A Mathematician’s Practical Guide to Mentoring Undergraduate Research


Book Description

A Mathematician's Practical Guide to Mentoring Undergraduate Research is a complete how-to manual on starting an undergraduate research program. Readers will find advice on setting appropriate problems, directing student progress, managing group dynamics, obtaining external funding, publishing student results, and a myriad of other relevant issues. The authors have decades of experience and have accumulated knowledge that other mathematicians will find extremely useful.




The Cambridge Handbook of Undergraduate Research


Book Description

Undergraduate Research (UR) can be defined as an investigation into a specific topic within a discipline by an undergraduate student that makes an original contribution to the field. It has become a major consideration among research universities around the world, in order to advance both academic teaching and research productivity. Edited by an international team of world authorities in UR, this Handbook is the first truly comprehensive and systematic account of undergraduate research, which brings together different international approaches, with attention to both theory and practice. It is split into sections covering different countries, disciplines, and methodologies. It also provides an overview of current research and theoretical perspectives on undergraduate research as well as future developmental prospects of UR. Written in an engaging style, yet wide-ranging in its scope, it is essential reading for anyone wishing to broaden their understanding of how undergraduate research is implemented worldwide.




The Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM


Book Description

Mentorship is a catalyst capable of unleashing one's potential for discovery, curiosity, and participation in STEMM and subsequently improving the training environment in which that STEMM potential is fostered. Mentoring relationships provide developmental spaces in which students' STEMM skills are honed and pathways into STEMM fields can be discovered. Because mentorship can be so influential in shaping the future STEMM workforce, its occurrence should not be left to chance or idiosyncratic implementation. There is a gap between what we know about effective mentoring and how it is practiced in higher education. The Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM studies mentoring programs and practices at the undergraduate and graduate levels. It explores the importance of mentorship, the science of mentoring relationships, mentorship of underrepresented students in STEMM, mentorship structures and behaviors, and institutional cultures that support mentorship. This report and its complementary interactive guide present insights on effective programs and practices that can be adopted and adapted by institutions, departments, and individual faculty members.




Adviser, Teacher, Role Model, Friend


Book Description

This guide offers helpful advice on how teachers, administrators, and career advisers in science and engineering can become better mentors to their students. It starts with the premise that a successful mentor guides students in a variety of ways: by helping them get the most from their educational experience, by introducing them to and making them comfortable with a specific disciplinary culture, and by offering assistance with the search for suitable employment. Other topics covered in the guide include career planning, time management, writing development, and responsible scientific conduct. Also included is a valuable list of bibliographical and Internet resources on mentoring and related topics.




International Perspectives on Undergraduate Research


Book Description

This edited volume explores how undergraduate research and research-based teaching is being implemented in countries around the world. Leading educators come together to discuss commonly accepted definitions of undergraduate research, country-specific models and partnerships for student research, university policies and practices to support faculty and staff who engage students in research, and available assessment data that supports the effectiveness of undergraduate research as a means to increase student engagement and academic achievement. As undergraduate research has spread around the world, professors, administrators, and policymakers benefit by learning about other approaches and models of undergraduate research.




Navigating the Math Major


Book Description

Are you a mathematics major or thinking about becoming one? This friendly guidebook is for you, no matter where you are in your studies. For those just starting out, there are: interactive exercises to help you chart your personalized course, brief overviews of the typical courses you will encounter during your studies, recommended extracurricular activities that can enrich your mathematical journey. Mathematics majors looking for effective ways to support their success will discover: practical examples of dealing with setbacks and challenges in mathematics, a primer on study skills, including particular advice like how to effectively read mathematical literature and learn mathematically focused programming. Students thinking about life after graduation will find: advice for seeking jobs outside academia, guidance for applying to graduate programs, a collection of interviews with former mathematics majors now working in a wide variety of careers—they share their experience and practical advice for breaking into their field. Packed with a wealth of information, Navigating the Math Major is your comprehensive resource to the undergraduate mathematics degree program.




Mentoring Geography Teachers in the Secondary School


Book Description

Mentoring Geography Teachers in the Secondary School supports both new and experienced mentors in developing their knowledge and skills in mentoring in geography education. Within the book, chapter authors critically consider how mentoring has been conceptualised and represented in policy and academic debate, as well as examining how mentoring in geography education has been experienced and perceived in practice. Chapters in the book explore a range of perspectives, experiences and aspects of mentoring geography teachers, including: • Critical engagement with educational policy and practice • Perspectives from beginning geography teachers • Mentoring as a professional development opportunity • The value of engaging with the geography education community in teacher education • How mentoring meetings and conversations can support beginning geography teachers in their growth and development This book is a vital source of support and inspiration for all those involved in developing the next generation of geography teachers. The themes of justice, agency and voice - raised and engaged with implicitly and explicitly throughout this edited collection - are of critical importance to mentors, beginning teachers and geography education more broadly in developing and enacting a progressive vision of mentoring.




Aspiring and Inspiring


Book Description

Aspiring and Inspiring is a collection of essays from successful women and gender minority mathematicians on what it takes to build a career in mathematics. The individual essays are intended to advise, encourage, and inspire mathematicians throughout different stages of their careers. Themes emerge as these prominent individuals describe how they managed to persist and rise to positions of leadership in a field which can still be forbidding to many. We read, repeatedly, that individual mentorship matters, that networks of support can be critical, and that finding fulfillment can mean formulating one's own definition of success. Those who aspire to leadership in the field will find much useful advice here. The cumulative power of the collection carries a strong impact. The glass ceiling is very real in mathematics and is the result of cultural and sociological factors at work in our community. The book makes clear that we won't achieve equality of opportunity merely by exhorting those who are often excluded to change their behaviors and their goals. The need for systemic cultural change is vividly, at times painfully, evident in these stories. As Dr. Erica Graham says in her powerful and moving essay, we need “a different kind of academy”, and we'll only get it by working for it. We can start by reading this book and recognizing the kind of academy we currently have.




Everything You Need for Mathematics Coaching


Book Description

Math coaches wear many hats. You think on your feet and have to invent, react, and respond—often without time to prepare—in a myriad of professional contexts. What’s your go-to resource for support? Plan, focus, and lead: Your toolkit for inspiring math teachers Meet Everything You Need For Mathematics Coaching: Tools, Plans, and a Process That Works for Any Instructional Leader. This one-stop, comprehensive toolkit for improving mathematics instruction and learning is designed for busy math coaches and teacher leaders who often have to rely on their own competencies. Using the Leading for Mathematical Proficiency Framework, the authors position student outcomes as the focus of all professional work and connect the Eight Mathematical Practices for students with NCTM’s Eight Effective Teaching Practices to help you guide teachers toward growing mathematics proficiency in their classrooms. This hands-on resource details critical coaching and teaching actions, and offers nearly a hundred tools for: Shifting classroom practice in a way that leads to student math proficiency and understanding of mathematical concepts. Honing in on key areas, including content knowledge and worthwhile tasks, student engagement, questioning and discourse, analysis of student work, formative assessment, support for emergent language learners and students with special needs, and more. Navigating a coaching conversation. Planning and facilitating professional learning communities. Finding a focus for professional development or a learning cycle. Making connections between professional learning activities, teaching, and student learning. Using the coaching cycle—plan, gather data, reflect—to build trust and rapport with teachers. With examples from the field, a comprehensive list of resources for effective coaching, and a plethora of tools you can download and share with teachers, this toolkit is your must-have guide to designing a professional learning plan and leading with clarity and purpose.