professional develop in higher education.

One facet of our work is based on ideas similar to those discussed in the book, "Moneyball."  That is, we use data-driven decision making as a core component of our work.  To cut through the fog of "conventional wisdom," "anecdata," and all that to find what is most likely true, our colleagues at CU Boulder's E&ER unit uses evaluation data and research to hone in the key variables to improve our programs.  Then we use a cycle of investigation to revisit ideas and further hone them and adjust.   There's no ideological affiliation.  We look at data, search for facts, create, and push the edges to improve Mathematics Education in the United States. 

I'd like to thank the National Science Foundation for their support and vision, and I would like to thank my collaborators, of which there are many, for their hard efforts over the years to improve mathematics education, who made this next project possible.  I look forward to working on PRODUCT with them, and will be posting information about future workshops on this blog.

Upward and onward!

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