Preparing Graduate Students to Teach Undergraduate Mathematics: A Working Conference

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This project is supporting a working conference of faculty who are involved in teacher training and long-term professional development for graduate students in the mathematical sciences. The conference is designed to promote dialogue among practitioners in professional development in different programs; between practitioners and those who research learning, teaching, and learning to teach mathematics at the college level; and between those who work in existing programs and those interested in introducing more professional development into their work with graduate students. A parallel aim is to provide opportunities for "inter-generational" discussions and knowledge transfer between people who have spent their careers working in this area and those who are just now embarking on careers that include working with mathematics graduate students as teachers.Three primary goals frame the conference activities:(i) to strengthen, inspire and refresh existing programs by having practice and research inform one another;(ii) to develop a menu of best practices to disseminate via a website and subsequent workshops; and(iii) to serve as a launchpad for those interested in initiating a graduate student teaching and professional development program, highlighting key elements, key questions, and various options.This conference is timely, especially given the current national focus on higher education, particularly in STEM. Most graduate students in the mathematical sciences teach in some capacity before receiving their graduate degrees. Moreover, for those aspiring to academic positions, teaching will continue to be a large part of their professional lives. Early attention to graduate student teaching and professional development pays dividends not just to the current undergraduate students in the courses that the graduate students are teaching, but also in the subsequent careers of the graduate students themselves.