2024
Announcements
2024 FYMSiC Online Conference: Why are we teaching mathematics today? – Thursday, May 9th, 2024
First-Year Math and Stats in Canada (FYMSiC) is organizing another FREE one-day online conference, titled “Why are we teaching mathematics today?”. We want to stir the pot and to have time to reflect. Let’s hear about different diverse opinions for yay or nay to teach our beloved subject, as Canada is one of the strongest still in mathematics, but declining nationally.
The one-day online FYMSiC conference will be held on Thursday, May 9th, 2024, starting at 11:00 EDT and ending at 17:00 EDT.
The event will be hosted on Zoom with a link provided to registered attendees a week before the conference, as well as on the FYMSiC website (www.firstyearmath.ca).
The plan is to have five sessions. Join one session or stay for the entire event!
Conference Schedule (Toronto times – EDT):
- 11:00 — 11:10: Opening Remarks – Andie Burazin and Lauren DeDieu
- 11:10 — 12:15: Session 1:
Johanna Rämö (University of Eastern Finland, Finland)
Breaking the hierarchies in mathematics education - 12:20 — 13:25: Session 2:
Annie Savard (McGill University, Canada) Presentation Slides:
A fast-food tour of teaching Mathematics today: Poutine, noodles, and Big Mac - 13:25 — 14:00: Break
- 14:00 — 14:40: Session 3: Four 10-Minute Talks
Room 1:
– Gordon Hamilton (Math Pickle): Why are we teaching mathematics yesterday, today and tomorrow? [slides]
– Xiong Wang (University of Alberta): Why Are We Teaching Mathematics Today: A Play Perspective for School Mathematics
– Gizem Karaali (Pomona College): A New Elephant Enters the (Chat)Room: Why Teach Math Now? [video]
– Taras Gula (George Brown College): Mathematical Tensions – an Ontario College Perspective [slides]
Room 2:
– Olga Fellus (Brock University): Why are we teaching mathematics today? What kind of mathematics are we teaching? and What pedagogies are conducive to today’s needs?
– Lindsey Shorser (University of Toronto): Angles of the Heart: Emotional Regulation Skills, Resilience, and Cognitive Flexibility Through Learning Mathematics [slides]
– Meghan Rose Allen (Mount Allison University): The Only One In The Room: Teaching as an Act of Welcoming-In [slides] - 14:45 — 15:50: Session 4:
Emil Simeonov (FH Technikum Wien, Austria)
“Why do I need this?” Is Mathematics becoming increasingly an alibi-subject? - 15:50 — 16:20: Break
- 16:20 — 16:50: Session 5: Open Discussion
- 16:50 — 17:00: Closing Remarks – Miroslav Lovric and Veselin Jungic
Plenary Lecture Presentation Slides:
Johanna Rämö (University of Eastern Finland, Finland): 2024 FYMSiC Johanna Ramo
Annie Savard (McGill University, Canada): 2024 FYMSiC Annie Savard
Emil Simeonov (FH Technikum Wien, Austria): 2024 FYMSiC Emil Simeonov
PDF version of the conference itinerary: 2024 FYMSiC Conference Itinerary
Halu FYMSiC! 🙂
Thank you very much for your anonymous responses!
We will have the 2026 FYMSiC Conference in person.
See survey results: Survey Results – 2026 FYMSiC Conference – In person
Details will arrive later.
Note that FYMSiC does not want to stretch its members from other communities, the annual conference will not be a yearly in-person event, and all conference registration fees will go towards the attendees.
If you have any questions, please reach out anytime.
GL, FYMSiC. 🙂
1. Computing and Big Data
2. Data Science:
3. Statistical Data Science
Hhheeelllooo FYMSiC! 🙂
A great job opportunity at Simon Fraser University. Information is below. Thanks Joanna Niezen (SFU)!
The Department of Mathematics at Simon Fraser University invites applications for a 66.67% part-time Lecturer position starting August 1st, 2025. The primary purpose of this position is to support, develop, and deliver mathematics courses for students in the Indigenous University Preparation Pathway (IUPP) program. The IUPP provides a pathway for Indigenous learners to prepare and transition to undergraduate studies. It offers first-year academic credit courses that integrate humanities and social sciences with Indigenous perspectives.
Faculty salaries at SFU are based on the salary scales bargained between the University and the SFU Faculty Association. A reasonable estimate of the base salary range for this part-time Lecturer position is $98,340 to $114,241 per annum, depending on experience, prorated to the appointment FTE (66.67%). SFU also offers a comprehensive benefits package, including pension, health, and dental benefits. For details, please visit the SFU Faculty Relations website.
Apply via Math Jobs: https://www.mathjobs.org/jobs/list/25851
GL, FYMSiC! 🙂
HI FYMSIC! 🙂
Another fantastic math ed event. Check it out below with poster attached!
Dear Colleagues,
I hope this email finds you well. We are excited to invite you to an upcoming conference focused on innovative approaches to teaching mathematics, which will take place on December 10, 2024, at the Fields Institute (online). This event aims to bring together educators, mathematicians, and researchers who are passionate about advancing the ways mathematics is taught and learned.
The conference will feature a series of insightful talks and a panel discussion on topics such as integrating technology into math education and interdisciplinary teaching methods. Given your interest and expertise in the field, we believe your participation would be greatly valued. Additionally, we kindly ask if you could forward this invitation to any colleagues, fellow educators, or mathematicians who share a passion for enhancing math education. We aim to create a collaborative environment that encourages the exchange of ideas and best practices.
Please find attached the poster and registration information.
http://www.fields.utoronto.ca/activities/24-25/Ada-Lovelace
We would be honored to have you join us for this important discussion.
Thank you for your consideration, and we look forward to the possibility of welcoming you to the conference. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us directly at s.kirusheva@utoronto.ca.
Warm regards,
Snezhana Kirusheva,
Marina Tvalavadze,
Jonathan Herman,
The Department of Mathematical and Computational Sciences (MCS),
University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada
Event Poster: Ada Lovelace Event at Fields Institute
Be tech savvy, FYMSiC! 😉
Hiho FYMSiC! 🙂
Just passing along a fantastic math education online event by the Canadian Mathematical Society:
2024 CMS MathEd Online Meeting
Dates & Times: Friday, November 22nd, 2024 (17:00 EST – 20:00 EST) — Saturday, November 23rd, 2024 (11:00 EST – 15:00 EST)
More information: https://winter24.cms.math.ca/mathedonline
Plenary Lectures:
Brent Davis (University of Calgary) Friday, November 22 | 5pm EST
Brent Davis is from northern Alberta, where he taught secondary school mathematics through most of the 1980s. His research is focused on the educational relevance of recent developments in the cognitive and complexity sciences, and his principal interest is teachers’ disciplinary knowledge of mathematics. Over the past 12 years, through the “Math Minds” project, he has worked with multiple western Canadian school districts to improve the learning of mathematics.
Robert Dawson (Saint Mary’s University) Saturday, November 23 | 11am EST
Robert Dawson did his undergraduate degree in mathematics and physics at Dalhousie, and a PhD at Cambridge. He has taught mathematics courses ranging from statistics to differential equations at Saint Mary’s University for more than thirty years, and has done research on topics ranging from lichenometry to higher-dimensional category theory. In his spare time, he writes science fiction. He believes that the world needs more bicycles.
Over and out, FYMSiC. 🙂
Aaniin FYMSiC! 🙂
A great statistical literacy poster competition for FYMSiC to participate in. Check it out!
Anyone with a project where students need make sense of data this fall may be interested in participating (or they may know of others who teach at a Gr 4-university/college level who would be interested). The project deliverable could be tailored to the competition, or instructors could invite and mentor their students with the strongest projects to translate to a poster to enter into the competition.
More information is available at https://islp.ssc.ca/.
All the best, FYMSiC! 🙂
Hi FYMSiC! 🙂
A great opportunity at the College of the Rockies, thanks to Andrea Hydes. See the post!
We’ve got a posting for a term math instructor at COTR for the winter. I’m on the interview committee and I’d love to see someone from the FYMSiC community interview. It’s important to know that it’s an in-person job in Cranbrook.
https://cotr.prevueaps.ca/jobs/25172
Rocky mountains, FYMSiC! 🙂
Salute FYMSiC! 🙂
A great opportunity! A call for math ed research presentations or posters! Check it out below.
The Fields MathEd Forum invites proposals for our Annual Research Day Event, which will be held on Saturday, January, 25, 2025 at the Fields Institute in Toronto. Research Day provides an opportunity to showcase current and emerging research in mathematics education from across Canada in a collaborative and conversational environment.
We are seeking submissions for research presentations and posters. Please submit an abstract of approximately 250 words. The abstract should include a clear statement of the context, research questions, and a summary of (preliminary) findings of your research. All proposals will be peer-reviewed.
Presentations will take place in-person at Fields and will be shared with an in-person and hybrid audience. We especially encourage emerging scholars and graduate students to submit completed, ongoing or interesting work in early form.
Please submit your abstracts by November 5, 2024, 11:59pm PST.
Submissions can be made through this link: https://forms.gle/aFEyB8WRMuvfhoUQ7
Showcase yourself, FYMSiC! 🙂
Top of the hour FYMSiC! 🙂
Another great mathematics education event to have the mic in. Check it out!
Call for Proposals: UW Math Teaching Seminar
We welcome proposals for presentations, workshops, and panel discussions that address any aspect of teaching and learning mathematics, statistics, and computer science. Our seminar is designed to foster dialogue and collaboration on effective teaching strategies and to explore the challenges and opportunities in mathematics, statistics, and computer science education.
We have one spot available for a presentation on Tuesday, October 22, 12:30 – 13:30 PM (Waterloo Time), and several openings for Winter 2025 (days and times to be determined).
Topics of Interest:
Proposals may focus on, but are not limited to:
- Innovative teaching methods in mathematics, statistics, and computer science
- Use of technology in the classroom
- Active learning strategies
- Assessment and evaluation techniques
- Inclusive teaching practices
- Online and hybrid teaching
- Mathematical communication and engagement
- Peer and student-led learning initiatives
- Interdisciplinary approaches in mathematics, statistics, and computer science education
Proposal Requirements:
Please submit the following:
- Title of your presentation
- Abstract (250–300 words): A brief description of the presentation/workshop, including key points and takeaways for the audience.
- Presenter(s) Bio (100 words each): A short biography of the presenter(s) highlighting relevant experience and background.
- Preferred Presentation Format: Indicate whether you prefer a presentation, workshop, or panel discussion.
Submission Process:
Please submit your proposals by Friday, October 11, 2024 to Burcu Karabina burcu.karabina@uwaterloo.ca and Chelsea Uggenti cuggenti@uwaterloo.ca.
We look forward to your contributions to enriching our math teaching community!
UW Math Teaching Seminar Organizers (Chelsea Uggenti, Burcu Karabina)
Spread your passion, FYMSiC! 🙂
Kwey Kwey FYSMiC! 🙂
Great job opportunity! Thanks, Fok Leung (UBC)!
I wanted to let you know about teaching postdoc opportunities at UBC … We have an ad up here ( Link ) and are looking to recruit up to two postdocs.
In fact, we’d like to maintain a steady state of multiple (likely three) teaching postdocs, so faculty members and others mentoring junior mathematicians can think of this as a dependable opportunity.
Amazing stuff, FYMSiC! 🙂
Qué tal, FYMSiC? 🙂
Online is great and accessible, but what about reviving the FYMSiC in-person conference for May 2026?
Scary to think so far into the future, but it does require some thought.
We have a short anonymous Google form for you all to fill out by Tuesday, October 1st, 2024.
Google form: https://forms.gle/jDZBb7v6DSASWhWk8
Maybe we need to bring in person back, maybe we will stick to online. We just want to get a sense of how FYMSiC feels about gathering the community in person again.
We will communicate the results and decision in October 2024.
That is all, FYMSiC. 🙂
Hello FYMSiC! ????
Fun times at the meetup. We have two things thanks to the meetup. See below in bold.
Help Out a Fellow FYMSiC Member with Resources:
This message is seeking resources. I am going to be teaching a new course about mathematics as an interdisciplinary pursuit. It is a first year course for students who are not math majors. The mathematical topics can be anything but the students have very little mathematical knowledge. I’m looking for some textbooks to help me build the course content. So far the only book I know of is “How round is your circle” by John Bryant and Chris Sangwin. But I’m really hoping for other resources. If you know of any, please feel free to let me know.
–Amenda Chow (University of York) [ amchow@yorku.ca ]
I’d like to add on to the resource request … Has anyone put together / found / know of learning resources for Sage Math? (Symbolic math environment written in Python, I believe?)
–David Riegert (Trent University) [ davidriegert@trentu.ca ]
MATLAB Online – anyone has worked with it, and created some nice interactive Labs?
–Nora Franzova (Langara College) [ nfranzova@langara.ca ]
Resources Shared at the Meetup on August 22nd, 2024:
*Jerrod’s Flawed Proof Bank on GitHub https://github.com/smith36j/Flawed-Proof-Bank
*This website has interactive “terminal” / “notebook” to work through the games and to learn the syntax, etc … Not great for first year’s I would assume, but interesting, maybe?
*I think this is the only publicly available materials from the proof comprehension stuff I mentioned: https://rume.txst.edu/curricular-materials.html
it’s related to two current ongoing NSF grants, which I can link if anyone wants but they’re just the funding info (with an abstract for the projects)
*I have a book on Sage for Undergraduates, but I haven’t actually read it so don’t know how good it is
https://bookstore.ams.org/mbk-143/
*Confy Scratchy: https://confyscratchy-zeta.vercel.app/ two stage MCQ process (thanks Sean Fitzpatrick!)
Karma is a thing, FYMSiC! 🙂
Howdie, FYMSiC! 🙂
Passing along a numeracy education event happening in Toronto this November, thanks to our colleague Luke Tunstall (Trinity University, Texas):
Greetings, colleagues,
There are five months until we gather in Toronto, Canada for the NNN 2024 Annual Meeting! See the site here for the call for proposals and for registration. You will see that the priority deadline for proposals is July 1, 2024.
Additionally, note we are excited to announce our two keynote events!
- On Friday, November 8, 2024, we will be joined in person by Kees Hoogland, professor of Mathematical and Analytical Competence of Professionals at the University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, The Netherlands. Kees is active as member of the OECD Numeracy Expert Group for PIAAC, and project leader of the Erasmus+ projects: Common European Numeracy Framework and Numeracy in Practice.
- On Saturday, November 9, we will have a keynote panel on quantitative centers in higher education; both Canadian and U.S. center leaders will share their experiences and insights into quantitative centers and their role in promoting quantitative reasoning in higher education. Our two lead panelists are Catherine McCune, Director of the Spinelli Center for Quantitative Learning at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, and Chris Stewart, Quantitative Reasoning Coordinator at Quest University in Squamish, British Columbia, Canada.
We hope you are as excited as we are to engage with our keynote presenters.
On a logistical note, for those individuals coming from outside of Canada, now is a good time to check and/or update your passport to ensure you don’t run into any issues in November!
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Best wishes,
Luke
—
Luke Tunstall, Ph.D. (he/him)
Director, Quantitative Reasoning and Skills Center | Lecturer, Department of Mathematics
President, National Numeracy Network
Coates Library 308E | 210.999.8033 | Luke.Tunstall@trinity.edu
Let’s be numerate, FYMSiC! 🙂
G’Day FYMSiC! 🙂
Passing along a fantastic math ed event thanks to our wonderful FYMSiC friend, Ana Duff (Ontario Tech). Check it out!
For those within the commuting distance of Ontario Tech University (Oshawa, Ontario):
We would like to invite you to an in-person workshop that we will be leading as part of our research into teaching problem-solving using a systematic approach. The workshop will take place at Ontario Tech University on August 19 – 21, 2024 (Monday – Wednesday). The workshop is intended for educators in mathematics and related fields. If you categorize yourself as one, your knowledge, experience and skills in teaching problem-solving in these areas will provide an invaluable contribution to the workshop discussions and the research project as a whole.
There is no fee associated with the workshop. Those already signed up come from across the spectrum of experience, including high school, college, and university teaching in math and other areas. We welcome the diversity of experience, particularly in teaching problem-solving.
We attach the official letter of invitation which includes more detailed information about the workshop and the research related to the workshop. We would be grateful if you could let us know as soon as you are able if attending this workshop may be a possibility, with a final confirmation (or the decline of the invitation) by July 15, 2024. The best way to do so is by email toana.duff@ontariotechu.ca.
Additionally, it would be wonderful if you could share this invitation with other teachers who may be interested in the subject of teaching problem-solving and who are located in the Oshawa commuting area. If you or they have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Workshop leadership team: Ana Duff, Kseniya Garaschuk and Lynn Pacarynuk
*** OFFICIAL INVITATION LETTER: Invitation – Teaching problem-solving workshop 2024 ***
To teaching problem solving in math, FYMSiC! 🙂
⠓⠑⠇⠇⠕ ⠋⠽⠍⠎⠊⠉
Just passing along a great job opportunity thanks to the wonderful and fantastic Brian Forrest (Waterloo) via Ian VanderBurgh (CEMC):
The CEMC has posted a new Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream position. For this particular position, the success candidate will be First Nations, Métis, or Inuk (Inuit). The position will involve teaching at the University of Waterloo as well as taking a leadership role in the CEMC’s efforts to support the Indigenization of mathematics and/or computing education in K to 12 schools across Canada.
More details can be found here:
https://cemc.uwaterloo.ca/career-opportunities.html
Great stuff, FYMSiC! 🙂
Oh FYMSiC! 🙂
A great math education event shared to you, FYMSiC, by the wonderful Ami Mamolo (Ontario Tech):
Dear members and friends of RUME,
I am delighted to invite you and members of your department to a super cool workshop this summer:
Master Class in Teaching Math Modeling for Life Sciences
23 – 28, June 2024
Hosted by the Department of Mathematics at Harvard University.
The workshop is designed for faculty members interested in launching a new life science modeling course that would be an alternative to calculuswithin the next couple of years. You or your calc-teaching colleagues that you pass this notice on to will learn to use modern computational tools to teach calc in a rigorous, modeling-centric way (e.g., Jupyter notebooks), develop your syllabus for a new modeling course to fit your own institutional context, dig into student thinking by looking at student work on assessments, and observe students building the concepts by watching colleagues teach Mathematical Modeling course at Harvard’s Summer School (more info on HSS: https://summer.harvard.edu/)
Please pass this note along to anyone you might know who would be interested, but space is limited, as is funding, so please get your app materials submitted by April 15th!
You can contact myself (Jennifer Czocher, czocher.1@txstate.edu) or the other excellent organizers Brendan Kelly (brendankelly@g.harvard.edu) and Alan Garfinkel (agarfinkel.ucla@gmail.com) for further information.
Hope to see you (or your lovely colleagues) there,
Jennifer
—
Jennifer A. Czocher, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Mathematics
Texas State University
Stay saucy, FYMSiC!
It’s all about the awesome sauce. 🙂
Kia Ora FYMSiC! 🙂
OLA FYMSiC! 🙂
Thanks to our dear FYMSiC friend, Sean Fitzpatrick (Lethbridge), sharing a great job opportunity!
Please circulate the ad below to the FYMSiC network:
This is a continuing position. Preferred qualification is a Master’s degree in Stats or Math. Duties will consist of teaching introductory stats labs, some courses in statistics, and potentially introductory courses or tutorials in mathematics.
To clarify the rank: at U of L, an Instructor II position usually requires a Master’s degree, and teaching is a mix of labs/tutorials and courses. An Instructor III position usually requires a PhD, and most of the teaching consists of courses.
This is an Instructor II position.
BON CHANCE! 🙂
HELLO FYMSiC! 🙂
A great opportunity to help out in a research project by a graduate student, Qiye Huang (Nipissing University), supervised by our dear colleague, Timothy Sibbald (Nipissing University)!
C-h-e-c-k-i-t-o-u-t!
Message for FYMSiC’s members:
I am Qiye Huang, a grad student from Nipissing University and I am currently researching the Impact of Grade 12 Mathematics Curriculum. I have a survey that I would like Ontario University STEM students to complete. I am interested in understanding how the cross-curricular content in the Grade 12 curriculum has prepared students for university-level studies in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields. The participants of the survey are University students who are in STEM programs in Ontario, and who have previously taken Ontario high school math courses. Their valuable input will help them self-reflect on their Grade 12 mathematics education and think about how the cross-curricular contents help them with their studies and will contribute to informing future curriculum development and enhancing educational outcomes. The survey will take them 20-50 minutes to complete.
The survey has received approval from my thesis supervisor, Dr. Timothy Sibbald (timothys@nipissingu.ca), a professor, at Nipissing University and the Nipissing University Research Ethics Board (REB) (file number: 103519). Please do not complete the survey if you are or have been one of Dr. Sibbald’s students. The participants will be asked to answer questions about their experiences with Grade 12 Mathematics. The information needed from them is, for example, their year of university, program of study, and their experiences with Grade 12 Mathematics. If the participant is interested in winning a $25 Indigo gift card reward then their email address will be required. Their responses will remain confidential, and their email address will only be used for addressing the prize. It’s important to note that participation will remain anonymous for those who choose not to enter the draw and do not provide their email address.
Please circulate the survey link to university students, and other faculty who may also be able to circulate it, which is: https://is.gd/yiURRn
I can be contacted at qhuang723@my.nipissingu.ca if you have any questions. There is no set deadline for the survey. The link will be closed once enough responses have been collected.
Thank you so much for your consideration.
Thank you,
Regards,
Qiye Huang
Nipissing University
Help out, if you can, FYMSiC! 🙂
Ciao FYMSiC! 🙂
Thanks to our fabulous colleague Nicholas Harland (University of Manitoba), sharing a great job opportunity to pass along:
The Department of Mathematics at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg is seeking a new hire with at the rank of Instructor 1.
Applications are due by May 19th.
Potential applicants can find the job postings at the following links: https://www.mathjobs.org/jobs/list/24557
To teaching & learning of mathematics, FYMSiC! 🙂
(-: ! CiSMYF OLLEH
Spreading the word about some great math ed events, thanks to our dear friend Brian Winkel (SIMIODE):
I really appreciate the energy and the invitation to talk at CMS session last fall. It was a rich program, I learned a great deal, and I made lots of connections. Indeed, I invited several speakers to talk at our SIMIODE EXPO conference in Feb 2024 – and they did share with our attendees – and we will have our two keynote speakers from Canada in EXPO 2025 in February!!!
In appreciation for the Canadian math teaching community, we have decided to reach out with FREE webinars, three, in fact based on shorter talks in our EXPO 2024 from this past February. You can see complete details on these webinars here.
The webinars will be recorded and offered in SIMIODE’s YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/SIMIODE .
Here is the short text with several URLs we would like to share.
# # # # # #
Three FREE SIMIODE Webinars:
9 April 2024 – Using WikiModel to Rapidly Create, Simulate, Fit and Share Mathematical Models
17 April 2024 – Using Insightmaker to Enhance Understanding in a First ODE Course
1 May 2024 – A Practical Guide for Incorporating Ethical Reasoning into Mathematics Courses through Modeling Problems.
See complete details with FREE registration. VISIT SIMIODE – Systemic Initiative for Modeling Investigations and Opportunities with Differential Equations.
# # # # # #
We appreciate anything you can do to help promote these opportunities to colleagues there. Thank you.
Take care and be well.
Brian Winkel, Director – SIMIODE – https://qubeshub.org/community/groups/simiode
Stay connected, FYMSiC ! 🙂
HELLO FANTASTIC FYMSiC! 🙂
Our fabulous FYMSiC friend, Leigh Noble (Math Tutor), has a great online math education event for us, FYMSiC, to join. See below!
It’s a free talk about dyscalculia sponsored by a British Group called Adults Learning Mathematics (ALM) on April 15th at 3pm Eastern Time (7pm UK time). Here’s all the details:
Title: Dyscalculia Uncovered: The Big Questions
Speaker: Rob Jennings, co-founder of https://dyscalculianetwork.com
ALM Event Registration: https://alm-online.net/alm-2023-24-virtual-seminar-series/
Abstract:
I became aware of dyscalculia while in grad school when I met a student who told me she had it as a result of having a stroke. Over my years as
an instructor and tutor, I believe I have encountered another 4-5 students who seem to have this problem. I felt completely at a loss about how to help them. Lately I’ve been trying to learn more about learning disabilities.
Just passing it on in case it’s something FYMSiC folks would want to know about. It’s possible it’s too UK-centric or focused on the wrong age group to be of interest to FYMSiC folks.
Let’s be supportive, FYMSiC! 🙂
Bonjour FYMSiC! 🙂
Thanks to our dear colleague, Thierry Duchesne (Laval), a great job opportunity is being presented to our FYMSiC community!
The Department of Mathematics and Statistics of Université Laval invites applications for a tenure-track position in Analysis and its Applications. Although all areas in analysis will be considered, an expertise or strong interest in complex analysis, harmonic analysis, functional analysis or matrix analysis, and their applications, will be prioritized.
Candidates can view the selection criteria and apply via Mathjobs (https://www.mathjobs.org/jobs/list/24304).
Closing date: March 31st, 2024.
Valuing equity, diversity and excellence, Université Laval is committed to provide an inclusive work environment for all its employees. It also subscribes to an equal access to employment program for women, members of visible or ethnic minorities, Aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities.
*****
Le Département de mathématiques et de statistique de l’Université Laval sollicite des candidatures pour un poste de professeure ou professeur en analyse et ses applications. Bien que tous les domaines de spécialisation en analyse soient recevables, une expertise particulière ou un intérêt marqué pour l’analyse complexe, l’analyse harmonique, l’analyse fonctionnelle ou l’analyse matricielle, et leurs applications, sera priorisé.
Les candidats peuvent consulter les critères de sélection et postuler via Mathjobs (https://www.mathjobs.org/jobs/list/24304).
Date limite : 31 mars 2024.
Valorisant l’équité, la diversité et l’excellence, l’Université Laval s’engage fermement à offrir à l’ensemble de son personnel un milieu de travail et de vie empreint d’une culture inclusive. Pour l’Université Laval, la diversité est source de richesse et nous encourageons les personnes qualifiées de toute origine, tout sexe, orientation sexuelle, identité ou expression de genre ainsi que les personnes handicapées à présenter leur candidature.
BONNE CHANCE! 🙂
Hihi FYMSiC! 🙂
A great opportunity is available at the University of British Columbia, thanks to our dear friend, Fok Leung (UBC):
UBC Teaching Project Postdoctoral Fellow Position
We have a third Teaching Project Postdoctoral Fellow position, suitable for people interested in teaching-faculty math positions. Our two Teaching Project Postdocs, Peter Harrington and Hannah Keese, are impressive people doing really interesting work, and we’d like to expand the group.
The position is on Mathjobs at: https://www.mathjobs.org/jobs/list/24229
Happy applying! 🙂
Hi FYMSiC! 🙂
Sharing an exciting education event at the Fields Institute, thanks to the wonderful Pamela Brittain (Fields):
How to Survive the ChatGPT Invasion
Dr. Po-Shen Loh, Carnegie Mellon University
Tuesday, February 20, 2024 @ 5:30pm (EST)
Location: Fields Institute, Room 230 and online
This event will be held in person at the Fields Insititue (space is limited) and online via Zoom.
DESCRIPTION:
Since ChatGPT exploded onto the scene, our children’s future employment prospects (and current educational experience, with ChatGPT-powered cheating) are in existential danger. There is an area close to mathematics, however, which devises solutions in which problems solve themselves even through self-serving human behavior: game theory. Join renowned math professor, researcher, and educator Po-Shen Loh for a deep dive into his recent invention of a new scalable ecosystem to build relevant skills to survive this new era of Generative AI (e.g., ChatGPT).
The talk starts with a deep dive into ChatGPT, through examples, where we use the latest version of ChatGPT to solve ever-harder, ever-more-real-world problems. Then, the speaker discusses strategies for how to maintain human competitiveness over AI. The speaker concludes by explaining his latest work, which uses Game Theory to solve a new kind of education at scale: teaching people how to invent their own ways to solve problems, instead of following learned methods. That intellectual creativity is now essential to survive. The heart of his new solution combines math stars and professionally trained comedians and actresses, whereby the professional entertainers teach the math stars how to be brilliant communicators, while they practice by teaching students how to think (https://live.poshenloh.com).
AUDIENCE:
Parents and educators of K-12 students, and students in grades 6 – 12.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Po-Shen Loh is a social entrepreneur and inventor working across the spectrum of mathematics, education, and healthcare, all around the world. He is a math professor at Carnegie Mellon University, and has been the national coach of the USA International Mathematical Olympiad team for the past ten years. He holds math degrees from Caltech and Cambridge, and a PhD from Princeton. As an academic, Po-Shen has earned distinctions ranging from an International Mathematical Olympiad silver medal to the United States Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. He was the coach of Carnegie Mellon University’s math team when it achieved its first-ever #1 rank among all North American universities, and the coach of the USA Math Olympiad team when it achieved its first-ever back-to-back #1-rank victories in 2015 and 2016, and then again in 2018 and 2019. His research and educational outreach takes him to cities across the world, reaching over 10,000 people each year through public lectures and events, and he has featured in or co-created videos totaling over 19 million YouTube views.
REGISTRATION
This talk will be both in-person at the Fields Institute (222 College St, Toronto) and online. Registration is required to attend as in-person space is limited. A Zoom link will be sent to online participants after registering.
REGISTER AT: https://portal.fields.utoronto.ca/personal-portal/participation/3056
Be inspired, FYMSiC! 🙂
HiHiHi FYMSiC! 🙂
Call for speakers at the 2024 CMS Summer Meeting for a potential education session being organized by Tyler Pattenden (UWO) and Andrew Skelton (York). The potential education session description:
Artificial Intelligence and the Mathematics Classroom
Artificial intelligence is suddenly everywhere – including our classrooms. From ChatGPT to DALL-E, students have access to artificial intelligence more easily than ever. These tools are able to produce something new based on their previous experience, and are quickly changing the landscape of post-secondary education.
In this session, we want to learn from instructors who have integrated artificial intelligence into their classrooms. From assisting in lessons to using artificial intelligence in assessment, we want to know what your best practices are. What success have you had? What failures have you learned from? We are interested in hearing about it all. We want to have an open space for discussion regarding artificial intelligence and how we, as mathematics instructors, can evolve along with AI.
Reach out to Tyler Pattenden (tpattend@uwo.ca) and Andrew Skelton (askelton@yorku.ca) for further details.
Talk, FYMSiC! 🙂
Hi FYMSiC! 🙂
A great job opportunity being shared by our dear friend Shannon Ezzat (Cape Breton):
The Department of Mathematics, Physics, and Geology in the School of Science and Technology at Cape Breton University invites applications for a tenure-track position in Mathematics at the rank of Assistant Professor. This position will commence July 1 (or as soon as possible thereafter).
For more information: https://www.cbu.ca/faculty-staff/human-resources/employment-opportunities/assistant-professor-mathematics-3/
Applications must be received by February 19, 2024.
Bonne chance! 🙂
Li-hó FYMSiC! 🙂
Just sharing a great math education event for FYMSiC to check out, thanks to the wonderful Brian Winkel (SIMIODE):
SIMIODE EXPO 2024, 9 – 11 February 2024, Virtual Conference – Modeling in Teaching Differential Equations
Greetings colleagues,
We invite you to join us at our upcoming SIMIODE EXPO 2024 International Online Conference, 9 – 11 February 2024. The conference begins at 12:45 PM EST USA each day and runs for over 9 hours on Friday and Saturday, with 6 hours of coverage on Sunday.
Register NOW$20US for students and $45US for all others.
This is our fourth annual SIMIODE EXPO conference and it is designed for those who find value and purpose in teaching and learning differential equations through modeling. We are building an exciting program and you can be a part of the program by sharing your experiences.
SIMIODE’s Community of Practice is about teaching and learning differential equations in context with modeling and the EXPO 2024 conference will offer talks of interest for high schoolers through retired colleagues. That has got to include you!
All are welcome – academic – students and teachers, industry, government, non-profit, and individuals. We look forward to you joining us and sharing your ideas and experiences, while listening to collegial wisdom and advice on how to improve teaching mathematics with an emphasis on differential equations through modeling.
In past EXPO conferences we have had speakers from around the world who want to share the excitement and joy in teaching differential equations with modeling through example, fun activities, and their class experiences. Join us – no travel hassle, no seeking support for trip, no stress. Meet old friends, make new contacts. Just relax and enjoy and let the joy flow over you. Really, that can happen. Come celebrate.
Highlights of the conference include – with details forthcoming on complete session details, titles, and abstracts:
- two keynote speakers – addressing constructive uses of AI in the classroom and the mathematics of AI
- two sessions on the role of technology (Slopes, WikiModel) and more to follow
- conversations with author of SIMIODE modeling based textbook
- many sessions with immediate experiences and takeaways for your course through modeling
- overview of SCUDEM (student challenge) with outstanding student teams discussion how they did it
- presentations on student competitions
- finding and using great resources for your teaching
- modeling in undergraduate research
- special topics to enrich your differential equations course
- how to get started in modeling for your course
- outreach efforts including the Prison Math Project and community based projects
- personal sharings about the joy of modeling in class
- time and conference platform to meet informally with colleagues
- . . . and many more topics . . . you let us know of sessions you want.
Visit here for complete description and registration. See session/presentation slides and videos from SIMIODE EXPO 2023, 2022, and 2021.
Share your passion and story by submitting your talk abstract.
Register NOWand meet colleagues of like mind and interest. Benefit from lots of good approaches you can use. Bring your students.
We look forward to seeing you at SIMIODE EXPO 2024, 9 – 11 February 2024.
Download the official flyer (PDF, 3MB) and spread the word.
For inquiries contact: Director@simiode.org
ODEs for the W, FYMSiC! 🙂
Dear FYMSiC! 🙂
Passing along a great hybrid education event, thanks to Kitty Yan (OISE) and Ami Manolo (Ontario Tech). Check out the information below!
Mathematics and Mathematical Thinking for Society
Addressing social and societal issues in mathematics classrooms is a complex and multidimensional task that offers considerable benefits. It may help students understand how mathematics relates to global issues, enhance students’ learning experiences, and empower them as learners of mathematics. Our seminar will explore examples of numeracy and argumentation in undergraduate mathematics, focusing on fostering a sense of belonging through inclusive teaching practices.
Hosted by the Institute for the Study of University Pedagogy (ISUP), University of Toronto Mississauga. Jointly sponsored by ISUP, SSHRC, and UME Network for Teaching and Research (www.thinkmath.ca).
Date & Time: Friday, January 26, 2024, 11:00 AM-3:30 PM
Location: University of Toronto Mississauga & Zoom
Please find the program and register here.
Show your support, FYMSiC! 🙂
S̄wạs̄dī FYMSiC! 🙂
Hope the end of term is going swimmingly well!
And YAY for the holiday break is almost here!
Sharing a fantastic opportunity to make someone be recognized, thanks to our friend Pamela Brittian (Fields Institute):
Margaret Sinclair Award – Call for Nominations
The Margaret Sinclair Memorial Award recognizes an early- to mid- career educator in Canada who has demonstrated innovation and excellence in promoting mathematics education at the elementary, secondary, college or university level. This annual award is administered by the Fields Institute and is comprised of a $5,000 prize and the opportunity to present a talk at the Fields Institute during the fall of the academic year following the award.
Further details on the award, and the nomination process, can be found here:
http://www.fields.utoronto.ca/honours-and-fellowships/margaret-sinclair-memorial-award
Please feel free to share this with others in your networks as well!
Shine on, FYMSiC, you crazy diamond! 🙂
Hello FYMSiC! 🙂
Sharing a great job opportunity at Cape Breton University, thanks to the support of Zoey Zhou (KBRS):
Cape Breton University
Assistant Professor, Teaching Mathematics Education (Tenure-Track)
The Department of Education in the School of Education and Health at CBU invites applications for a tenure-track position in Mathematics Education at the rank of Assistant Professor.
For more information, please see: CBU_Mathematics_Education
Stay calm, FYMSiC! 🙂
Hello FYMSiC! 🙂
And yes, again another one … thanks to our dear colleague Asghar Ghorbanpour (Western), spreading the word of two (2) teaching-related positions:
In the Department of Mathematics at Western University (London, Ontario), we have recently posted two teaching-related job postings.
The links for the two available positions:
- A three-year Limited-Term faculty appointment at the rank of Assistant Professor (non-tenure track): https://www.mathjobs.org/jobs?joblist-167-23597
- A teaching Scholar position. This probationary appointment will be made at the rank of Assistant Professor. It will lead to consideration of continuing status (CTS) and promotion to Associate Professor at the end of the probationary period. https://www.mathjobs.org/jobs?joblist-167-23609
Stay colourful, FYMSiC! 🙂
Kia ora FYMSiC! 🙂
And yet another one. We the best, FYMSiC! 🙂
Nicholas Harland (Manitoba) is graciously sharing with us another fantastic job opportunity. Check it out!
The Department of Mathematics at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg is seeking a new hire with at the rank of Instructor 1.
Applications are due by January 4th, 2024.
Potential applicants can find the job postings at the following link: https://www.mathjobs.org/jobs/list/23903
Best of luck to all applicants! 🙂
ᎣᏏᏲ FYMSiC! 🙂
Another two (2) fantastic job opportunities, thanks to our dear FYMSiC friend, Vanessa Radzimski (Fraser Valley), for sharing:
The Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of the Fraser Valley is seeking two new hires with a passion for teaching and learning at the undergraduate level. The positions are at the rank of Assistant Professor (tenure track), with one in Statistics and the other in Mathematics. Applications are due by January 1st. Potential applicants can find the job postings at the following links:
Best of luck to all those who apply! 🙂
Awards
Amenda Chow (Associate Professor, Teaching, York University) received the 2023 York University Faculty of Science Excellence in Educational Leadership Award.
Press Release: https://www.yorku.ca/science/teaching-and-learning/spotlight-on-teaching/award-recipients/
Lynda Colgan (Professor Emerita, Queen’s University) received the 2023 Margaret Sinclair Memorial Award.
Press Release: https://www.fields.utoronto.ca/news/Dr-Lynda-Colgan-receives-2023-Margaret-Sinclair-Memorial-Award
In the News
Lauren DeDieu, Associate Professor (Teaching), University of Calgary was featured in Avenue Magazine’s Top 40 Under 40, Class of 2023.
Retrieved from: https://www.avenuecalgary.com/top-40-under-40/2023/lauren-dedieu/
Grants
Xinli Wang (Instructor, University of Manitoba) received the University of Manitoba Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Support Fund, Teaching Scholar (2023-2024).
Project Title: Investigating whether artificial intelligence systems can help math students in learning mathematical proofs more effectively
Press Release: https://news.umanitoba.ca/congratulations-to-the-2023-scholarship-of-teaching-and-learning-support-fund-recipients/
Andie Burazin (Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, University of Toronto Mississauga), Lauren DeDieu (Associate Professor (Teaching), University of Calgary), Veselin Jungic (Teaching Professor, Simon Fraser University), and Miroslav Lovric (Professor, McMaster University) received a CMS Endowment Grant and PIMS Discretionary Funding.
Project Title: Canadian Mathematics Instructor Repository
Announcement
An announcement from Eugene Li (Chair, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Langara College):
As of May 1, 2024, our Mathematics and Statistics Department at Langara College will be split into two separate departments: Department of Mathematics, and Department of Statistics and Data Analytics (called STADA). STADA is the first statistics department at a college in British Columbia, if not in Canada as well. And I have the honour to be the founding Chair of STADA.
2023
Announcements
Videos from 2023 FYMSiC Online Conference:
- Session 1: TA Training & Support – US: College Mathematics Instructor Development Source
Speaker: Deborah Hughes-Hallett (Harvard Kennedy School & University of Arizona) - Session 2: Comparing Math Classroom Experiences – Australia
Speaker: Deborah King (University of Melbourne) - Session 3: Four 10-minute talks
Speakers:
– Lina Li, University of Saskatchewan: How to be an Effective TA for a Challenging Class
– Sarah Mayes-Tang, University of Toronto: Tips for Improving your Own Management Skills (what you definitely don’t learn in grad school)
– Nadia Nosrati, Fraser International College: Instructor Support: What does a Learning and Teaching Coordinator do?
– Chelsea Uggenti, University of Waterloo: Learning to keep your “head above water” as a new instructor - Session 4: Instructor Training & Support – Canada
Speaker: Fok Leung (University of British Columbia)
Shalom 2023 FYMSiC Conference Friends !!! 🙂
Well that was fun yesterday (May 11th)!!! 🙂
Let’s do it again next week same day and time. Just kidding! 🙂
Next year again, for sure! 🙂
A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR WONDERFUL SPEAKERS!
Deborah Hughes-Hallett (Harvard Kennedy School & University of Arizona)
Deborah King (University of Melbourne)
Fok Leung (University of British Columbia)
Lots of tasteful discussion around your fantastic and very captivating presentations! BRAVO !!!
A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR 10-MINUTE SPEAKERS!
Lina Li (University of Saskatchewan)
Sarah Mayes-Tang (University of Toronto)
Nadia Nosrati (Fraser International College)
Chelsea Uggenti (University of Waterloo)
Each speaker was a burst of inspiration!
LASTLY A BIG THANK YOU TO . . .
Lauren DeDieu (University of Calgary), Veselin Jungic (Simon Fraser University), and Miroslav Lovric (McMaster University) — the magic would NOT have happened without YOU!!! 🙂
To re-watch and recapture some of the joys of yesterday, all presentations were recorded. See above.
Until next time, continue the conversation, FYMSiC !!! 🙂
ສະບາຍດີ FYMSiC!
Spreading the word about two (2) great job opportunities, thanks to our FYMSiC co-founder, Veselin Jungic (Simon Fraser):
The Department of Mathematics at Simon Fraser University invites applications for two half-time Lecturer positions starting May 1, 2024.
For more information, please visit: https://www.sfu.ca/math/about/careers.html
The job posting will remain open until December 20th, 2023.
GOOD LUCK TO ALL APPLYING !!! 🙂
Molo FYMSiC! 🙂
Reminder of a fantastic mathematics education event just around the corner! ????
The Canadian Mathematical Society is organizing their inaugural CMS Online Education Meeting, a two-day event, on Saturday, November 25th, 2023, and Sunday, November 26th, 2023. This is a nice complement to the 2023 CMS Winter Meeting in Montreal in December.
Education plenary speakers are Cynthia Nicol (UBC) and Francis Su (Harvey Mudd).
A great interactive presentation by Lew Ludwig (Denison) about a timely topic.
And most importantly, a wonderful suite of presentations from our dedicated and passionate mathematics educator, sharing their experiences and knowledge !!!
For more information, education plenary biographies, presentation abstracts, and registration fees, please visit: https://www.winter23.cms.math.ca/online-education-meeting
We hope you join us for this extravagant two-day extravaganza! 🙂
Hi FYMSiC! 🙂
Two (2) fantastic job openings being shared to you by our dear FYMSiC friend, Sean Fitzpatrick (Lethbridge). More information below.
We’re hiring a tenure-track assistant professor in Statistics:
https://uleth.peopleadmin.ca/postings/6868
(For real tenure-track! Not sessional or 3-month term!!)
We’ve also just been approved for a tenure-track hire in data science, but this one expects a PhD in computer science:
https://uleth.peopleadmin.ca/postings/6875
Spread the word, FYMSiC! 🙂
BOO FYMSiC! 🙂
Happy Halloween! 🙂
FYMSiC, let’s help a sought out and knowledgeable mathematician presenter, Lew Ludwig (Denison University), at the 2023 CMS Online Education Meeting, to better shape his interactive presentation on AI and ChatGPT, titled “The Rise of Generative AI: Implications and Innovations for Education”, on Saturday, November 25th, 2023, at 4:30 p.m. EST.
Please fill out this QUICK Google form: https://forms.gle/5sqBoDHe46z6Mfgm7
Deadline: Friday, November 10th, 2023
As a reminder . . . 2023 CMS Online Education Meeting is on November 25th & 26th, 2023, with Education Plenary Lectures by Cynthia Nicol (UBC) and Francis Su (Harvey Mudd) and a ton of FANTASTIC presentations by mathematics educators in Canada and beyond. 🙂
For more information and registration: https://www.winter23.cms.math.ca/online-education-meeting
Anyone attending the in-person 2023 CMS Winter Meeting in Montreal will have free access to the 2023 CMS Online Education Meeting.
How to connect to the 2023 CMS Online Education Meeting will be sent via email one day before the event.
Do the monster mash, FYMSiC! 🙂
Hello FYMSiC! 🙂
We are happy to pass along information about a fantastic math education event.
The Canadian Mathematical Society is organizing their inaugural CMS Online Education Meeting, a two-day event, on Saturday, November 25th, 2023, and Sunday, November 26th, 2023. This is a nice complement to the 2023 CMS Winter Meeting in Montreal in December.
Education plenary speakers are Cynthia Nicol (UBC) and Francis Su (Harvey Mudd).
We invite individuals to submit proposals for 20-minute math education related presentations. Submission deadline is on Friday, October 13th, 2023, and we will contact the individuals shortly after.
Registration will be open soon.
For more information, education plenary biographies, registration fees, and/or presentation proposal submission, please visit: https://www.winter23.cms.math.ca/online-education-meeting
We hope to make a more accessible space for all to join in on the conversations surrounding math education!
Stay connected, FYMSiC! 🙂
Sup FYMSiC! 🙂
What a fantastic time of year! 🙂
Happy 2023/2024 academic year! 🙂
We have a cool Math Ed Seminar (in person and virtually) at the University of Toronto happening this academic year, shared by Camelia Karimian Pour (UofT):
We are starting a new Math Ed Seminar in the Math department at UofT. Math Ed Seminar intends to cover a vast variety of topics related to Math Education research and/or practice. The topics include curriculum, pedagogy, inclusiveness, assessments, professional development, inquiry-based and active learning, and teaching in mathematics. We are planning to make the talks accessible in person and virtually. The talks are advertised on the Math Department seminar page, and can be found by filtering to Math Education: https://seminars.math.toronto.edu/seminars/list/events.py/process?start
The following talks are scheduled:
and
For further information, please contact Camelia Karimian Pour: camelia.karimian@utoronto.ca
STAY ACTIVE, FYMSiC! 🙂
Salute FYMSiC! 🙂
We have another one . . . a great job opportunity being shared with us by our dear FYMSiC colleague, Thierry Duchesne (Laval). C-h-e-c-k-i-t-o-u-t!
The Department of Mathematics and Statistics of Université Laval invites applications for a tenure-track position in statistics. Although all areas in statistics will be considered, an expertise or strong interest in data science, biostatistics or stochastic modeling will be prioritized.
Candidates can view the selection criteria and apply via Mathjobs (https://www.mathjobs.org/jobs/list/22584).
Closing date: November 30, 2023.
Valuing equity, diversity and excellence, Université Laval is committed to provide an inclusive work environment for all its employees. It also subscribes to an equal access to employment program for women, members of visible or ethnic minorities, Aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities.
***
Le Département de mathématiques et de statistique de l’Université Laval sollicite des candidatures pour un poste de professeure ou professeur en statistique. Bien que tous les domaines de spécialisation en statistique soient recevables, une expertise particulière ou un intérêt marqué pour la science des données, la biostatistique ou la modélisation stochastique seront priorisés.
Les candidats peuvent consulter les critères de sélection et postuler via Mathjobs (https://www.mathjobs.org/jobs/list/22584).
Date limite : 30 novembre 2023.
Valorisant l’équité, la diversité et l’excellence, l’Université Laval s’engage fermement à offrir à l’ensemble de son personnel un milieu de travail et de vie empreint d’une culture inclusive. Pour l’Université Laval, la diversité est source de richesse et nous encourageons les personnes qualifiées de toute origine, tout sexe, orientation sexuelle, identité ou expression de genre ainsi que les personnes handicapées à présenter leur candidature.
C’est très fantastique, FYMSiC! 🙂
Guten Tag FYMSiC! 🙂
Passing along an opportunity by Kseniya Garaschuk (Fraser Valley):
The upcoming 2023 CMS Winter meeting in Montreal is coming up and Vanessa Radzimski and I are organizing a session entitled “Supporting Numeracy for Non-STEM Students“. The session will feature talks as well as an open discussion to further our understanding of numeracy and how we can support it in different contexts. If you have experience in this area that you would like to share, we invite you to submit your abstract to the Open Call for Proposals: https://www.winter23.cms.math.ca/call-for-speakers
The Canadian Mathematical Society has created the Open Call for Proposals process to support session organizers in their important work and in their efforts towards inclusivity and diversity. CMS encourages applications from members who identify as part of traditionally under-represented groups, including, but not limited to: Women, Indigenous Peoples, Persons with Disabilities, Members of Visible Minorities and/or Racialized Groups, and members of the LGBTQ+ Community. The CMS also welcomes applications from Graduate Students.
The deadline for submitting abstracts for consideration is November 6th. This is also the early-bird registration deadline for the meeting. We will consider submissions on an ongoing basis and only have a limited amount of spots available. So if you are considering submitting an abstract, please do so earlier rather than later.
We hope to see you in Montreal at our session as a participant or a speaker. If you have any questions, please reach out to me at Kseniya.Garaschuk@ufv.ca
Be positive, FYMSiC! 🙂
Hello FYMSiC! 🙂
Passing along a great webinar thanks to our colleague Rita Karrass (UTM). Check it out:
Dear Colleagues,
The Accessibility Committee at the Institute for the Study of University Pedagogy is delighted to extend a warm invitation to you for the upcoming webinar on October 27th, 2023, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., held online. Two distinguished Canadian scholars will discuss Dyscalculia and Math Anxiety. This event promises to be an enlightening and informative experience for all, and we believe that the insights and knowledge shared will be of great interest to you, irrespective of your field of expertise.
The issues of dyscalculia and math anxiety are not confined solely to mathematics education. They touch upon any subject that involves computations or numeracy skills. We encourage all faculty members to attend these talks regardless of their department or area of focus. Doing so will help you better understand the issues that may affect your students and be better equipped to provide practical guidance and support.
The insights gained will also be valuable to anyone who has ever struggled with processing numeric information and to parents/caregivers with children attending school and learning mathematics.
For more information, view the Webinar Poster. You will find the registration link at the bottom of the poster page. To register here, fill out the Registration Form, and we will send you the webinar link in an email before October 27th.
Be enlightened, FYMSiC! 🙂
F is for FYMSiC! 🙂
Presenting to you, our fabulous community, a great job opportunity thanks to our dear FYMSiC friend, Mark Hamilton (Mount Allison):
Mount Allison is hiring a couple of stipends for the Winter term, to teach Applied Calculus and Finite Mathematics. I realize it’s not a stellar position — just a couple of stipends — but if there’s someone interested in teaching who likes making math accessible to a non-mathematical audience, who’s looking for something to do in the Winter semester, it could be a good fit. Plus you’d get to work with awesome colleagues in a very friendly small department in a friendly small town. 🙂
Applications are due very soon (Aug 21), but the application is not too onerous (cover letter and CV). See https://mta.ca/about-mta/work-at-mta/current-opportunities/part-time-lecturer-mathematics-and-computer-science-3 for more information and application instructions. Feel free to write to Mark Hamilton (mhamilton@mta.ca) if you have any questions not answered by the ad, or would like to know more.
A GREAT OPPORTUNITY, FYMSiC! 🙂
Hyālō FYMSiC! 🙂
A fantastic education event being shared by our dear FYMSiC friends, Burcu Karabina (UW) and Zack Cramer (UW):
Hello everyone!
Burcu and I are very excited to announce that Dr. Barbara Oakley will be joining us on Wednesday, August 16 from 9am to 4pm for a one-day workshop on effective teaching and learning. Details can be found below. Please share with anyone who may be interested in attending.
This is a free, in-person only event held on the UWaterloo campus. It is open to everyone. The sessions will not be recorded.
Registration: We ask that you please register by Friday, August 11.
https://forms.gle/8RYBbUpoYMBJ8rgT7
About Barbara: Dr. Oakley is a Distinguished Professor of Engineering at Oakland University (MI) and a New York Times best selling author. Her book, A Mind for Numbers, has sold over one millions copies worldwide; and another of her titles, Uncommon Sense Teaching, is a critically acclaimed guide to teaching based on insights from neuroscience. She co-teaches Coursera’s “Learning How to Learn”, one of the world’s most popular massive online open courses (MOOCs) with some four million registered students. She is the recipient of numerous teaching accolades and her research has been described as “revolutionary” by the Wall Street Journal.
Title – Effective Teaching and Learning: Dramatic Insights from Neuroscience
Abstract – A growing body of research insight from neuroscience has revealed many surprises when it comes to teaching. For example, some forms of teaching can engage students’ sophisticated pattern recognition systems. This type of learning, long dismissed as simple “rote,” can be invaluable in making learning easier, particularly at more advanced levels. Sophisticated drill, as it turns out, leads to skill! And there are further surprises—for example, just because students know how to solve a problem does not necessarily mean that they can—or should—be able to explain it. In fact, forcing some neurally diverse students to explain their reasoning when they can already demonstrate their understanding can actually kill their motivation for deeper learning.
In this workshop, we will explore these and other counterintuitive insights from research that can allow you to intelligently use students’ differing underlying approaches to learning. We will also explore the intimate connection between retrieval practice and the metaphors used in art, music, and poetry. Teachers often place their focus on fast learners—the “smart ones.” But as you will discover, slower learners can have real advantages at a neural level that allow them to be more accurate and flexible in what they learn.
Cheers,
Burcu and Zack
Let’s support this, FYMSiC! 🙂
እው ሰላም ነው FYMSiC! 🙂
Just passing along a free online pedagogical event, thanks to our fantastic FYMSiC friend (alliteration) Amenda Chow (York).
This online conference might be of interest to the fymsic community.
About the 9th Annual Digital Pedagogy Institute Conference can be found here: https://uwaterloo.ca/digital-pedagogy-institute/about
I have no affiliation to the conference. Someone from York sent this to me.
It’s free. More conference details can be found here: https://uwaterloo.ca/digital-pedagogy-institute/
Get digital with your teaching, FYMSiC! 🙂
Kaixo FYMSiC! 🙂
And another one . . . we the best! 🙂
Our dear FYMSiC friend, Sean Fitzpatrick (Lethbridge), is passing along a fantastic job opportunity. Check it out!
Please distribute the following notice:
We are hiring an instructor in Statistics. This is a 10-month term position to replace someone who recently resigned.
I hope (but can’t guarantee) that a longer-term position will become available later.
A master’s degree is required, and teaching will be a mixture of lectures and labs. Our stats labs usually use R in Jupyter notebooks.
For details and to apply:
https://uleth.peopleadmin.ca/postings/6629
GL applying! And also TC. 🙂
Aloha FYMSiC! 🙂
Stay cool as a cucumber, FYMSiC! 🙂
Howdie FYMSiC! 🙂
Hope your summer is going swimmingly well! 🙂
We have a great opportunity for FYMSiC to participate in, thanks to Sean Fitzpatrick (Lethbridge):
Hello FYMSiC friends!
I’m part of a team that is submitting an NSF grant proposal to study the use of interactive questions in textbooks. These are not end-of-section homework questions, but active reading activities that students do as they read the book.
We are working with 4 textbooks: First Course in Linear Algebra (Rob Beezer), Understanding Linear Algebra (David Austin), Active Calculus (Boelkins et al), and APEX Calculus (Hartman et al).
I’m on Team APEX.
The questions we’re adding include matching questions and Parson’s problems, and they’ll be powered by the Runestone Academy platform.
For APEX Calculus, we need instructors for the second year of the study (2025-26) who will agree to do some onboarding training, and then teach with the book on Runestone, and collect some data for us. You’ll receive $1000 US for your trouble. [Warning: we are not 100% sure if the grant can be used to pay people in Canada for year 2. But we can definitely use participants for year 3, and year 2 is a maybe.]
For any of the books (I think) we will need departments willing to adopt a book in year three (2026-27) for one or more courses. No training or data collection involved. (Also no compensation, alas.)
If you’re interested, please email me at sean.fitzpatrick@uleth.ca. For now, all you will need to do is send me a letter, on departmental letterhead, containing some text I will provide, saying that you’re interested in participating if the study gets funded.
Let’s make a difference, FYMSiC! 🙂
¿Qué tal FYMSiC? 🙂
Deborah King (Melbourne), one of our fabulous speakers at the annual FYMSiC conference this year, has some great opportunities for FYMSiC to participate in: a survey and an online workshop. Many thanks, Deborah for sharing! 🙂
I have been sent this survey for circulation from a group in the UK who do really good work in the maths support area. See the correspondence below in blue.
Dear Colleagues,
Across the world mathematics and statistics support is a well-established mechanism for aiding students from all disciplines with their mathematical and statistical learning. It is available to students in addition to the support they receive from within their main programme of study, however, it is becoming increasingly apparent that some of the ideas, practices and approaches from mathematics and statistics support are becoming embedded within, or directly influencing, more mainstream teaching. We are keen to explore this further and so we are launching a research project to determine the extent to which practices from within mathematics and statistics support provision at universities throughout the world have impacted on the mainstream teaching of mathematics and statistics. This includes teaching mathematics and statistics as specialist disciplines and as service subjects.
The research project is being conducted by ourselves and we are looking for those who have knowledge of mathematics and statistics support within higher education across the world to complete a survey based upon their awareness and understanding of its impacts. The survey can be accessed at
https://coventry.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/revised-impact-of-mls-on-mainstream-teaching-practices
Participation in the survey is entirely voluntary, and you can opt out at any stage by closing and exiting the browser. If you are happy to take part, there are a short series of free-text questions relating to the impact of mathematics and statistics support practices on mainstream teaching and your answers will help us better understand the global impact of mathematics and statistics support. The survey should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
All answers are given anonymously and the information you provide will remain anonymous in any research outputs/publications. Your data will be held securely on the Coventry University OneDrive. All data will be deleted by 31 August 2028.
Should you have any questions, queries or concerns about this work, please feel free to contact one of us directly.
We are keen to encourage wide participation in this research and so we would very much welcome you sharing this request with colleagues within your institution and within any networks to which you belong.
Best wishes,
Duncan Lawson (Coventry University, d.lawson@coventry.ac.uk), Tony Croft (Loughborough University, a.c.croft@loughborough.ac.uk) and Michael Grove (University of Birmingham, m.j.grove@bham.ac.uk)
AND . . . I thought it might be of interest to your community so please feel free to circulate.
We also have our annual workshop coming up Thursday and Friday our time .
When: Thursday July 6th, and Friday July 7th, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Where: The University of Queensland, St Lucia campus and via Zoom (https://uqz.zoom.us/j/86599202983)
Cost: FREE!
Happy for people to drop in and out on ZOOM as they like. I think we will be recording too.
Program: FYiMaths July 2023
Let’s participate and support, FYMSiC! 🙂
Ciao FYMSiC! 🙂
Happy FRIDAY! 🙂
A great podcast listen by Dr. Anna Stokke (Winnipeg), graciously shared by Blake Madill (Waterloo).
Thank you very much, Blake!
Awesome work, Anna! 🙂
~~~~~~~~~
Podcast link: https://chalkandtalkpodcast.podbean.com
The podcast is by Dr. Anna Stokke of the University of Winnipeg. She has a few future guests lined up, mainly to talk about the science of learning and best ways to teach math – so far some cognitive scientists and a superintendent. Her first guest is John Mighton, who is a mathematician.
Stay happy, FYMSiC! 🙂
Cześć FYMSiC! 🙂
A CMS announcement for those who are attending the 2023 Summer CMS Meeting thanks to Brain Forrest (Waterloo):
Hello everyone,
For any of you who are looking to attend the 2023 CMS Meeting in Ottawa in June, I wanted to clarify the information on the Registration page concerning individuals in teaching stream positions without grants.
If you are in a teaching position and do not have a grant, then you should register under the appropriate postdoc, etc. category depending on whether you are a CMS member or not. While the website does not explicitly mention university teaching stream faculty or lecturers, it is intended that such individuals are able to register at the reduced rates.
Regards,
Brian Forrest (CMS Education Committee Chair)
Hope the 2023 Summer CMS Meeting is a great inspiration and conversation to all FYMSiC friends attending! 🙂
góðan dag FYMSiC! 🙂
Our fantastic friend, Diana Skrzydlo (Waterloo), is kindly spreading the word on two (2) fantastic education events! Yes, I used fantastic twice in the same sentence because there are two education events! 🙂 Please see the information below:
- Registration is open for the UW Teaching and Learning Conference, taking place on May 3 (online workshops) and 4 (in person.) The theme of the conference this year is “Teaching with Kindness and Care” https://uwaterloo.ca/uw-teaching-and-learning-conference/registration
- Registration is open for the MAA Seaway meeting, taking place at UW on May 5 and 6. The Friday afternoon session will be a Teaching Colloquium where folks who have attended conferences can share what they have learned. Abstracts are welcome for Saturday afternoon sessions if you register by April 14, and we would love more talks so if you have anything to share, please do. https://maaseaway.org/meetings/home/2023/spring.
Let’s get social, FYMSiC! 🙂
Salute FYMSiC! 🙂
Another exciting event shared by our dear FYMSiC friend, Sean Fitzpatrick (Lethbridge). Check it out!
Here is another item of possible interest:
For anyone interested in teaching with open educational resources (and chatting with other like-minded individuals), the PROSE project runs weekly online drop-in sessions every Monday for anyone who is interested, from 1 – 3 pm Eastern.
PROSE stands for “PreTeXt-Runestone Open Source Ecosystem”; the code-name for the current NSF-funded project to further develop these resources.
For more details, see https://prose.runestone.academy/
(See the website for info on other drop-in sessions on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday as well.)
The Zoom link for all sessions is https://prose.runestone.academy/dropin/
From their announcement:
These Instructor Circles will be a virtual space for instructors using Open Educational Resources in our ecosystem to connect and support each other. In my discussions with a few folks who offered to help kick-start these meetings, I was encouraged to emphasize that you don’t need to have a particular reason to drop in; it’s an open opportunity to socialize with like-minded instructors who want to use high-quality OER to support equitable student learning. Of course, if you do have questions about a particular OER text, or want general advice on implementation of OER in your classroom, I’m sure there will be several of us hanging out who can help on any given Monday.
YAY PreTeXT & Runestone, FYMSiC!🙂
Dear FYMSiC friends,
Please extend this invitation to TAs and new instructors to join us.
First-year Math and Stats in Canada (FYMSiC) has organized a one-day online conference, titled “Teaching: The Backstage of Our Courses”. In particular, what kind of support is available for teaching, especially for (undergraduate and graduate) TAs and new instructors.
(Undergraduate and Graduate) Teaching Assistants and New Instructors are cordially invited, and please encourage them to join!
The one-day online FYMSiC conference will be held on Thursday, May 11th, 2023, starting at 11:00 EDT and ending at 16:30 EDT.
Registering is FREE!
Registration deadline is Friday, May 5th, 2023.
The plan is to have five (5) sessions. Join one session or stay for the entire event!
Details . . . FYMSiC 2023 Conference Itinerary
Let’s have a grand time together NEXT WEEK, FYMSiC! 🙂
Ciao FYMSiC! 🙂
Passing along a great session about mathematical computing in undergraduate courses, thanks to and organized by our fabulous colleague Patrick Walls (UBC). Check out the information below!
Computational Teaching
Date: Tuesday, April 18th, 2023
Time: 11am-12pm PDT
Zoom: https://ubc.zoom.us/j/9786534066?pwd=TVNlYnlxTDByblM1S05SQjJIU1dMdz09
Join us for an informal discussion of mathematical computing in undergraduate courses! What software do you use in class? How do students access mathematical software? How do you design instructional content and computational assessments? Everyone is invited especially instructors who are looking to take the first steps towards computational teaching. The goal is to connect instructors to share resources and expertise.
Stay suave, FYMSiC! 🙂
Nǐn hǎo FYMSiC! 🙂
We have an exciting educational event to share thanks to Chantal Buteau (Brock):
In-person symposium on Coding, Computational Modelling, and Equity in Mathematics Education at Brock University, April 26-29, 2023.
Let’s support this great event, FYMSiC !!! 🙂
Hello FYMSiC! 🙂
Our fabulous FYMSiC friend Kseniya Garaschuk (UFV) has asked to pass along information about the 2023 CMS Election. Please see below.
LAST CALL FOR NOMINATIONS – 2023 CMS ELECTION
Individuals must express their interest and provide biographical details by midnight tonight but CMS will accept supporting letters until the end of the week.
The CMS will be electing fifteen (14) officers and directors. All candidates must agree to the nomination and provide the CMS with biographical information.
You are invited to nominate members to be candidates or to self-nominate. Nominations will be accepted by the CMS Nominating Committee prior to March 1, 2023, provided that each person nominated: (i) is supported in writing by at least five (5) other members of the CMS; (ii) has given written acceptance to stand for office; and (iii) has supplied biographical information.
Nominations with supporting materials should be e-mailed to nominations-2023@cms.math.ca or sent to:
Nominating Committee Chair
Canadian Mathematical Society
616 Cooper Street
Ottawa, ON K1R 5J2 Canada
Nominations are being solicited for the following positions for the Executive Committee (length of elected term in parentheses):
- President-Elect (1 year)/President (2 years)/Past-President (1 year);
- Vice-President – Quebec (4 years);
- Vice-President – Ontario (4 years); and
- Vice-President – West (AB, MB, NT, NU, SK) (4 years).
Nominations are also being solicited for Board of Directors members (length of elected term in parentheses):
- Atlantic – 1 member (4 years);
- Quebec – 3 members (4 years);
- Ontario – 2 members (4 years);
- West (AB, MB, NT, NU, SK) – 2 members (4 years);
- Pacific (BC) – 1 member (4 years); and
- Student – 1 member (2 years).
For 2023, the CMS will hold the election electronically in April with results formally approved in June at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Ottawa, Ontario. Updated information will be periodically e-mailed to members and posted on the CMS website at: https://cms.math.ca/about-the-cms/governance/elections/.
Megan Dewar
Chair, CMS Nominating Committee
________________________________________
DERNIER APPEL DE MISES EN CANDIDATURES – ÉLECTION DE LA SMC 2023
Les individus doivent exprimer leur intérêt et fournir des détails biographiques avant minuit ce soir, mais la SMC acceptera des lettres de soutien jusqu’à la fin de la semaine.
La SMC compte élire quinze (14) dirigeant.e.s et administrat.rices.eurs. Chaque candidat.e.s doivent accepter la nomination et envoyer des renseignements biographiques à la SMC.
La SMC vous invite à proposer des candidatures ou de s’auto-nommer. Le Comité des mises en candidature de la SMC acceptera les nominations d’ici le 1er mars 2023, à condition que la personne nommée : (i) ait reçu l’appui par écrit d’au moins cinq (5) autres membres de la SMC; (ii) ait accepté par écrit sa candidature; et (iii) ait fourni ses renseignements biographiques.
Les nominations et les documents justificatifs doivent être envoyés par courriel à candidatures-2021@smc.math.ca
ou par la poste à :
Président du Comité des mises en candidature
Société mathématique du Canada
616 Rue Cooper
Ottawa, ON K1R 5J2 Canada
On demande des candidatures aux postes suivants au sein du Comité exécutif (longueur du mandat entre parenthèses) :
- Président.e élu.e (1 an)/Président.e (2 ans)/Président.e sortant (1 an) ;
- Vice-président.e – Québec (4 ans);
- Vice-président.e – Ontario (4 ans); et
- Vice-président.e – Ouest (AB, MB, NT, NU, SK) (4 ans).
La SMC est à la recherche des candidatures pour les postes suivants au sein du Conseil d’administration (la durée du mandat entre parenthèses) :
- Atlantique – 1 membre (4 ans);
- Québec – 3 membres (4 ans);
- Ontario – 2 membres (4 ans);
- Ouest (AB, MB, NT, NU, SK) – 2 membres (4 ans);
- Pacifique (BC) – 1 membre (4 ans); et
- Étudiant.e – 1 membres (2 ans).
Pour 2023, la SMC tiendra l’élection par voie électronique en avril et les résultats seront officiellement approuvés en juin lors de l’assemblée générale annuelle (AGA) à Ottawa, en Ontario. Des informations actualisées seront périodiquement envoyées par courriel aux membres et affichées sur le site Web de la SMC à l’adresse suivante https://smc.math.ca/apropos-de-la-smc/la-gouvernance/elections/
Megan Dewar
Président du Comité des mises en candidature
Stay positive, FYMSiC!🙂
Mālō e lelei FYMSiC! 🙂
Another fantastic job opportunity thanks to Jeremy Sylvestre (University of Alberta, Augustana) for passing this along! 🙂
Augustana is a small, residential, undergraduate-only, teaching-focused, liberal arts & sciences campus of the University of Alberta, located in Camrose, Alberta. We’re currently hiring for a tenure-track position in Math to begin in July 2023.
Job Ad: https://careers.ualberta.ca/Competition/A105649413/
(Includes link to apply.)
Good luck to those applying! 🙂
Hello FYMSiC! 🙂
Hope your reading week is going swimmingly well! 🙂
Do not miss this fantastic UW Math Teaching Seminar, many thanks to Anton Mosunov (Waterloo) for sharing! See the information below.
When: Thursday, March 2, 1–2 PM EST
Who: David Jao (Department of Combinatorics and Optimization, University of Waterloo) and Anton Mosunov (Digital Assets Group, University of Waterloo)
Title: Formal Proof Verification in Math Education
Abstract: The transition from calculation-based math to rigourous proof-based mathematics is difficult for many students to navigate. Traditionally, Waterloo has a specific class designated for this purpose (MATH 135: Algebra), and students are taught how to write mathematical proofs in the classroom, using a combination of lectures, examples, group work, auto-graded and written assessments, and feedback from course staff. In recent years, a group of instructors in MATH 145 (the advanced-level version of MATH 135) has experimented with an alternative approach, using computer software to validate rigorous proofs formally. During this talk, we will introduce Coq, the computer program that we are using for formal proof verification in MATH 145, demonstrate some of its capabilities, and describe our efforts at integrating formal verification into the classroom curriculum. Our hope is to initiate at least an initial discussion of whether formal proofs in Coq can complement existing course components in first-year proof-focused courses that are taught in a traditional way. In our experience, formal proofs could potentially be a tremendous asset in breaking through the scaling barriers that sometimes limit the effectiveness of a traditionally taught introduction to proofs class, but also introduce new issues of their own that remain unresolved in the broader context.
Link:
To join the UW Math Teaching Seminar mailing list, please contact Burcu Karabina (burcu.karabina@uwaterloo.ca) and Zack Cramer (zcramer@uwaterloo.ca).
YAY, FYMSiC! 🙂
Shalom FYMSiC! 🙂
Our FYMSiC friend, Forsina Stojanovska-Pocuca (Mohawk), is passing along a great job opportunity:
Mohawk College is looking to hire two professors (one for math and one for stats preferable) with PhD credentials as we are starting to offer more Degree programs.
Application deadline: Friday, February 17th, 2023
For more information: https://talent-mohawkcollege.csod.com/ats/careersite/JobDetails.aspx?site=2&id=2219
Good luck to all applying! 🙂
Congratulations
Wes Maciejewski secured an Instructor position in the Donald School of Business, Science, and Technology at Red Deer Polytechnic.
Congrats to Anton Musonov (Lecturer, University of Waterloo) for receiving the WUSA Excellence In Undergraduate Teaching Award (2021). Press release: https://wusa.ca/congratulations-to-the-winners-of-the-wusa-excellence-in-undergraduate-teaching-award-2021/
Asmita Sodhi secured an Assistant Teaching Professor position in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Victoria.
Edward Doolittle (Associate Professor, First Nations University of Canada) received the 2023 Canadian Mathematical Society Adrien Pouliot Award. Press Release: https://cms.math.ca/news-item/dr-edward-doolittle-named-the-2023-adrien-pouliot-award-recipient/
Diana Skrzydlo (Continuing Lecturer, University of Waterloo) received the 2023 University of Waterloo Distinguished Teacher Award. Press Release: https://uwaterloo.ca/math/news/math-teaching-fellow-diana-skrzydlo-wins-distinguished
Lauren DeDieu (Associate Professor, Teaching, University of Calgary) received the 2023 PIMS Education Award. Website: https://www.pims.math.ca/pims-glance/prizes-awards
Jerrod Smith (Associate Professor, Teaching, University of Calgary) received the 2023 Students’ Union Teaching Excellence Award – Faculty of Science, University of Calgary. Press release: https://www.su.ucalgary.ca/2023/su-announces-2023-students-union-teaching-excellence-award-winners/
Fok-Shuen Leung (Professor of Teaching, University of British Columbia) received the 2023 Canadian Mathematical Society Excellence in Teaching Award. Press release: https://cms.math.ca/news-item/dr-fok-shuen-leung-to-receive-2023-excellence-in-teaching-award/
2022
Announcements
Hola FYMSiC! ☺
And yet another fantastic education event happening to be shared with all during this wonderful season of giving, thanks to Bethany (Toronto):
Dear FYMSiC Friends,
The International Association for Statistical Education (IASE) satellite conference is coming to the University of Toronto (and online) July 11-13, 2023!
The IASE 2023 theme is “Fostering Learning of Statistics and Data Science”. Presentation/poster proposals may be submitted until January 30, 2023 through this form: PROPOSAL FORM LINK (https://bit.ly/IASE_IASC_2023_ProposalForm)
Please check out the conference website (https://iase2023satellite.github.io/) for more information and share this message with any colleagues you think may be interested in participating in IASE 2023.
Thanks! Wishing you a happy holiday,
Bethany White (on behalf of the IASE 2023 local organizing committee)
HAVE A MAGNIFICENT HOLIDAY, FYMSiC!☺
Nyoung haseyo FYMSiC! 🙂
Another fantastic educational event to share with FYMSiC thanks to Bethany White (Toronto):
Last Call for IASE 2023 proposals – due Jan 30, 2023
Dear FYMSiC friends,
The proposal deadline for the International Association for Statistical Education (IASE) 2023 satellite conference is quickly approaching. If you’d like to share work related to the conference theme “Fostering Learning of Statistics and Data Science”, please submit your proposal by January 30, 2023: PROPOSAL FORM LINK (https://bit.ly/IASE_IASC_2023_ProposalForm)
IASE 2023 is a *hybrid* conference taking place the University of Toronto in Toronto (and online) from July 11-13, 2023. Please visit the conference website (https://iase2023satellite.github.io/) for more information and share this message with anyone you think may be interested in participating in this conference.
Sincerely,
Bethany White (on behalf of the IASE 2023 organizing committee)
Let’s participate, FYMSiC !!! 🙂
Salute FYMSiC! 🙂
Another great job opportunity is being passed along by our dear FYMSiC friend Kseniya (UFV). Please spread the word to anyone searching! 🙂
Job Posting: Assistant Professor, Mathematics & Statistics – UFV
Good luck to all who apply! 🙂
Boozhoo FYMSiC ! 🙂
We thank Edward (First Nations University of Canada) for sharing with our community a special and wonderful event. We hope you can participate.
Dear Colleagues,
This email is to let you know, in case you are interested, that the second international “Indigenizing University Mathematics” conference will be held in the week starting 28th November 2022, mainly online but also with a limited face-to-face attendance option in Newcastle, Australia. You are invited to register via the Eventbrite link at https://www.ium2022.org . The conference will take place November 28-December 1 in Canada, at times in the late afternoon or early evening depending on time zone. The language of the conference with be English.
Indigenization is something that is being asked of us more and more by our universities, as well as being something that increasingly many individuals care about and are interested in. However, it is not always obvious how to proceed in our disciplines and spaces. Thus, the purposes of the conference are to collectively give us an opportunity to think and learn about what it may mean to Indigenize our practices and curricula in university mathematics and statistics; and to give us a chance to build and extend the relationships, partnerships, and shared understandings necessary for this work.
In addition to the online option for registration, there will be a small face-to-face hub in Newcastle, Australia from which many of the Australian-based presenters will present. The Newcastle venue has limited capacity: in addition to the presenters, we will have room for about 30 registrants. In Newcastle, the timing is such that the presentations run from 9am-1pm each day with lunches provided afterwards and plenty of opportunity to mingle. For those in Australia, we encourage face-to-face registration from across the country, including from Heads of Discipline.
There will also be an extremely limited face-to-face option at First Nations University in Regina, Saskatchewan. Please contact me (Edward Doolittle <edoolittle@firstnationsuniversity.ca>) if you think you might like to attend in person.
Feel free to contact me or conference co-chair Dr. Judy-anne Osborn <Judy-anne.Osborn@monash.edu.au> if you have any questions.
I’I wa’khyaton
Edward Doolittle
FYMSiC, let’s show our support! 🙂
Salute FYMSiC !!! ☺
Hope you are staying classy, FYMSiC!
Fok (UBC) has reached out to pass along a fantastic job opportunity. Check it out! ☺
The UBC Math Department is advertising a “Teaching Project Postdoctoral Fellow” position, suitable for people interested in teaching-faculty positions in Math. These are positions that have been recently designed for and incorporated into our department, and I think they’ve been really successful so far. This is a nice place to work.
The position is on Mathjobs at
Many thanks, FOK !!! ☺
Good luck to all who apply !!! ☺
Bonjour FYMSiC! ☺
Wes (Red Deer) asked to promote his glorious self and others such as PETER TAYLOR (Queen’s) who will be presenting at the MathEd Forum, titled ‘Mathematicians Leading Mathematics Education’, at the Fields Institute, this Saturday, November 26th, 2022, starting at 10:00 a.m. (EST).
You can join online or attend in person. Best part – FREE !!!
To register: http://www.fields.utoronto.ca/activities/22-23/meforum-Nov
You will be great, Wes & Peter !!! ☺
Shé:kon FYMSiC! ☺
A special message from our dear FYMSiC family members, Amenda (York) and Pam (York), about another wonderful event.
****
Please share with your networks.
The Centre for Indigenous Knowledges and Languages & The Department of Mathematics and Statistics
presents
“Indigenous Maths, Global Math, and Indigenizing Mathematics”
Dr. Edward Doolittle
Associate Professor, Mathematics, First Nations University
Current Truth and Reconciliation efforts around mathematics generally begin at the wrong place, with the nearly universal and conventional mathematics (Global Math) commonly taught in schools and universities. To truly succeed in Reconciliation, we must begin with Indigenous Maths, with Creation even, and we must carefully and critically explore the relationships between the many Indigenous Maths, the one Global math, and Indigenizing mathematics.
Edward Doolittle is Kanyen’kehake (Flint Nation, Mohawk) from Six Nations in southern Ontario. He earned a PhD in pure mathematics (partial differential equations) from the University of Toronto in 1997. He is currently Associate Professor of Mathematics at First Nations University of Canada and at the University of Regina in Regina, Saskatchewan.
Monday, November 7
7-8:30PM / York Lanes 280N
All are welcome, but please register to help us make appropriate arrangements:
https://share.hsforms.com/18NHyTQVQSQKXmv32wCjNWwd9bv6
For more information visit: https://www.yorku.ca/research/cikl/events/edward-doolittle-research-talk/
Questions? cikl@yorku.ca
Again, let’s support our FYMSiC family and Edward (First Nations University)! 🙂
Bonjour FYMSiC! 🙂
We have an announcement about workshops hosted by Higher Math Help. Please read below:
Hi all!
A 2020 study of five countries found that numeracy was the most consistent predictor of reduced susceptibility to misinformation about COVID-19, out of fourteen possible predictors. Educators are well positioned to combat misinformation, but we need teaching materials appropriate to the task.
Using news articles and social media posts to teach numeracy offers several pedagogical advantages. However, compiling lesson plans based on recent media sources is no small feat. Fortunately, with support from the Wikimedia Foundation, we have created a new wiki to make this easy for math and statistics educators. Since the wiki hosts math lesson plans based on current events, we call the project Eventmath.
You can help make this project a success by joining us in an upcoming workshop! No prior knowledge or wiki editing experience will be assumed. Based on community feedback, each workshop will be structured in two parts:
- Introductory talk for beginners (20 minutes): We’ll discuss research on numeracy and misinformation, benefits of teaching from media sources, the features of Eventmath, and a range of leadership opportunities. Please feel free to skip this talk if you attended the presentation on Eventmath at the 2022 NNN Annual Meeting.
- Edit-a-ton (1 hour): We’ll help you start or continue editing lesson plan pages.
These fall 2022 workshops will be held on Wednesdays, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time over Zoom. They start this Wednesday! By registering for any of these free workshops, you will be making a huge difference. Visit the fall 2022 workshops page to register. If you are unable to attend, you can fill out the Eventmath community form to stay informed about future events.
Thank you!
Greg Stanton, Higher Math Help
Hello FYMSiC!
A wonderful event to attend and learn about the “Latest Developments in Numeracy Research and Teaching”.
Date: Saturday, October 29th, 2022
Time: 10:00 (EDT) – 14:00 (EDT)
Location: Hybrid (in person @ Fields Institute in Toronto; online via Zoom)
Below is the link with the program and how to register.
http://www.fields.utoronto.ca/activities/22-23/meforum-Oct
Thank you for your support!
☺ GO FYMSIC !!! ☺
Namaste FYMSiC!
Bonjour FYMSiC !!! 🙂
The outcomes of our First-Year Math & Stats in Canada One-day Online Conference: Everyday Life of a Post-secondary Math & Stats Practitioner – In Memory of Alfonso Gracia-Saz.
Date: Wednesday, May 4th, 2022
In Memory of Alfonso Gracia-Saz
2021 CMS Excellence in Teaching Award:
MAT137 Calculus with Proofs Playlist (great videos!):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ca1t9noMlo&list=PLlwePzQY_wW-CPzhk-af-MXj9knthD1gx
Session 1: Teaching Faculty Ranks Across Canada
Moderated by Veselin Jungic (SFU)
Teaching Faculty Ranks Across Canada [Presentation Slides]
Session 2: 10-minute Presentations
Kerri Webb (Selkirk): Is test a four-letter word? Teaching strategies for math anxious and math averse students
Is TEST a four letter word? [Presentation Slides]
Andrew Skelton (York): Mental health resources in the first-year math classroom
Mental health resources in the first-year math classroom [Presentation Slides]
Jeremy Chiu (Langara): Mitigating Cheating by Incentivizing Honesty and Positive Reinforcement
Mitigating Cheating [Presentation Slides]
Diana Skrzydlo (Waterloo): Teaching Communication and Teamwork in Math… with LEGO!
Teaching Communications and Teamwork in Math… with LEGO [Presentation Slides]
LEGO activity link: https://uwaterloo.ca/scholar/dkchisho/blog/learning-communication-strategies-lego
Gary Au (Saskatchewan): Reflecting on teaching an introductory course with no midterms or finals
No Midterms or Finals [Presentation Slides]
Session 3: Grants, Publications, Supervising Undergraduate & Graduate Students
Moderated by Darja Barr (Manitoba)
Grants, Publications, Supervising Undergraduate & Graduate Students [Presentation Slides]
Session 4: Parallel Sessions
Matt Coles (UBC): Gender in honours mathematics: Identity, belonging, and experience
Gender in honours mathematics [Presentation Slides]
Tyler Pattenden (Western): The Student Perspective on Mastery Grading in a First-Year Mathematics Course
Understanding the student perspective on mastery-grading [Presentation Slides]
Sean Fitzpatrick (Lethbridge): What is New in PreText
https://www.cs.uleth.ca/~fitzpat/talks/FYMSiC_May4_2022.html [Cool Presentation Slides]
Anton Mosunov (Waterloo): Algorithmic Questions in Introductory Algebra Class and Their Performance Affecting Factors
Algorithmic assessments in introductory algebra class [Presentation Slides]
Closing Remarks
Thank you to all of you for attending, presenting, and sharing your thoughts, opinions, and experiences today.
This meeting has again demonstrated that we, Canadian post-secondary math and stats practitioners, are a strong and tight community:
- we all share the same high level of commitment to positively influence our students personal growth and their general well-being;
- we all share love and passion for our subject;
- we all take our share of responsibility to support our peers and institutions in their tasks to provide the best teaching environment possible;
- we have similar educational and career paths; and,
- we face similar work related challenges on a daily basis.
This meeting also demonstrated how much talented, thoughtful, and knowledgeable members of our community are.
I would like to remind you that we dedicated this meeting to our friend Alfonso Gracia-Saz. Alfonso, we miss you.
Finally, I’d like to thank to Andie, Lauren, and Miroslav for all their time and work they’ve put into this conference and into building the First-Year Math and Stats in Canada community.
So, thank you and good luck! — Veselin
OUR TIME TOGETHER WAS SO ENLIGHTENING AND FRUITFUL !!! LET’S KEEP THE CONVERSATION GOING IN OUR WONDERFUL FYMSiC COMMUNITY !!! 🙂
This one is for you, Alfonso !!! 🙂
Thank you FYMSiC fam !!! 🙂 <3
After reflecting over the holiday break . . . a warm and vibrant message from FYMSiC . . .
Thank you very much for all your support over the years! We are slowly reaching *FOUR* years of existence, and we could not have made this grassroots movement this far without you all! We have done so much to bring together the mathematics and statistics educators across Canada and beyond through various initiatives. We truly appreciate this wonderful and friendly community with its always refreshing dialogue around teaching and learning. We hope you feel that you are a part of something special and belong to one happy and proud family which will continue to grow and be merry! 🙂
– Veselin, Miroslav, Lauren, Michael, and Andie
Have a great Winter 2022 term, folks! 🙂
Ciao FYMSiC!
Thanks to Brian Forrest (Waterloo & CMS Education Committee Chair) for passing along this information . . .
The CMS is sponsoring an online free session for the NSERC Science Literacy Week.
Title: Careers in Mathematics: They’re Everywhere and for Everyone!
Date & Time: Thursday, September 22nd, 2022, from 6:30 p.m. (EDT) to 8:30 p.m. (EDT).
For more information and to register: English (google.com)
Share this event with your students, TAs, anyone interested!
Math is everywhere, and there are fruitful and cool career opportunities in mathematics.
GO MATH!☺
Hello FYMSiC!
A message from two of our awesome FYMSiC friends, Andrew Skelton (York) and Tyler Pattenden (UWO):
Hello all!
We are looking at this wonderful community to gauge interest in a potential education session on Skills Coaching in the Mathematics Classroom at the CMS Winter 2022 Meeting in Toronto in December. The full description that we are going to submit to the organizers is below, but if you are even a little bit interested in speaking in this session, please e-mail us! You don’t need a full description – just an expression of interest and 1-2 sentences would be sufficient at this point!
Andrew Skelton – askelton@yorku.ca
Tyler Pattenden – tpattend@uwo.ca
Skills Coaching in the Mathematics Classroom
In many post-secondary mathematics courses, the focus is squarely on mathematical content, but we know there are far more intangible skills a student develops in the mathematics classroom – the aim of this session is to make those intangible skills more tangible.
The Conference Board of Canada’s Employability Skills brochure lists 16 skills that are needed to improve ability and thrive in the workplace and beyond. Problem-solving and numeracy, typically the highest priorities in most post-secondary mathematical classrooms, are just two of these 16 skills, so how do we explicitly teach and evaluate progress in other skills? Studies have shown that focusing simultaneously on mathematical and other academic skills is invaluable in helping students with the high school to university mathematics transition (Lake et al 2017).
In this session, we want to learn from instructors who have developed tools that help with the explicit, intentional, and targeted teaching and learning of a skill, rather than a mathematical concept. This skill could be, but is certainly not limited to, communication, group work, learning skills, peer evaluation, reflection, goal setting, using multiple representations, or research skills. We are interested in hearing about the development of your tool, any obstacles you faced and how you have or might evaluate the success of your intervention.
Ni Hao FYMSiC!
A message about the upcoming Symposium on Coding, Computational Modeling, and Equity in Mathematics Education, April 2023:
We are excited to announce an upcoming face-to-face Symposium on Coding, Computational Modeling, and Equity in Mathematics Education, as advertised in the attached flyer. Using a working group format, participants will be invited to work together to explore emerging issues and share experiences and perspectives on different timely topics. The scientific program also features two keynotes, two discussion panels, a poster or project display session, where participants can share their own work (a call for proposals will be announced in December 2022), and a pre-symposium PD day with hands-on workshops for teachers.
See the event website for more details, including our invited contributors to the scientific program: https://cpmath.ca/ccmeme2023/
Please help us spread the word if you are aware of others who may be interested in the event. For any question, email: skhan6@brocku.ca, cbuteau@brocku.ca, inamukas@uwo.ca, or dlevay@brocku.ca
Looking forward to welcoming you at Brock in April 2023!
Steven Khan (Brock U), Laura Broley (Brock U), Chantal Buteau (Brock U), Immaculate Namukasa (Western U), Marja Bertrand (Western U), and Dorothy Levay (Brock U), on behalf of the organizing committee
I have attached a notice here with a link to the survey, if you think that this is something your group may be interested in contributing to. As we all know, it is very important to get an international perspective on our practice. It will also go to colleagues in New Zealand, and the UK.
Once the data is collected and analysed, we would be very happy to share the results with you.
So please feel free to circulate the link as far and wide as you see fit!
*****
Dear FYiMaths friends, Many of you have expressed frustration with academic integrity during COVID. We have now received ethics approval to run a research study on what is happening at universities regarding assessment in mathematics. Please take a few minutes to fill out a short survey here or via QR code below. Results will be presented at the workshop in Sydney in a few weeks’ time. For more details on the study please click here.
We are gearing up for this year’s workshop and have already received quite a number of abstracts for talks. In order to finalise the programme and know who is coming to Sydney could you please fill in a survey if you are thinking of attending (either in person or via Zoom). Thanks to those who have already completed the survey. The survey can be accessed here or via QR code below.
Workshop details are as follows:When: July 18 & 19Time: 10 am to 5 pmVenue: Western Sydney Uni Parramatta Campus (The workshop will also be run over Zoom but we would really love to see you in person!)Cost: free! Thanks very much to Don Shearman for organising funding for the catering. (Dinner on the Monday night is at your expense.)Theme: Teaching, learning & assessing post COVID: lessons learnt during the pandemic We still have room for a few more talks so if you would like to present please send your expression of interest to fyimathsproject@gmail.com . Please let us know the following:
- title
- abstract
- length – 30, 45 or 60 mins
- face-to-face or online
Please submit your expression of interest by Monday 4 July. We are looking forward to catching up face-to-face in Sydney in a few weeks.Professor Deb King, Don Shearman and Michael JenningsFYiMaths National Steering Committeefyimathsproject@gmail.comhttps://fyimaths.weebly.com/
- the submission should be at most 5 pages in length;
- the submission should contain enough detail so that another instructor can somewhat easily adopt it (half-baked ideas will be considered as well);
- the application should be authentic and/or appealing (I won’t provide definitions of those terms for the sake of flexibility and variety, but no sliding ladders please);
- make sure to cite the necessary sources and sources used.
H-E-L-L-O FYMSiC !!!
Let’s get some young people to flex their math skills in a cool and inclusive contest! ☺
A fantastic message brought to you by our DEAR AMENDA (York):
Here’s the website: https://cariboutests.com
Aside from the contests, there are math games, puzzles, past contests, etc … The site is an excellent resource for young people interested in math. Brock University math professor, Thomas Wolf, is the founder.
Hello FYMSiC !!
An exciting external event (an alliteration) hosted by UTM to dialogue about … what happened during the 2021-2022 academic year both in high school and university.
The University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) is hosting another dialogue, titled “2022 UTM HS Math Teacher Dialogue: What has happened in the 2021-2022 academic year within secondary & tertiary level Math teaching & learning?” The event will be online.
We hope that the virtual gathering will bring high school math teachers and university instructors from across the GTA and surrounding areas to discuss teaching and learning math. Let’s have a conversation about the challenges in the present and potentially in the future, ranging from student engagement to curriculum to learning expectations to assessments. But also let’s share those unexpected positive things that occurred when we taught our students or when our students found that ‘OH’ moment.
The 2022 UTM HS Math Teacher Dialogue information is below.
Date: Wednesday, May 11th, 2022
Time: 16:00 (EDT) to 19:00 (EDT) – join us for five minutes or the entire event!
Zoom link + Passcode: It will be emailed out on Wednesday, May 4th, 2022.
Tentative Dialogue Schedule (in EDT):
16:00 – 17:00: HS Teachers Talks – Jason To (TDSB), Mike Pitocco (Halton), Roger Logan (Hamilton)
17:00 – 18:00: Uni Instructors Talks – Alex Rennet (UTM, Math Faculty Advisor), Ehsaan Hossain (UTM, Intro to Math Proofs), Maria Wesslen (UTM, Calculus), Anton Mosunov (Waterloo, Linear Algebra), Miroslav Lovric (McMaster, Mathematical Modelling)
18:00 – 19:00: Open Discussion
Please register for the 2022 UTM HS Math Teacher Dialogue by filling out this quick Google Form by Wednesday, May 4th, 2022: https://forms.gle/d2GnyzbxuvWiBEGc8
Please email Andie Burazin (a.burazin@utoronto.ca) or Tyler Holden (tyler.holden@utoronto.ca), if you have any questions or any potential ideas you want us to entertain.
We hope to see you at the 2022 UTM High School Teacher Dialogue on Wednesday, May 11th, 2022!
Dear FYMSiC community,
First-year Math and Stats in Canada (FYMSiC) has organized a one-day online conference, titled “Everyday Life of a Post-secondary Math & Stats Practitioner – In Memory of Alfonso Gracia-Saz”.
The one-day online FYMSiC conference will be held on Wednesday, May 4th, 2022, starting at 11:00 EDT and ending at 16:30 EDT.
Zoom link + Passcode: email ANDIE a.burazin@utoronto.ca
We will celebrate our dear friend, Alfonso Gracia-Saz, who has been a regular attendee to most FYMSiC events, and will dedicate the conference to him.
Conference Itinerary (times in EDT): 2022 FYMSiC One-day Online Conference Itinerary
To register for the conference (for free!), please click on the following link: https://forms.gle/cqSfMX3vJxAwi2Le8
Registration deadline is Friday, April 29th, 2022.
We hope that you join in and contribute to our wonderful FYMSiC community!
HAPPY FRIDAY FYMSiC !!! 🙂
Two exciting job opportunities as an Assistant Professor in Statistics and Computer Science at Mount Royal University passed along by our FYMSiC member, Pamini Thangarajah. Check out job postings below and share the joy with others!
https://mtroyalca.hua.hrsmart.com/hr/ats/Posting/view/1706
https://mtroyalca.hua.hrsmart.com/hr/ats/Posting/view/1705
Best wishes and luck to all applying !!! 🙂
All the best to those individuals who apply! ?
Ciao FYMSiC!
The great and fantastic, Brian Forrest (Waterloo), asked to spread this superb job opportunity:
I was speaking to my former Ph.D. student yesterday and he mentioned a probationary instructor’s position in mathematics. I told him that the FYMSiC group might have some interested people. The job posting at the University of Winnipeg:
The best to all who apply! ☺
Salute FYMSiC,
Our dear FYMSiC friend, Brian Forrest (Waterloo), has kindly asked to share the following fantastic opportunity for the 2022 Summer CMS Meeting Education Sessions:
As the Chair of the CMS Education Committee, the organizers of the CMS Summer Meeting in St. John’s Newfoundland have reached out to me about possible education related sessions. If anyone has an idea for a session they would like to organize please contact me as soon as possible.
The meeting will take place from June 3-6, 2022. At this point, it is not known if the meeting will be help in person or virtually. If it is in person, it is very likely that there will be an additional virtual component of the meeting focusing on educational issues.
Organizing a CMS Education Session is a great way to bring our fellow mathematics and statistics educators to discuss relevant topics within teaching and learning and to have a sense of community and support for one another. ☺
Hola FYMSiC,
Another great job opportunity presented by our inspiring and wise FYMSiC friend, Gary Au (Saskatchewan):
We (the Math and Stats dept. at the U of Saskatchewan) are hiring a 4-year lecturer position in Statistics:
https://www.mathjobs.org/jobs/list/19505
Good luck to all applicants! ☺
Zdravo FYMSiC!
Our dearest FYMSiC friend, Kseniya (UFV), asked us to pass along a wonderful space and place to share your fabulous, inspiring, and thought-provoking mathematics and statistics questions used in your teaching. Check out the message below! ☺
Have a nice problem that you use in your courses and want to share it with others? Looking for some inspiring problems to “steal”? This year, Crux Mathematicorum (a problem solving journal published by the Canadian Mathematical Society) is introducing a new column “From the lecture notes of…”, which will feature our favourite problems from first and second year undergraduate courses, problems that are non-standard, elegant or unexpected.
If you have a problem you would like to share (and it fits on one page), please send it along with its solution and a description of the course/audience it is intended for to Kseniya at crux.eic@gmail.com
MSLMA: Make Students Love Math Again! ☺
Hello FYMSiC folks,
Our dear FYMSiC friend, Sean Fitzpatrick (Lethbridge), has a wonderful mentorship opportunity. Please see below the message from Sean:
My colleague Habiba Kadiri, who chairs the CMS EDI committee, needs help to promote a program that aims to get more Black and Indigenous students into STEM PhD programs. They also need mentors for this program.
Below is what I received from Habiba (I am consolidating a couple of emails here).
If you are interested (or know someone who might be), it sounds like you can apply at the links below, or contact Sam Lawson for more info.
Thanks, Sean
Regarding mentorship:
Regarding the mentorship, we got a bit more details from the admin of the program for what they are looking for:
“As it stands right now, we have 17 fellows; they will be engaging in a matching process, where they will choose who they would like to work with for their first year. As such, there will not be a fellow matched to every mentor this coming January when the process begins. That being said, this program is rapidly growing, and the number of fellows will quickly multiply in the coming year or two – as such, we are actively recruiting to ensure our needs will be met as our numbers grow. Also, the fellows will have a different mentor every year to ensure they receive a variety of perspectives along the course of their doctoral degree. The application form can be found here: https://ibetphd.ca/be-a-mentor/”
The FAQ also is enlightening:
“Mentors are typically PhD holders working in academia, industry, and government institutions; however, there are no definite conditions. Anyone working within STEM fields is encouraged to apply for a mentorship position. You can apply to be a mentor here, and you will be added to our diverse pool of mentors from across North America.”
For more information or questions, I found Sam Lawson (snlawson@uwaterloo.ca) has been very responsive.
Regarding the Program:
Website https://ibetphd.ca/
“In a nutshell, the IBET PhD Project aims to remove the financial barriers of receiving a doctoral degree in engineering and computer science for Indigenous and Black-identifying students by providing approximately $30,000 of support in the form of the IBET Momentum Fellowship every year for four years. We hope that, by providing this assistance, we can diversify STEM fields in Canada and provide more role models for younger Black and Indigenous scholars looking to enter STEM. This fellowship also includes a component which will pair fellows with a different mentor every year who is currently working in industry or academia, thus helping them through the difficult process of obtaining a PhD. This will also allow fellows to build a professional network prior to graduation and increase career opportunities. Internships are also available.”
While the site does contain quite a large amount of information, you may contact:
snlawson@uwaterloo.ca
Sam Lawson, MA (she/her)
snlawson@uwaterloo.ca
Administrative Assistant, IBET & EDI
Faculty of Engineering, University of Waterloo
Dear members of the FYMSiC community,
We would like to invite you to contribute to a new open-access (no page charges either) journal, Maple Transactions, which aims to publish on topics of interest to the Maple community. Use of Maple is not a prerequisite for publication in Maple Transactions. This journal is made possible through the sponsorship of Maplesoft and of Scholarship Western, and is online only, using Open Journal Systems. The particular focus of Maple Transactions is on computer-assisted research in mathematics, applications, and education: a broad focus, to be sure, but we want to make it clear that education is very much a priority for us.
For more information, please visit Maple Transactions: Call for Contributions.
Bonjour FYMSiC,
From our colleague and friend Frédéric Gourdeau (Laval), a wonderful job posting:
We have succeeded in obtaining a position at our Department for someone who would be interested in devoting a significant part of their energy towards the mathematical (including statistical) education of pre-service teachers. The ideal candidate would also be active in research in either mathematics or statistics. The full description is attached, in both French and English.
Job Posting (Laval) in English
Good luck to all applicants !!! ☺
Dear FYMSiC colleagues,
Passing along a fantastic opportunity to be a part of the UW Teaching and Learning Conference in April 2022. Do not miss out!
Thank you Diana Skrzydlo (Waterloo) for sharing !!!
As members of FYMSiC, I encourage you to submit a proposal for University of Waterloo’s 13th annual Teaching and Learning Conference taking place on April 27th and April 28th, 2022. Our 2022 conference theme is “Fostering Partnerships in Pedagogy”. We are excited to welcome Dr. Alison Cook-Sather, Mary Katherine Woodworth Professor of Education and Director of the Teaching and Learning Institute at Bryn Mawr College, as our keynote speaker. Additionally, the Igniting Our Practice plenary session will feature two inspirational University of Waterloo instructors demonstrating a successful instructional approach to showcase some of the excellent online teaching that has been happening on our campus over the past year and a half.
You are invited to submit proposals for presentations, panel discussions, workshops, poster presentations, and items for a teaching and learning showcase, that share your practices and research related to how we can foster the many kinds of pedagogical partnerships that benefit teaching and learning in our university community. The deadline for proposals is January 26, 2022. You can read the Call for Proposals here and learn more about the conference at the UWTL Conference website. Please note that like last year, this conference will be held primarily online. There will however be opportunities for in-person engagement.
Dear FYMSiC,
Our valued colleague, Derek Postnikoff (Saskatchewan), asked to pass along this fantastic online colloquium talk. All information is below, and we hope you join and enjoy! 🙂
University of Saskatchewan Department of Mathematics & Statistics Colloquium AnnouncementDate/Time: Friday, January 21 @ 3:30 PM CSTSpeakers: Dr. Cathy Marks Krpan and Dr. Gurpreet Sahmbi, OISE, University of Toronto(Professor Marks Krpan is the 2021 recipient of the Margaret Sinclair Memorial Award from the Fields Institute recognizing innovation and excellence in mathematics education)Title: Arguing for access: Teachers’ perspectives on the use of argumentation in elementary mathematics and its impact on student successAbstract: Argumentation is a critical skill for deepening mathematical thinking. However, explicit argumentation tasks, in which students are invited to prove or disprove mathematical ideas, are not widely used in elementary classrooms. During our presentation, we will share findings from our research that explores elementary teachers’ perceptions of the explicit implementation of argumentation in their mathematics programs. We will share and discuss student work samples and video footage of elementary students engaged in argumentation tasks. In addition, we will explore the possible implications of our findings for intermediate, secondary, and post-secondary mathematics.Zoom Link: https://usask-ca.zoom.us/j/99456436400?pwd=WCtWbW02SStqUE10UU1EMnpaNitCdz09 Please feel free to share this link responsibly with anyone you think would be interested in attending the talk. This talk is the intellectual property of the speaker and must not be redistributed in any form without their explicit permission.Please contact colloquium@math.usask.ca if you have any questions. We hope to see you on the 21st!Colloquium CommitteeUniversity of SaskatchewanDepartment of Mathematics and StatisticsFind us on Facebook @uofs.math.stats and Twitter @UofS_Math_Stats
Salute FYMSiC friends,
Our FYMSiC colleague, Fok-Shuen Leung (UBC), has asked to pass along a great job opportunity! Please see below:
The UBC Math Department is advertising for up to two “Teaching Project Postdoctoral Fellow” positions, which are designed for people interested in teaching-faculty positions in Math. The positions are described on Mathjobs at https://www.mathjobs.org/jobs/list/18155
Good luck to all applying !!! ☺
Congratulations
On June 21, 2022, Rachael Lewitzky successfully defended her PhD thesis, Exploring Post-Secondary Instructors’ Approaches to Teaching Introductory Statistics Courses Online under the supervision of Dr. Doug McDougall at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto.
Lauren DeDieu (Instructor, University of Calgary) received the 2022 University of Calgary Teaching Award for Full-time Academic Staff. Press release: https://taylorinstitute.ucalgary.ca/awards/recipients
Sean Fitzpatrick (Instructor III, University of Lethbridge) received the 2022 University of Lethbridge Excellence in Teaching Award. Press release: https://www.ulethbridge.ca/unews/article/dr-sean-fitzpatrick-earns-excellence-teaching-award
Cindy Blois (Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, University of Toronto) was awarded the University of Toronto Teaching Fellowship. For more information: https://memos.provost.utoronto.ca/2021-22-recipients-of-the-early-career-teaching-award-and-teaching-fellowship-pdadc-31/
Burcu Karabina (Lecturer, University of Waterloo) and Amanda Garcia (Lecturer, University of Waterloo) received the 2021-2022 UW Excellence in Online Course Design Award. Press release: https://uwaterloo.ca/math/news/amanda-garcia-burcu-karabina-online-course-design
Asia Matthews (Mathematics Tutor, Quest University) was awarded the MAA Dolciani Mathematics Enrichment Grant. For more information: https://www.maa.org/programs-and-communities/outreach-initiatives/dolciani-mathematics-enrichment-grants
Rebecca McKay (Assistant Professor, University of New Brunswick) received the 2022 Neil Scott Education Leadership Award.
Pamini Thangarajah (Professor, Mount Royal University) is honoured with the 3M National Teaching Fellowship. Press release: https://www.mtroyal.ca/AboutMountRoyal/MediaRoom/Stories/2022/05/mru-mathematics-professor-honoured-with-3m-national-teaching-fellowship.htm
Bravo Caelan Wang for securing an Instructor position at the University of Manitoba!
Congratulations Jerrod Smith for receiving tenure with promotion to Senior Instructor at the University of Calgary!
Hats off to Kseniya Garaschuk for being successfully promoted to an Associate Professor at the University of the Fraser Valley!
Congrats Lauren DeDieu for receiving tenure with promotion to Senior Instructor at the University of Calgary!
Dan Wolzcuk (Continuing Lecturer, University of Waterloo) received the 2022 Canadian Mathematical Society Excellence in Teaching Award. Press release: https://cms.math.ca/news-item/professor-dan-wolczuk-to-receive-2022-excellence-in-teaching-award/
Joanna Niezen secured a Lecturer position at Simon Fraser University.
2021
Announcements
Ciao FYMSiC friends,
Another amazing opportunity presents itself thanks to Patrick Walls (UBC)!
Dear FYMSiC,
Our wonderful Yvan Saint-Aubin (Montreal) has passed along information about talk (mainly french) by his colleague Louise Poirier (Montreal) who received a prize of the Association mathématique du Québec for her career. She is first a “didacticienne” of the teaching of math at the primary school level. She went on to become the dean of her faculty and, during her mandates there, she created a centre called The Extension. This centre is located in a neighbourhood of Montreal called Parc-Extension that it mostly populated by new immigrants and poorer families. It provides help for kids with their school work, and dental and eye-doctor services. A lot of these services are given by advanced students of the Faculties of Education, of Optometry and of Dentistry.
DATE :
Le vendredi 5 novembre 2021 / Friday, November 5, 2021
HEURE / TIME :
15 h 30- 16 h 30 / 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
CONFERENCIER(S) / SPEAKER(S) :
Louise Poirier (Université de Montréal)
TITRE / TITLE :
Les mathématiques ont une histoire et une géographie/ Mathematics has a history and a geography
(L’exposé sera présenté principalement en français/ The presentation will be given mainly in French)
LIEU / PLACE :
Zoom : https://umontreal.zoom.us/j/93983313215?pwd=clB6cUNsSjAvRmFMME1PblhkTUtsQT09
ID de réunion : 939 8331 3215
Code secret : 096952
RESUME / ABSTRACT :
La présentation se divise en deux temps. Dans un premier temps, les principaux résultats de notre étude sur le « portrait mathématique » des étudiants du Québec effectué dans le cadre du projet En avant math! (projet conjoint CRM-CIRANO soutenu par le Ministère des finances) seront présentés. Ce rapport se fonde d’une part sur les résultats des tests internationaux TIMS et PISA pour les élèves québécois du primaire et du secondaire et d’autre part, sur la situation des mathématiques dans les universités québécoises dégagée des données du Bureau de coopération interuniversitaire (BCI) ( évolution des inscriptions étudiantes et portrait des étudiants tant en genre qu’en statut). Les données du BCI montrent que l’étudiant typique inscrit en maths dans les universités québécoises est citoyen canadien, blanc et masculin. Et le nombre total d’inscrits baisse à chaque année (sauf, peut-être au doctorat). Où sont les filles? Où sont les étudiants issus de l’immigration récente? Et pourtant aux tests PISA et TIMMS les élèves issus de l’immigration performent mieux au Canada que les élèves canadiens (c’est l’inverse pour la moyenne des pays de l’OCDE).
Puis, dans un deuxième temps, à la lumière des résultats du portrait des étudiants, nous discuterons des enjeux sociaux pour des mathématiques plus inclusives. Une recherche collaborative avec les communautés inuit du Nunavik viendra illustrer nos propos. /
The presentation is divided in two parts. First, the main results of our study on the “mathematical portrait” of Québec students carried out as part of the En avant math! Project (CRM-CIRANO joint project supported by the Ministry of Finance) will be presented. This report is based on the one hand on the results of the international TIMS and PISA tests for Québec elementary and secondary school students and on the other hand, on the situation of mathematics in Québec universities based on data from the Bureau de coopération interuniversitaire (BCI) in terms of evolution of student enrollments and portrait of students ( gender and status). BCI data shows that the typical student enrolled in math at Québec universities is a Canadian citizen, white and male. And the total number of registrants decreases each year (except, perhaps for the PhD students). Where are the girls? Where are the students from recent immigration? And yet on the PISA and TIMMS tests, immigrant students perform better in Canada than Canadian students (the opposite is true for most of the OECD countries).
Then, in the light of the results of the student portrait, we will discuss the social issues for more inclusive mathematics. Collaborative research with the Inuit communities of Nunavik will illustrate our point.
Dearest FYMSiC,
Thanks Matt Coles (UBC) for passing along this great opportunity! Please share with others.
The Mathematics Department and the Science Centre for Learning and Teaching (Skylight) at the University of British Columbia (Vancouver campus) are looking to hire a Science Education Specialist (SES).
The full job posting is here:
The job description is summarized below:
The position is a Faculty of Science-funded education specialist embedded in the Mathematics Department. The person will have disciplinary expertise in Mathematics (preferably a graduate degree in Mathematics or closely related discipline), and will bring expertise in pedagogy and evidence-based practices from their own background and bolstered with Skylight-coordinated professional development workshops and ongoing mentoring from Skylight leadership and peers. They will mentor faculty instructors using the developed teaching methods and materials. From time to time, the incumbent may participate in the instruction of undergraduates to advance the pedagogy of the way a course is delivered.
The SES will be a resource, guide and support within the department. They will lead scholarship of teaching and learning projects, advise the faculty on teaching and learning practices, and work with them on course and curriculum revisions, evaluations and pedagogical improvement projects.
Fabulous FYMSiC colleagues,
Our awesome member, Diana Skrzydlo (Waterloo), asked to pass along a fantastic opportunity for STATS & ACTUARIAL SCIENCES teaching positions at the University of Waterloo.
The Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science at the University of Waterloo is hiring 5 Lecturer positions, to start as early as January 2022. More details here: https://uwaterloo.ca/statistics-and-actuarial-science/opportunities/five-lecturer-positions-statistics-and-actuarial-science
Dear FYMSiC community,
It is with our deepest sadness that we are informing you that our colleague and friend Alfonso Gracia-Saz passed from Covid-19 on Thursday, May 6th, 2021. As Veselin Jungic put it: ‘I always felt that Alfonso actually enjoyed himself at our [FYMSiC] meetings’. He regularly attended our events and always had something insightful to share. We will remember him as an active member of our community, excellent teacher and mathematician, and above all, a beautiful human being. To learn more about Alfonso, read the Canadian Mathematics Society media release and the article in the Toronto Star. He will be missed.
Nick, Alfonso’s life partner, has shared the following: University of Toronto has setup a memorial page where you can contact the family and also contribute to a scholarship in Alfonso’s honour. Details are here: http://www.math.toronto.edu/cms/alfonso-memorial
Dear FYMSiC community,
We are being asked to participate in a research opportunity to investigate experts’ views of mathematical proof by Professor Chris Sangwin, School of Mathematics, University of Edinburgh. This study is designed to better understand what characteristics expert mathematicians value when considering the relative merits of different mathematical proofs.
The duration to participate will take about 15-20 minutes where several short proofs of a given theorem to read and compare.
For further information, please visit: Education research study on proof.
Dear Friends and Colleagues:
Please consider attending the Indigenising University Mathematics Symposium organized by the University of Newcastle.
This national and international two-day symposium will address the pressing challenge of how to Indigenise mathematical practice at Universities, both in education and research. The methodology is of collaboration and sharing of knowledge and worldviews from within both Indigenous cultures and the cultures of mathematics and its allied disciplines. The symposium will be organised around a collection of interconnected themes, each chaired by a partnership of Indigenous and non-Indigenous practitioners. These include: Indigenous Mathematics, Re-imagining the living present, Traditional Knowledge, Country, Language and Oral Traditions, and Love and Pedagogy. The symposium will also launch a call for contributions to a book on the same topic.
The event will be held online.
Dates: Monday, 20th September 2021 – Tuesday, 21st September 2021 (Note that this is the local time in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia)
Website and registration: https://carma.newcastle.edu.au/meetings/ium/
Congratulations
Miroslav Lovric (Professor, McMaster University) was awarded the HEQCO Skills Consortium Grant for his project “Evaluation of the numeracy course “Numbers for Life” at McMaster University to measure learning gains and to explore possibilities for wider adoption of numeracy curriculum”.
Jerrod Smith (Instructor, University of Calgary) received the Faculty of Science Teaching Excellence Award (Early Career). Details here.
Michael Liut (Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, University of Toronto Mississauga) received the Outstanding Faculty Guidance & Support Award (U of T Student Life). Details here.
Camelia Karimian Pour and Stan Yoshinobou secured an Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream position in the Faculty of Arts & Science at the University of Toronto.
Shannon Ezzat secured an Assistant Professor position at Cape Breton University!
Alfonso Garcia-Saz (Associate Professor, Teaching Stream, University of Toronto) won 2021 CMS Excellence in Teaching Award. Press release: https://cms.math.ca/news-item/professor-alfonso-gracia-saz-to-receive-the-2021-cms-excellence-in-teaching-award/
Kseniya Garaschuk (Assistant Professor, University of Fraser Valley) has been named the recipient of 2021 Canadian Mathematical Society Graham Wright Award for Distinguished Service. Press release: https://cms.math.ca/news-item/dr-kseniya-garaschuk-to-receive-the-2021-graham-wright-award-for-distinguished-service/.
Brian Forrest (Professor, University of Waterloo), Kseniya Garaschuk (Assistant Professor, University of Fraser Valley), and Veselin Jungic (Teaching Professor, Simon Fraser University) are the newest Canadian Mathematical Society Fellows.
Bruce Dunham (Professor of Teaching, University of British Columbia) is the recipient of the 2021 PIMS Education Prize. Press release: https://www.pims.math.ca/news/2021-pims-education-prize-awarded-bruce-dunham
Petra Menz (Senior Lecturer, Simon Fraser University) and Nicola Mulberry (PhD Candidate, Simon Fraser University) won the 2021 BCampus Award for Excellence in Open Education. Please visit: https://bccampus.ca/2021/03/24/bccampus-award-for-excellence-in-open-education-petra-menz-and-nicola-mulberry/
Zack Cramer (Lecturer, University of Waterloo) received the University of Waterloo Student Association Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award. Press release: https://uwaterloo.ca/math/news/zack-cramer-receives-wusa-excellence-undergraduate-teaching
Xinli Wang (Instructor, University of Manitoba) received the University of Manitoba, Teaching and Learning Seed Project grant. Project: Mastery-based grading in a second year mathematics course, and its impact to student’s learning.
Parker Glynn-Adey secured an Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream position at the University of Toronto Scarborough.