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Calculus is one of the primary avenues for initial quantitative training of students in all science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields, but life science students have been found to underperform in the traditional calculus setting. As a result, and because of perceived lack of its contribution to the understanding of biology, calculus is being actively cut from biology program requirements at many institutions. Here, we present an alternative: a model for learning mathematics that sees the partner disciplines as crucial to student success. We equip faculty with information to engage in dialogue within and between disciplinary departments involved in quantitative education. This includes presenting a process for interdisciplinary development and implementation of biology-oriented Calculus I courses at two institutions with different constituents, goals, and curricular constraints. When life science students enrolled in these redesigned calculus courses are compared with life science students enrolled in traditional calculus courses, students in the redesigned calculus courses learn calculus concepts and skills as well as their traditional course peers; however, the students in the redesigned courses experience more authentic life science applications and are more likely to stay and succeed in the course than their peers who are enrolled in traditional courses. Therefore, these redesigned calculus courses hold promise in helping life science undergraduate students attain "Vision and Change" recommended competencies.

The first summit of projects funded by the National Science Foundation's Research Coordination Networks for Undergraduate Biology Education (RCN-UBE) program was held January 14-16, 2016, in Washington, DC. Sixty-five scientists and science educators from 38 of the 41 Incubator and Full RCN-UBE awards discussed the value and contributions of RCNs to the national biology education reform effort. The summit illustrated the progress of this innovative UBE track, first awarded in 2009. Participants shared experiences regarding network development and growth, identified best practices and challenges faced in network management, and discussed work accomplished. We report here on key aspects of network evaluation, characteristics of successful networks, and how to sustain and broaden participation in networks. Evidence from successful networks indicates that 5 years (the length of a Full RCN-UBE) may be insufficient time to produce a cohesive and effective network. While online communication promotes the activities of a network and disseminates effective practices, face-to-face meetings are critical for establishing ties between network participants. Creation of these National Science Foundation-funded networks may be particularly useful for consortia of faculty working to address problems or exchange novel solutions discovered while introducing active-learning methods and/ or course-based research into their curricula.

This paper describes a collaboration between a mathematician and a compositionist who developed a sequence of collaborative writing assignments for calculus. This sequence of developmentally appropriate assignments presents peer review as a collaborative process that promotes reflection, deepens understanding, and improves exposition. First, we distinguish writing-to-learn from writing-in-the-disciplines. Then, we review collaborative writing pedagogies and explain best practices for teaching peer review. Finally, we present an implementation plan and examples of student work that illustrate improved understanding of content and improved exposition.

The definition of who is or what makes a "mathematician" is an important issue to be addressed in the mathematics community. Too often, a narrower definition of who is considered a mathematician (and what is considered mathematics) is used to exclude people from the discipline--both explicitly and implicitly. However, using a narrow definition of a mathematician allows us to highlight, examine, and challenge systemic barriers that exist in certain spaces of the community. This paper analyzes and illuminates tensions between narrow and broad definitions and how they can be used to promote both inclusion and exclusion simultaneously. In this article, we present a framework of definitions based on identity, function, and qualification and explore several different meanings of mathematician. By interrogating various definitions, we highlight their risks and opportunities, with an emphasis on implications for broadening and/or narrowing participation of underrepresented groups in the mathematics community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2019, #DisruptJMM, a Twitter hashtag, began circulating after an Inclusion/Exclusion blog by Dr. Piper H pointing to the need to make commonplace conversations about human suffering in the Joint Mathematics Meetings (JMM). While the #DisruptJMM hashtag has been used since 2019, the vast majority of use was in the JMM 2020 meetings. Twitter hashtags are used by activists to push forward conversations, join communities around a single idea, and create change. In this article, we draw on frameworks from community building seen in other equity and inclusion advocacy hashtags such as #GirlsLikeUs [7] to qualitatively code and analyze tweets which used the #DisruptJMM hashtag. This analysis gives us a glimpse into the evolving conversations on social justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in the mathematical community. We see an emergence of community around recentering humanity in mathematics. This community supported each other's efforts, reflected on who is represented, and amplified discussions of power and privilege with a particular emphasis on bringing visibility to colonialism and sexual harrassment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research landscape has become increasingly interdisciplinary and complex with novel hardware, software, data, and lab instruments. The reproducibility of research results, usability of tools, and sharing of methods are all crucial for timely collaboration for research and teaching. Hubzero is a widely used science gateway framework designed to support online communities with efficient sharing and publication processes. This article discusses the growth of communities for the four science gateways nanoHUB, MyGeoHub, QUBEShub, and HubICL using the Hubzero platform to foster open science and tackling education with a diverse set of approaches and target communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we utilize duoethnography -- a research method in which practitioners discursively interrogate the relationships between culture, context, and the mechanisms which shape individual autobiographical experiences -- to explore what may be beyond ethics in the context of data science. Although ethical frameworks have the ability to reflect cultural priorities, a singular view of ethics, as we explore, often fails to speak to the multiple and diverse priorities held both within and across institutional spaces. To that end, this paper explores multiple perspectives, epistemologies, and worldviews that can collectively push researchers towards considerations of a data science education that is equity-minded both in concept and practice. Through a set of dialogues which examine our positionalities, journeys, ethics, local cultures, and accountabilities, this paper explores the contextual realities rooted in the authors' educational settings. These conversations focus on the humanity of our students, the communities from which we come from and serve, as well as the unintentional harms and possibilities associated with the development of data science programs across institutional types. We take a set of five core questions to examine how we made, and continue to make, sense of our diverse cultural perspectives on data science education and equity with/in relation to others' realities. Broadly, this paper seeks to offer reflections on the related but differing functions of ethics and equity in data science education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This editorial serves as an introduction to Part 2 of the Special Issue Mathematics and the Life Sciences – a collection of articles showcasing ideas, examples, pedagogical frameworks, and curricular materials aiming to bridge the stubbornly persistent gap at the undergraduate level between the mathematical and the life sciences. The special issue features authors from public and private institutions of diverse types, sizes, and geographic locations: community colleges, liberal arts colleges, and research-oriented universities. We hope this special issue will serve as a resource to faculty who seek to make changes to their own course(s) or initiate curriculum reforms at their own schools. This Part 2 special issue features course materials and programs based on discrete mathematics, computational approaches, and statistics. It also includes articles on internship programs and co-curricular opportunities. Part 1 focuses on educational initiatives that are appropriate for calculus classes or require calculus as a prerequisite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This editorial serves as an introduction to Part 1 of the Special Issue Mathematics and the Life Sciences – a collection of articles showcasing ideas, examples, pedagogical frameworks, and curricular materials aiming to bridge the stubbornly persistent gap at the undergraduate level between the mathematical and the life sciences. The special issue features authors from public and private institutions of diverse types, sizes, and geographic locations: community colleges, liberal arts colleges, and research-oriented universities. We hope this special issue will serve as a resource to faculty who seek to make changes to their own course(s) or initiate curriculum reforms at their own schools. Part 1 focuses on educational initiatives that are appropriate for Calculus classes or require calculus as a prerequisite. Part 2 of the special issue features course materials and programs based on discrete mathematics, computational approaches, and statistics. Part 2 also includes articles on internship programs and co-curricular opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As we strive to lift up a diversity of voices in science, it is important for ecologists, evolutionary scientists, and educators to foster inclusive environments in their research and teaching. Academics in science often lack exposure to research on best practices in diversity, equity, and inclusion and may not know where to start to make scientific environments more welcoming and inclusive. We propose that by approaching research and teaching with empathy, flexibility, and a growth mind‐set, scientists can be more supportive and inclusive of their colleagues and students. This paper provides guidance, explores strategies, and directs scientists to resources to better cultivate an inclusive environment in three common settings: the classroom, the research laboratory, and the field. As ecologists and evolutionary scientists, we have an opportunity to adapt our teaching and research practices in order to foster an inclusive educational ecosystem for students and colleagues alike. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the United States, there are multiple reports from both mathematics and biology communities that address the quantitative preparation of undergraduate life science students. Many of these reports make broad recommendations for the revision of life science curriculum to incorporate more quantitative techniques. Here, we review initiatives and progress in the United States on the state of quantitative biology education in the context of the mathematics education, biology research frontiers, and the funding system and other sources of support for systemic change to meet new demands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hispanic Americans make up 15% of the current US workforce, but they only account for 7% of the STEM Education workforce [8]. One effective way to reach this population, particularly Latinas, is by providing stories and ethnographic biographies of successful Latinas they can relate to. It is important to note that Latinas have been earning Ph.D.s in STEM disciplines outside of the US much longer than US-born Latinas have been earning them inside. Thus we offer the story of a mathematics educator from Peru, Dr. Luz Antonia Mendizábal Gálvez de Rodriguez, a girl who was given a chance to be educated, and whose education opened doors for her and for those she inuenced. She earned her Ph.D. in Mathematics Education while raising eight children and working full-time, and later in life became the school superintendent in Lima, awarded a prestigious national award for her teaching and service. Through a narrative that is part biography and part duoethnography, we chronicle milestones in her journey and explore the intersections of her life with the lives of two other US-born mathematics educators, ourselves. We conclude with some thoughts on revising the storyline by presenting new narratives to empower our communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This letter provides an overview of the Quantitative Undergraduate Biology Education and Synthesis (QUBES) Project funded through the National Science Foundation. The project has five distinct, but interdependent, initiatives which work together to support faculty and students in the teaching and learning of quantitative biology (QB). QUBES has adopted an integrated strategy to improving the frequency and effectiveness of QB instruction that includes coordinating a broad consortium of professional stakeholders, supporting faculty development and the implementation of new teaching practices, providing an infrastructure for collaboration and access to high quality materials, establishing new metrics for faculty teaching scholarship and documenting the project outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]