FYMSiC News
Announcements
With great sadness, we remember our original FYMSiC team member, Laura Daniela Gutierrez Funderburk, who served as the Repository Project Coordinator. Many of our FYMSiC friends may not have known Laura, but she played a pivotal role in developing the first-year mathematics and statistics course repository which is still available on the FYMSiC website. The Repository was the initiative that helped launch FYMSiC at its inaugural annual conference in 2018 at the Fields Institute.
Laura was a student of Veselin Jungić at Simon Fraser University and went on to become an accomplished data scientist and researcher, achieving remarkable success at a young age.
The FYMSiC community will miss Laura and will not forget her. Rest in peace.
Congratulations
Awards
Jamie Mulholland (Senior Lecturer, Simon Fraser University) received the 2026 Canadian Mathematical Society Adrien Pouliot Award. Press release:
https://cms.math.ca/news-item/dr-jamie-mulholland-to-receive-the-2026-adrien-pouliot-award/
Darja Barr (Senior Instructor, University of Manitoba) received the 2026 Dr. and Mrs. H. H. Saunderson Award for Excellence in Teaching at the University of Manitoba. Press release:
https://umanitoba.ca/about-um/provost-vice-president-academic/academic-supports-faculty/awards
Mayada Shahada (Assistant Professor (Teaching), University of Calgary) received the 2026 Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Scienecs Education Prize. Press release:
https://www.pims.math.ca/news/2026/04/dr-mayada-shahada-honoured-pims-education-prize
Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication
to mathematics and statistics education!
For past FYMSiC News, please visit the Past News.
FYMSiC Online Teaching Meetups
Online Teaching Meetups are a great virtual space to have a conversation about math and stats teaching and learning with students and educators. Each meetup has a specific theme such as ‘How to teach ‘em math proofs in first-year and beyond?’ or ‘What is CEGEP?’ or ‘Transitioning to university: high school teachers’ experiences and views’, which may be accompanied by a couple of presentations – but for sure, a healthy, therapeutic and cathartic dialogue is always there about teaching and learning!
Upcoming meet up …
♦ Thursday, March 12th, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. EDT
We have two fantastic mathematics education presentations! 🙂
Investigating teaching and curriculum of differential equations courses at McMaster University
— Sarah Asrani (McMaster University)
Undergraduate thesis supervised by Lee van Brussel and Miroslav Lovric
Investigating teaching and curriculum of calculus courses at Queen’s University
— Rebecca Carter (Queen’s University)
Graduate work supervised by Peter Taylor
Most recent meet up …
Title: Teaching Applied Cryptography
Presenter: Alfred Menezes (University of Waterloo)
Abstract: In this talk, I will describe my experiences teaching a large undergraduate course in applied cryptography at the University of Waterloo. The course enrolled approximately 250 students from mathematics, computer science, and software engineering. The material was designed to be both accessible and relevant, while also introducing students to a broad range of concepts from mathematics, computer science, and engineering.
Biography: Alfred Menezes is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Combinatorics and Optimization at the University of Waterloo. His research focuses on cryptography, with contributions spanning elliptic curve cryptography, key agreement protocols, provable security, and post-quantum cryptography. He is co-author of “Handbook of Applied Cryptography” and “Guide to Elliptic Curve Cryptography”. He is currently developing content for his website, cryptography101.ca, which serves as a repository for online courses in cryptography and related areas.
Presentation slides: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11sDNeFmhUwoE2BNBJffvaRbXEGxthGvA/view?usp=drive_link
Save the date …
♦ Coming soon for Fall 2026 term . . .
For past FYMSiC Online Teaching Meetups & Events and Resources mentioned and discussed, please visit the Meetups page.
Other Math & Stats Education Events
♦ October 13th — 16th, 2026 [Hybrid]: Fields Medal Symposium, Fields Institute, Toronto, Ontario
♦ October 14th, 2026 [Hybrid]: Student Night of the 2026 Fields Medal Symposium, Fields Institute, Toronto, Ontario
♦ November 27th — 28th, 2026 [Online]: 2026 Canadian Mathematical Society MathEd Meeting (Online)
♦ December 11th — 14th, 2026 [In Person]: 2026 Canadian Mathematical Society Winter Meeting, Montréal, Québec
Fields Institute Mathematics Education Forum
Meeting Information: http://www.fields.utoronto.ca/centres/centre-mathematics-education
The Fields Institute Mathematics Education Forum promotes discussion of issues in mathematics education at all levels, with special emphasis on education in the Province of Ontario. The Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences serves as the host of the Forum, but does not determine the agenda or the conclusions of the Forum. It is the goal of the Forum to consider objectively new ideas and diverse views in mathematics education, to facilitate consensus and to promote the enhancement of mathematics education in Ontario and Canada.
The Forum’s mandate is to foster the development of new ideas, methodologies and materials with respect to possible changes that could improve education in mathematics, and to work for the implementation of such changes.
University of Waterloo Mathematics Teaching Seminar
The Mathematics Teaching Seminar at the University of Waterloo is a biweekly meeting featuring discussions on undergraduate mathematics teaching. Participants in the seminar include lecturers, research faculty, and graduate students from all four of Waterloo’s mathematics departments and the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science, as well as faculty members and teaching enthusiasts from around the world. Those who would like to attend are encouraged to reach out to the organizers, Burcu Tuncer Karabina and Chelsea Uggenti.
FYMSiC Newsletter
Current issue …
Issue 18 – February 17th, 2026
Our nineteenth issue is coming out in July 2026. If you wish to contribute to our Newsletter, please visit the Newsletter page.
Please send your contributions in Microsoft Word or LaTex (source) formats to: newsletter@firstyearmath.ca
For the nineteenth newsletter issue, the contribution deadline is on Friday, July 10th, 2026, by 11:59 p.m. (PDT).
FYMSiC Latest Share ….
Thanks to Fraser Turner (Mount Allison) for sharing some fantastic Desmo graphs for a Data Science class!
Hey there, just thought I’d share a few Desmos graphs I’ve found to be useful for my Intro to Data Science class:
Demonstration of different Means (showing how they’re sensitive to large and/or small values):
https://www.desmos.com/calculator/avcnasrcmt
Exploring the Binomial Distribution:
https://www.desmos.com/calculator/egrtrednku
This one is the main one I think is useful, where given a specific probability distribution (3 are pre-defined already), you can run randomized “experiments”:
https://www.desmos.com/calculator/rpab3fzdr1
Note for that one I’d suggest using the auto-scaling feature when switching between the probability density histogram and the frequency histogram:
Feel free to share around in whatever format! Attribution isn’t necessary.
Sharing is caring, FYMSiC! 🙂
FYMSiC Recent Publications
- Burazin, A., & Lovric, M. (2026). Nonequivalent definitions: not so painful fact of life in mathematics. For the Learning of Mathematics, 46(1). Retrieved from: https://flm-journal.org/index.php?do=show&lang=en&vol=46&num=1
Supported by …
