Last year was my fifth year at ACU. Looking back on it, time has really flown. In my fifth year I was able to make strides in mentoring undergraduate research, expanding the scope of personal research projects, and growing more relationships across campus through various committee appointments and collaborative projects.
My stated teaching goals for the semester included:
- Mentor a student project to be presented at the undergraduate research festival.
- Link course content from MATH 361 with MATH 440 to provide a continuous experience for students taking the sequence. Prepare for the first offering of MATH 440 in the spring.
- Work on getting course materials–screencasts, practice exams, answer keys, tutorials, reflection prompt materials–for MATH 120 up on a centralized blog/website.
Let me interject some thoughts as they relate to my goals and experiences from this year.
Encouraging Undergraduate Research
At the beginning of the year I had looked back on my previous four years at ACU and had accomplished things in a variety of areas from teaching to scholarship to service, but I felt something was missing. Mentoring opportunities with students interested in undergraduate research was not something that I had pursued as much as I would have liked in previous years. I could give you any number of reasons for this: my personal research is not accessible to undergraduates (which is true to some extent), the students aren’t interested (which is wrong, they are), or I don’t have the time (wrong again, I did and do).
I committed early on in the year to actively recruiting students to work with on research projects. I decided if I couldn’t share my research with them, then I could come up several exciting projects I was interested in that were accessible for my students (and with some effort myself as well).
I started by working on a research project with a student who had interned with the James Webb Space Telescope group over the summer and was interested in the movement of celestial bodies. We met several times over the course of the summer and on into the semester. His work culminated in an excellent senior seminar paper and presentation. Unfortunately, this student decided to graduate early before we could extend his work and have him present at the undergraduate festival in the spring.
It was a good experience however, and I learned that I cannot control the outcome of an undergraduate research project, but I can give the student a great experience (regardless of the final result) by being diligent in my attention to and cultivation of their talents. I make it a goal now, that each time I work with a student that I try to tailor some aspect of the project to that student’s specific talents and offer them a creative outlet different from an in-class experience.
I was undeterred by this setback and so made it known at the beginning of my partial differential equations course in the spring that I had a problem I was interested in working on a student with if they were available. As luck would have it I did have a student interested in the project and we started working feverishly during the first two months of the spring with an eye toward the research festival. We were able to make large strides and come up with some unique results. The quality of the work was such that not only did he present at the ACU Undergraduate Research Festival in April, but two weeks later presented his work at the Texas Section Meeting of the Mathematical Association of America, where the work was well received. We are continuing to work on this project together with an eye toward publication in a journal. All in all, this was a fabulous experience and has motivated me to work with more students in the future.
ICTCM Comes Calling
In the spring of 2010 I was invited to give a presentation at the International Conference on Technology in Collegiate Mathematics in Chicago Illinois. The presentation was well received as was the faculty panel I sat during the event. This year I was provided with an incredible opportunity when I was asked not only to give another presentation, but to help design, facilitate, and implement a full-day workshop on using mobile devices in mathematics education.
Along with Dr. Bolin I traveled to Orlando in March of 2012 for the 24th annual ICTCM. The workshop was heavily attended (in fact it sold out) and the attendees were very complimentary of the work myself, Dr. Bolin, and Dr. Roberts were presenting. I received several requests for my presentation materials and Texas Instruments flew a representative to the conference to attend the workshop. I have been asked to serve on the Executive Committee for the 25th annual ICTCM in Boston in 2013.
Service With a Smile
After my first year at ACU each subsequent year saw an increase in my service load. This last year in particular was my most busy year to date however. I served on the LINK team, UGEC, Research Council, and Engineering Advisory Group.
My responsibilities on LINK included review the LINK request, making suggestions for funding, and engaging in conversations about innovation across the campus. This is an incredibly enjoyable committee to serve on and I look forward to continuing in this role this year.
This was the third of a three year placement on UGEC. I value my time on UGEC because it allows me to make relationships with many people outside my department and college. This year in particular was a hectic year on UGEC as we were tasked with adjusting the general education menus. I was afforded the opportunity to work on drafting the natural science menu criteria and was able to work in close coordination with other colleagues in the science to do so.
As the year came to a close I was voted to be a member of the Faculty Senate for the upcoming year and I look forward to serving in that capacity now that my UGEC duties are at an end.
Overview
This year was a year of personal growth in a lot of areas. My work with students was rewarding and transformative. My scholarship afforded me notoriety on an international scale and opened the door to numerous avenues for future collaboration. My work on committees enabled me to forge a variety of new relationships across campus and made me feel more invested in the university as a whole.