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!

AIBL's Mission

The purpose of this post is to outline the AIBL mission.

The overarching AIBL mission is to support and sustain a growing community of IBL instructors at a national level.  AIBL supports more than just particular IBL courses or a narrowly defined mode of instruction.  AIBL supports individual instructors at all levels of experience.  Indeed, transforming math education will not be achieved without a strong, community working together towards common goals. 

Community: Reform based primarily on new tests or books, without considering larger goals (e.g. effective thinking and advanced problem solving) and environment (e.g. learning culture) are good, necessary steps, but not sufficient.  AIBL's mission, to develop an IBL community, addresses issues of sustainability and continuous professional growth.  Knowing about something is a far cry from being able to do it.  In professions as complex and perhaps daunting as education, a community of support is essential.

Big Tent Philosophy:  AIBL is founded upon the principle of inclusiveness.  There exists a lingering belief that instruction falls into two, distinct categories.  Lecture is category 1, and the Moore Method is category 2.  This is incomplete, and AIBL supports instructors interested in a wide range of inquiry-based methods.  While it is our belief that full IBL courses have the most potential for transformative experiences for students, it is understood that environment, instructor experiences, student body, and other factors affect teaching decisions.  We understand from experience that instructor change is a process that takes time, and encourage instructors to take a responsible, long-term approach to changes in practices.  Go your pace, while at the same time don't wait too long (for your students' sake).  Whatever the situation, instructors who aspire to involve their students in rich mathematical tasks and allow ample opportunities for student collaboration (broadly defined), are welcome and encouraged to participate in AIBL activities.

AIBL is here for the long haul. AIBL is here to help!  Get involved, and get your students doing Mathematics!