Julian Fleron, Phillip Hotchkiss "Inquiry-Based Learning to Engage and Empower the Disfranchised"

Julian Fleron and Phillip Hotchkiss, Westfield State University presented at the 17th Annual RLM and IBL Conference Co-Hosted by MAA, EAF and AIBL.  The conference was held in Denver Colorado, June 2014, and their talk has just been posted on the AIBL YouTube Channel.   This talk shows some practical ways to get going with students who typically have math anxiety and transform the course into a fun, engaging learning environment.

"Inquiry-Based Learning to Engage and Empower the Disfranchised"

I also recommend checking out their website on teaching courses for Liberal Arts Students at Discovering the Art of Mathematics.

IBL Poster Session at MathFest 2014

Some images from Portland.  The IBL poster session was held in the exhibit hall, and the turnout was steady and engaged.  Thank you Angie Hodge and Dana Ernst for organizing this session, and an especially big thank you to all those who presented posters!

Poster sessions are a great way to involve people in discussions on a particular theme.  Attendees can interact with presenters in a conversation.  I like both poster sessions and presentation, and perhaps there will be ways to mix the two strategies into a "mixed media" format in the future?  Just a thought.

Some images from the IBL Best Practices Poster Session, MathFest, Portland OR 2014.

AIBL Booth at MathFest 2014

What is AIBL?  "AIBL is the organizational front to an existing community" says TJ Hitchman, University of Northern Iowa.   At MathFest 2014, the IBL community organized a booth in the  exhibit hall.

The co-organizers of the booth are Angie Hodge, University of Nebraska Omaha, and Dana Ernst, Northern Arizona University.  They asked IBLers to hold "IBL Office Hours."  These wonderful volunteers spent part of their busy conference schedule at the booth to talk to attendees interested in learning more about IBL.  A big thank you to...

• Angie and Dana,
• TJ Hitchman
• Victor Piercey
• Brian Katz
• Elizabeth Thoren
• Ron Taylor
• William Lindsey
• Melissa Lindsey
• Susan Crook
• Natalie La Rosa

In the age of top-down, centralized command-and-control reform efforts, based on model courses, external incentives, and penalties for non-compliance, we take a fundamentally different approach.  We take the bottom-up view, where working with individuals and supporting them to solve their own specific implementation challenges is the core.  Through intensive workshops, mentoring, small grants, and visiting speakers, we help individuals and small groups grow their IBL skills and practices, and cultivate a culture of learning at their institutions.  Over time we believe that this community will be more durable, more sustainable, and ultimately impact more students' lives.

One community. Infinite possibilities!