Improving the Preparation of Graduate Students to Teach Undergraduate Mathematics

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A significant number of today's mathematics graduate students will enter the workforce as college faculty members for which teaching undergraduate students will comprise a significant portion of their professional responsibilities. Although some resources are available for the professional development (PD) of graduate students or novice college mathematics instructors, mathematics departments wishing to develop or expand such a program to enhance undergraduate teaching and learning find it challenging to obtain instructional materials and/or appropriate faculty expertise on which to draw. There are informal networks of faculty who work in this arena, but the resources that do exist often are inaccessible or difficult to locate for those new to the teaching workforce. Against this backdrop, the project will: (i) provide better access to the existing resources; (ii) develop new resources and opportunities for access; and (iii) create lasting versions of the existing informal networks of faculty practitioners and researchers. The investigators will create an infrastructure, housed, supported, and sustained by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA), to enhance the mathematics community's ability to provide high quality, teaching-related PD to graduate students. Associated activities will include the creation of a community of practice and online resource library to help mathematics departments start and strengthen programs to prepare graduate students to teach undergraduate mathematics. Three primary audiences will benefit: 1) Providers - experienced faculty who provide PD opportunities to graduate students teaching or preparing to teach undergraduate mathematics; 2) Scholars - faculty and graduate students who develop PD materials and programs and/or conduct research on the teaching of undergraduate mathematics; and 3) Teaching Assistants (TAs) - the graduate students themselves who seek professional development. Key components of the infrastructure include: 1) a multimedia suite of resources for Providers and mechanisms for building it; 2) a professional community of practice bringing together Providers and Scholars; 3) workshops and webinars for Providers and Scholars; and 4) distance delivery of PD for graduate students who have no face-to-face opportunity at their local institution. Evaluation will be a key component integrated throughout the project, and will focus on both formative input of each component as the project develops and a final summative report. Included will be a needs assessment survey of graduate programs as well as research to contribute to the understanding of (i) how to develop effective programs that lead to expansion of systematic and sustainable TA PD programs across the nation and (ii) how the components of the project work together to help create a community of practice and the potential of this community to expand and thrive.