Minicourses are highly interactive sessions designed in a two-part workshop format focusing on specific aspects of collegiate mathematics, the undergraduate curriculum, and mathematical pedagogy. These courses are taught by experts in the field, with two hours dedicated to each section.

Separate registration and fee is required. Space is limited.

Please note: Each minicourse will be scheduled into two separate 2-hour sessions. The full MAA MathFest program has not been finalized, and times/dates will be posted in the next coming days.

Computational Exploration in Undergraduate Mathematics Courses

The modern mathematics major should have opportunities to see how computational exploration enhances mathematical understanding. Although many mathematics students encounter computing in courses such as statistics, data science, or computer science, many of our students still graduate with poorly developed computational skills. In particular, they do not see the role computation plays in other areas of mathematics.

In this minicourse, using hands-on, active methods, we will show how to incorporate computational approaches into a mid-level mathematics curriculum, particularly those courses which focus on more traditional areas such as number theory, dynamical systems, and probability theory. We will guide participants through examples of computational materials and methods which can either form the basis of a stand-alone course or be integrated into existing courses. The approach and materials presented will be independent of any particular programming language. These materials and methods form the basis for a textbook, Experimental Mathematics: A Computational Perspective recently published by the MAA. Topics covered in this textbook have been used in the classroom since 2007 at St. Olaf College with hundreds of students, most just starting their mathematics major. The only formal student prerequisite is Linear Algebra; students are not expected to have prior computing experience.

For mini-course participants, some modest prior experience with computing is expected. The content is appropriate for mathematics faculty at all career points, new faculty are especially welcome. All participants will have the opportunity to develop their own mathematical/computational topic(s) during the  minicourse. Time will be allocated for individual explorations in which participants may choose to explore provided materials or begin developing their own ideas. In particular, using hands-on examples, we will examine some best practices for using generative artificial intelligence to augment computational exploration.

Organizers:
Matthew Wright, St. Olaf College
Matthew Richey, St. Olaf College

GAISE Recommendations for Intro Stat: Improving Understanding and Success Rates

The GAISE report (Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education) has been improving the way we teach Introductory Statistics since it was introduced in 2005. It has recently been revised and updated, and the new recommendations will drive the format of the Minicourse. We will discuss how these recommendations can build understanding and increase student success. Participants will leave with concrete suggestions and resources (encompassing both pedagogy and content) to incorporate in their own classes.

Reflecting the ten recommendations, discussions and activities will include helping students see the value in statistical thinking, incorporating effective communication of results, using simulation methods to focus on understanding over formulas, using and finding lots and lots of real data, incorporating data visualizations and multiple variables, technology options and the ways technology can transform the course, including ethical discussions throughout, effective and fun assessment ideas, discussions of active engagement pedagogies, and examples of strategies that reflect inclusive practices. We’ll spend time on each of these, but will also acknowledge and reinforce the ways in which they all overlap and support each other.

Organizers:
Patti Frazer Lock, St. Lawrence University
Robin Lock, St. Lawrence University

Sponsor:
SIGMAA on Statistics and Data Science Education (SIGMAA SDS-ED)

Integrating APIs into Data Science Education: Teaching Math and Statistics by Learning How Weather APIs Work

Curious about how live, real-world data can enrich your math or statistics classroom? This hands-on minicourse introduces educators to Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) using weather data as an accessible and engaging example. Participants will learn how APIs work, how to make simple data requests in R, and how to visualize results using ggplot2.

Through guided Quarto notebooks, participants will see the full process—from constructing an API query to interpreting JSON responses and creating classroom-ready plots. The minicourse focuses on building foundational understanding rather than technical mastery, using one weather API to help attendees gain confidence with authentic data sources.

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

• Explain how APIs connect to real-time data.
• Retrieve and clean data from a weather API using httr2.
• Visualize results and identify ways to adapt examples for their own teaching.

The workshop is ideal for mathematics and statistics instructors interested in integrating dynamic data into their lessons. Basic familiarity with R (e.g., loading packages, using dplyr or ggplot2) is recommended, but no prior API experience is required.

Organizer:
Immanuel Williams, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly)

Sponsor:
SIGMAA on Statistics and Data Science Education (SIGMAA SDS-ED)

The i Road to Advanced Undergraduate Mathematics: Complex Numbers, Proof, and Inquiry

Transition/proof courses introduce students to topics, methods, and habits of mind typical of advanced mathematics. We see complex numbers and viewpoints as ideal vehicles for a course that helps students make this challenging transition. Complex numbers are paradoxically familiar and strange; this leads naturally to a need for proof and conjecture in this novel context.

The proposed minicourse is based on two main elements: (i) a successful course (it replaced a more traditional “proofs course”) given by Sachs and a colleague at George Mason University; and (ii) a textbook under development by both presenters. The textbook supports a transition/proofs course focused squarely on complex numbers: algebra and geometry of complex numbers; polynomials and rational functions; the main transcendental functions in their complex versions; the fundamental theorem of algebra; basics of complex derivatives and integrals; a glimpse and first looks at key theorems of complex analysis and their discrete analogues. We also explore a variety of less standard optional topics, whether as movable modules or as independent study/projects: Gaussian integers, Möbius transformations, discrete Fourier transforms, etc. Much of the material in the main course could serve as modules in other courses in the undergraduate curriculum.

WHY COMPLEX NUMBERS? Complex numbers usually appear briefly, if at all, in early undergraduate courses like linear algebra and differential equations. We think complex numbers deserve more respect. The complex topic builds on and extends high school algebra and college calculus, and it naturally feeds into multiple later courses, including analysis, algebra, geometry, topology, combinatorics, and applied mathematics. For example, topological ideas such as winding numbers point to higher-dimensional generalizations, but are broadly intelligible at this level. This content benefits future high school teachers in particular, but it also develops all mathematics students’ perspectives on earlier material. Basics of complex numbers and their properties are also core to the 19th century development of mathematical subdisciplines and their physical applications.

LEARNING TO PROVE. Practice with and mastery of standard proof techniques (direct and indirect proofs, contradiction, induction, etc.) are key ingredients of mathematical maturity. These elements appear often as the complex subject develops. We take special care to point them out—and to put them in complex contexts. Triangle inequalities, for example, are both the same and subtly different in complex as opposed to real settings. Graphing and visualization of complex-valued functions present new challenges, given that domain and range are each two-dimensional. Multiple representations (side-by-side domain and range pictures, animation, domain coloring, etc.,) require students to think carefully about what is and isn’t depicted. Doing so also encourages a deeper conception of functions, particularly as mappings, and helps develop abstract thinking. Examples using Mathematica and GeoGebra will be shown in the minicourse, and some student responses included.

TOWARD MATHEMATICAL MATURITY. There is limited research and considerable variation among college instructors’ views on both means and ends of transition courses. So we will devote time to group discussion of pedagogical questions: strategies to promote active learning, foster productive struggle, invite inquiry and collaboration, and address student growth. Since topics connect with upper-level course content, there is also an opportunity to consider best practices in helping students make such connections.Some minicourse participants will work through and discuss questions and problemsets in small groups, as students might do, while others will observe as teachers would do in an active learning classroom.

GOALS. By the end of the minicourse participants will have the chance to select topics and resources for transition courses at their own institutions, or for modules they might use in other courses, including but not limited to complex analysis. Real analysis, number theory, abstract algebra, and topology are all possibilities.

SESSION PLANS. We envision topics and time spent more or less as follows:

DAY 1: Complex multiplication as a map R^2 to R^2 [15 minutes]. Origin story of project / discussion of transition courses [20 minutes]. Student difficulties with visualization and research overview [20 minutes]. Break [10 minutes]. Domain coloring activity/demo [30 minutes]. Gaussian integers from multiple perspectives [25 minutes]

DAY 2: Riemann sphere activity [15 minutes]. Möbius transformations from multiple perspectives [20 minutes]. Riemann sphere as projective space [20 minutes]. Break [10 minutes]. Roots of unity 1: Algebra of roots of unity [20 minutes]; Roots of unity 2: Discrete Fourier ideas and some combinatorics [20 minutes]. Wrap up and further pedagogical discussion [15 minutes].

Organizers:
Paul Zorn, St Olaf College (retired)
Robert Sachs, George Mason University (retired)

Modeling First Calculus: Mathematical Tools and Storylines for Life Scientists

Modeling-First Calculus reimagines calculus as the language of change in living systems and is specially tuned to the interests and needs of life science majors. This minicourse involves instructors from Harvard, UCLA, and UC Santa Cruz, all of whom have successfully implemented this curriculum at their

institutions. Participants will experience a coherent storyline built around authentic modeling problems including predator–prey dynamics, the insulin-glucose system, and the dynamics of HIV viral load, where calculus concepts emerge naturally and are analyzed via the modern mathematical tools of nonlinear dynamics.

Across two sessions, participants will:

• Experience interactive labs from UCLA, UC Santa Cruz, and Harvard that connect calculus to real biological and biomedical problems.
• Examine how modeling tasks cultivate conceptual understanding and quantitative reasoning.
• Learn strategies for implementing a modeling-first sequence at their home institutions.
• Use the AI-supported Curriculum Microscope to locate, organize, and adapt instructional materials that strengthen coherence in course design.

The minicourse blends hands-on modeling, pedagogical reflection, and curriculum design, providing instructors with tools, examples, and practical pathways for adopting a modeling-first approach to calculus for life science students. No special software or prior experience with coding is required; all computational components are provided via accessible, browser-based tools. Participants leave with ready-to-use labs, planning resources, and a clear pathway for implementing a modeling-first approach that resonates with life science students.

Organizers:
Brendan Kelly, Harvard University
Jennifer Czocher, Texas State University
Marty Weissman, University of California, Santa Cruz
Alan Garfinkel, University of California, Los Angeles
Eric Deeds, University of California, Los Angeles
Greg Kestin, Harvard University
Ben Galluzzo, Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications (COMAP)

Sponsor:
Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications (COMAP)

Upgrading Online Assignments: Building Scaffolded Activities for Conceptual Understanding

Do your students get perfect scores on autograded homework only to demonstrate poor learning on in-class assessments? What if, rather than just seeing the correctness of their single answer, students received feedback throughout the process, helping them discover the solution and develop conceptual understanding?

In this minicourse, you will learn how to create interactive online mathematics activities that guide students to discover how to solve a problem. By scaffolding the discovery process and providing feedback along the way, these autograded activities will support students in developing conceptualunderstanding. Such activities discourage blind application of AI tools and other resources, by guiding students through learning the material. The activities you create will encourage students to wrestle with the implications and applications of course concepts as they navigate the solution process.

The development of these scaffolded activities is enabled by Doenet, a free and open-source platform for creating interactive mathematics activities. Doenet provides a semantic markup language that facilitates the expression of rich interactives, freeing you to create activities that guide student discovery. This minicourse will introduce you to Doenet and help you start creating your own interactive activities. No programming experience is necessary, though familiarity with Latex will help.

The minicourse is organized into four 55-minute sessions, with two sessions each day. In session 1, you will work in groups to envision possibilities for scaffolded problems, brainstorming possibilities while ignoring practical constraints of current technology. In session 2, you will explore sample scaffolded problems in Doenet, taking on the role of students working in small groups. You will also participate in a discussion of design principles for these problems mediated through a short series of lightning talks. In session 3, you will work with Doenet's language, learning about its features through building simple activities with autograding and interactive graphics. Session 4 is a working session where you will create your own scaffolded activity in Doenet.

Goals: By the end of this minicourse, you will be able to:

• Design a scaffolded activity that guides students through the problem solving process, promoting conceptual understanding
• Use features of Doenet to provide students with automated feedback
• Implement a scaffolded activity in Doenet, ready to assign to your students!

Prerequisites: None! Just bring a laptop with an updated web browser.

Organizers:
Anurag Katyal, Palm Beach State College
Melissa Lynn, St. Olaf College
Duane Nykamp, University of Minnesota
Ozlem Ugurlu, Saint Louis University
Matt Boelkins, Grand Valley State University

Diversifying your Assessment Toolbox: What Matters and How Do We Measure it? Developing Practical Assessments to Support Critical Thinking, Effective Communication, Community Engagement, and Mathematical Modeling.

This minicourse will cover a wide variety of assessment types for the mathematics classroom and provide participants practical support for the immediate implementation of these assessments. The assessments covered will consistently emphasize gathering information regarding a student’s conceptual understanding of a topic, rather than simply testing a student’s ability to repeat computations or to use generative AI or other tools to produce answers. Participants will be given many examples of assessments that measure a student’s ability to critically think, problem solve, and
effectively communicate mathematical ideas to others. The minicourse will also provide participants with reliable and creative assessment options which can be used in a remote learning context, and give implementation support for both synchronous and asynchronous models.

On the first day of the minicourse, the participants will be introduced to a wide variety of assessment types, including self-assessments, posters, oral assessments (exams, concept checks, proof summaries, homework presentations), portfolios, semester projects, and assessments supporting community building. Through examples, materials, hands-on activities, discussions, and group work, participants will build facility with these assessments and their uses and also create small versions for their own courses.

On the second day of the minicourse, the participants will put this knowledge into practice, developing two different types of assessment for their chosen course. This will be facilitated through a station structure, where participants will be grouped by assessment choice and provided with templates and examples to guide their worktime. Group members will be available for discussion, and the minicourse organizers will spend significant time at each station, helping the participants develop their ideas, sharing resources, and brainstorming solutions to any roadblocks. After each of the two station rotations, group members will share highlights from their group’s work. At the end of the workshop, participants should have two fully designed new assessment types along with the knowledge, resources, and support system to create many more.

Organizers:
Anna Aboud, Westmont College
Christina Edholm, Scripps College

Department Transformation for Equity and Inclusion: The COME-In Community

COME-In: Creating Opportunities for Mathematics Equity and Inclusion (ComeInMath.org) is a demonstrated framework for leaders to conduct holistic self-assessments of their department or program policies, practices, and outcomes and to identify opportunities to increase engagement and inclusion of people in mathematics education and careers. The framework includes a specific focus on those whose participation has been hindered or who have been left behind. By the end of this interactive workshop, participants will have tangible tools to begin this self-assessment process specific to their individual contexts and challenges.

COME-In uses a collaborative model for change in which trained consultants with backgrounds in DEI are paired with departmental leaders. Together, the department leads and consultants convene a department team and lead the team through a structured yet flexible framework to assess department DEI challenges, develop plans and goals, and implement and evaluate projects leading to departmental transformation. The COME-In framework is structured to provide clear guidance to department teams with the flexibility to be adaptable to a broad range of department and institution types. Department teams and their partner consultants have come from R1 and R2 universities, liberal arts colleges, Minority-Serving Institutions, and a community college. Collectively they have made significant inroads for change, building buy-in for what is needed for meaningful impact.

This workshop has three main objectives. First, we will form a community around institutional change through sharing current approaches, successes, and challenges, allowing each participant to craft a clear problem statement to carry forward after the session. Second, we will introduce the COME-In framework as an instrument of impact and change, detailing how it is being used with case studies from the current COME-In teams. Finally, we will draft how the COME-In framework would look for each participant as a potential opportunity to bring the framework to their institution and be part of the next cohort of institutions working for change.

Organizers:
Aris Winger, Georgia Gwinnett College
Abbe Herzig, Sarah Lawrence College

We Are All Leaders: A Theory/Practice Workshop on Intentional Leadership

Faculty rarely think of their career trajectory in terms of moving up the leadership ladder, and yet faculty lead every day through their teaching and shared governance. Even more, faculty often find themselves in a leadership role such as department chair or faculty senator without any previous professional development or skill-building. Attendees of this minicourse will begin to uncover their hidden leadership strengths, identify growth areas, and gain practical skills for leadership, including techniques for consensus-building, transparent decision-making, navigating difficult situations, and fund-raising. We highlight fund-raising in particular as a concrete skill that most faculty have not developed – faculty often develop bold, discipline-driven ideas with the potential to attract philanthropic support, and our session highlights how authentic expertise, curiosity, and mission alignment provide the foundation for successful fundraising. We end the minicourse with a hands-on session introducing restorative approaches to leadership.

Organizers:
Kathryn Leonard, Occidental College, Hypatia Group
Alicia Prieto-Langarica, Youngstown State University, Hypatia Group
Suzanne La Croix, Hypatia Group

Jumpstarting Your Scholarship

This two-day workshop focuses on developing strategies to establish your research agenda and to pursue funding and support for this agenda. During one session, we will discuss numerous aspects of a scholarship program, including how to find possible problems and collaborators, presenting your research, writing up your results, and getting your work published. We will also spend time setting goals and priorities for the upcoming year or two and make a plan for how to achieve those goals. The other session will feature an overview of the NSF, consisting of an introduction to programs that support both research in the mathematical sciences and innovations in learning and teaching together with tips for writing strong proposals. Both days will provide plenty of time for questions and discussion.

Organizers:
Nancy Ann Neudauer, Pacific University
Adriana Salerno, National Science Foundation

Implementing Standard-Based Grading

Grading practices have an all-encompassing effect on student learning and classroom environments. In this minicourse, participants will explore the destructive impact of “traditional” (i.e. weighted-average) grading practices on student learning and success. From the ways in which traditional grading reinforces inequity to how it disrupts the instructor/student relationship, participants will look at over 100 years of literature and research to unpack what's wrong with traditional grading practices. This will be followed by a series of activities around the four pillars of alternative grading described by Clark & Talbert. The four pillars are: clearly defined learning outcomes, assessment of mastery, eventual mastery, and helpful feedback. Participants will have hands-on time working through a scaffolded implementation plan with the facilitators, and will walk away from the minicourse with an outline of their course redesign implementing standards-based grading, as well as the resources needed to complete their redesign.

Organizers:
Drew Lewis, Center for Grading Reform
Sharona Krinsky, Center for Grading Reform

Intentional Mentoring in Undergraduate Mathematics Research

This minicourse is designed for new and early-career PhDs beginning faculty positions who are interested in mentoring undergraduate students in meaningful research experiences. It examines the full lifecycle of undergraduate research, emphasizing intentional mentoring practices that support both student development and faculty growth. Participants will consider how undergraduate research fits into their careers as researchers and teachers, including selecting appropriate problems, recruiting students, and making related preparatory decisions.

The minicourse addresses how to begin a research experience thoughtfully by getting to know students and setting clear expectations for both mentors and students, including the use of “Willingness Agreements” to establish communication norms, responsibilities, and shared goals. It also addresses mentoring students throughout the research process, including supporting them through uncertainty, providing effective feedback, and balancing guidance with independence.

The minicourse also explores what comes after the research experience, including writing strong letters of recommendation, advising students on future opportunities and graduate school, and continuing mentorship beyond a single project. Throughout the minicourse, participants will reflect on their institutional contexts and begin developing mentoring plans they can implement with undergraduate researchers at their home institutions. The session is structured around guided discussion and shared reflection among participants. Participants will leave with practical tools, shared language, and increased confidence to mentor undergraduate research experiences of any size.

Organizer:
Malena Espanol, Arizona State University

Data Science for Social Impact: Integrating Critical Inquiry and Historical Context Toward a More Just, Localized Practice

Academic data science is a hot topic. However, there is a need for more resources that center community data science for social impact. This minicourse explores how data science can be mobilized for social impact through the integration of critical inquiry, historical context, and community-based practice. Participants will examine how local data projects are shaped by historical inequities, power structures, and cultural narratives. Through guided discussions and applied activities using real-world data sets in R and Python, we will investigate methods for teaching and practicing data and statistical science in ways that foreground context and collaboration with a focus on a surrounding community context. Participants will develop a focused plan to carry out at the local institutions and be provided with a “playbook” that can be used in collaboration with their students and colleagues. No prerequisite knowledge or software will be required but laptops will be an essential component of the minicourse.

Organizer:
Nathan Alexander, Howard University

Please note: All sessions at MAA MathFest 2026 will be held in Eastern Daylight Time (EDT = UTC-4:00)