Teaching Colloquium Series

Upcoming Colloquia

TBA

Recent Colloquia

Date and Time: Friday, April 17, 2026, at 11 AM

Location: PB 013

Speaker: Constance Jones, Ph.D.

Title: Teaching Puzzlers for Your Consideration

Abstract: Part of teaching involves careful planning, often done months before setting foot in the classroom. Another part of teaching involves swift and fairly public decision making, done "on the fly." Let's work through some teaching "puzzlers for your consideration" taken from the book The Essentials of College Teaching by Dr. Jones, with Dr. Jones.

Short Speaker Bio: Constance Jones earned her BA in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley and her PhD in
Human Development and Family Studies from the Pennsylvania State University. She joined the faculty in the Department of Psychology in 1993. Dr. Jones served as chair of the department for almost 10 years, allowing her to add others' stories of teaching successes and mishaps to her own personal repertoire.

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Date and Time: Friday, October 31, 2025, at 12PM

Location: PB 013 or on Zoom

Speaker: Yaomingxin Lu, Ph.D.

Title: The Power of Formative Assessment

Abstract: How can we know what our students truly understand before the high-stakes exam? In this talk, I will discuss how to use formative assessment as our daily "teaching compass." As math education research demonstrates, formative assessment is one of the most powerful tools for improving student achievement. Moving beyond theory, this talk will provide instructors with a practical toolkit of efficient, low-stakes techniques—such as diagnostic polls, exit tickets, and Think-Pair-Share—tailored for mathematics settings. Learn how a well-designed formative assessment can provide you with richer data than a stack of homework, empowering you to adjust your teaching in real-time and help students become
active partners in their learning.

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Date and Time: Friday, October 3, 2025, at 12PM

Location: PB 013 or on Zoom

Speaker: Lance Burger, Ph.D.

Title: What is DNR-Based Instruction?

Abstract: This talk will discuss work by mathematics education researcher Guershon Harel elaborating on his framework for teaching mathematics. The main idea of DNR is based on instruction centered on ‘intellectual need,’ rather than ‘rewards and punishments.’ The talk will focus on presenting Harel’s three key concepts for implementing this idea, being: Duality, Necessity and Repeated Reasoning, in a context of teaching about complex numbers.

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Date and Time: Friday, August 29, 2025, at 12PM

Location: PB 390 or on Zoom

Speaker: Oscar Vega, Ph.D.

Title: Increasing Engagement in our Classrooms: Group Work and Asking Good Questions

Abstract: Maintaining students engaged in class has been shown to create a positive effect on the learning of mathematics at all levels. In this presentation, I will channel information that I have come across regarding group work and the art of asking questions that elicit participation in class. I may share some anecdotal evidence from my personal experience, though I am a practitioner and not an expert. In any case, I hope that this presentation will generate discussions about teaching mathematics among colleagues.