In spring 2018, an inquiry-oriented differential equations course was offered at the Lebanese American University. This paper highlights students' comprehension of some qualitative aspects of differential equations, namely their understanding of the equations and their solutions. It also explores the students' success in moving between the…

College calculus plays an important role in STEM students' degree and career aspirations. One of the key factors considered in assessing a student's ability to be successful in calculus is their proficiency in topics from prior mathematics courses such as algebra and precalculus. This study set out to examine the impact of students' precalculus…

Implementing inquiry-oriented instructional proposals at the university level collides with many constraints related to the current pedagogical paradigm based on the transmission of previously established works of knowledge. One such constraint comes from defining subjects' curricula by a set of topics to study, not questions to inquire. Our…

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…

This paper reports on data obtained during semi-structured interviews with students who had recently experienced a guided inquiry approach to learning ordinary differential equations (ODEs) in a service-taught module. Previous research identified the strengths and weaknesses of similar cohorts of students. The results from that research informed…

The instrumental approach is a useful theoretical lens for understanding students' learning processes with a main focus on the transformation of an artefact (a human design for a goal-directed activity) into a meaningful instrument (i.e. an artefact and schemes developed by the student). In this paper, we articulate the instrumental approach for…

Tertiary mathematics educators have been shifting towards an active learning approach to teaching. Many external factors support or hinder their transition towards evidence-based instructional practices, including, of recent international interest, the physical learning spaces. In this study in the U.S., I observed and interviewed instructors of…

In this paper, six interviews with course coordinators from two mathematics departments are analysed to better understand the relationship between course coordination and local data in the Precalculus to Calculus 2 sequence with respect to online grading platforms. We highlight several potential coordinator decisions and present illustrative…

The paper describes active learning strategies used in undergraduate college algebra and business calculus courses. There are a variety of active learning strategies described in the literature. We wanted to implement a few that together, satisfy the key characteristics of active learning strategies. The active learning strategies described in…

Teaching mathematics to future engineers while keeping up with real-world scientific evolutions is a challenge with diverse constraints and difficulties. In this article, I present and analyze the design and implementation of a Study and Research Path (SRP) in a statistics class in a French chemical engineering school. An SRP is a project-based…

Precalculus and single-variable calculus courses are a critical early juncture for the success of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students in the United States (US). The default course structure is often a required three-term sequence of precalculus, differential calculus, and integral calculus. In this paper we analyse…

This study investigates changes in instructor teaching tendencies, instructor's perception of impact on student learning and dispositions, and methods of implementation of Primary Source Projects (PSPs). PSPs are curricular modules designed to teach core mathematical topics from primary historical sources rather than from standard textbooks. In…

In this paper we present the results of a study which was carried out in an inquiry-based teaching and learning environment with the use of 'what if not' methodology coupled with the integration of dynamic geometry software. The vast majority of the students reported that they perceived themselves as participants rather than spectators. Most of…

The flipped classroom is becoming a popular course structure in many academic disciplines, but particularly in STEM disciplines, including mathematics. Considerable research has addressed potential advantages and challenges of teaching a flipped course, as well as examining students' attitudes towards the flipped classroom. Studies on students'…

Although many policy documents include equity as part of mathematics education standards and principles, researchers continue to explore means by which equity might be supported in classrooms and at the institutional level. Teaching practices that include opportunities for students to engage in active learning have been proposed to address equity.…