Resumen de The pandemic as a catalyst for rethinking active learning practices in technology intensive instructional environments
David Christopher Webb
Even though K-12 mathematics educators have embraced the role of graphing calculators and computers, student use of technology in tertiary mathematics has been slow to implement in the USA context.
Enter March 2020, a global health crisis, and the shift to online and remote learning. The immediate and dramatic cessation of in-person modes of instruction was experienced at all levels of education and in all disciplines. With respect to tertiary mathematics, student use of instructional technology shifted from optional use of homework websites, digital discussion boards and flipped classrooms to an absolute necessity to support student participation in mathematics courses. Our research group has been studying the process of departmental change towards active learning in the undergraduate calculus sequence. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we worked with twenty-three university mathematics departments in the United States as part of a Networked Improvement Community (NIC). During the pandemic, we observed the adaptation of instructional practices to sustain student interaction in remote virtual environments.
This paper highlights changes observed within our NIC regarding attempts to sustain active learning during the global pandemic. In addition, a NIC can provide the necessary community for grappling with challenging problems at any time.
