About Us

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Supporting and Sustaining Scholarly Mathematics Teaching (S3MT)

is a three-year project that brings together a collection of college mathematics faculty from multiple institutions to form a mutually supportive and collaborative community of teacher-scholars who are committed to conducting research on the effectiveness of active learning in the context of teaching their flipped mathematics courses.

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This project is lead by a team of PIs at the University of Hartford who, following their success with Flipping Calculus (NSF TUES DUE 1245059) and in reflection on the numerous inquiries from across the country, recognized a clear need for support and professional development for faculty who are seeking to conduct SoTL around pedagogical innovations but are lacking sufficient resources at their particular institution. Ultimately, this project seeks to develop a cadre of scholarly teachers who, with three years of guidance and professional development, will themselves be equipped to not only do their own research but will also be able to reach out to faculty at their own institutions and beyond, creating the mutually supportive and collaborative virtual community that is necessary to successfully develop and further SoTL on innovations in mathematics education. 

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Qualitative data, including open-ended survey items and journal responses, will be analyzed on a semester-by-semester basis using thematic analysis (Braun & Clark, 2006). Themes emerging from the data collected each semester will be compared to themes from previous semesters. This process of ongoing and comparative data analysis will allow the research team to track changes over time. In addition, information from these analyses will be used to guide the direction of the webinars and summer workshops. Details about data collection and data analysis for each research question are outlined below.

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RQ1: What are the challenges and benefits for instructors who are teaching flipped mathematics classes using active-learning strategies?

RQ2: What supports do mathematics instructors need in order to implement active-learning strategies in their classrooms?

RQ3: To what extent does participation in this project change teachers’ practice with respect to the use of active-learning strategies in flipped classes?

RQ4: What challenges do mathematicians face when using or engaging in SoTL research?

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“It is invaluable to have a friend who shares your interests and helps you stay motivated.” — Maryam Mirzakhani

Our Mission

Providing a multi-institutional cohort of mathematics faculty with a supportive and like-minded academic community that will encourage them to persist with innovative teaching strategies, give them the opportunity to discuss and reflect on their beliefs about teaching, and support them through their SoTL research endeavors. 

Our Vision

The establishment of a network of mutually supportive and collaborative scholarly teachers experienced in SoTL, connected in person, and virtually through project management software and social media, who, through this community, will be able to support colleagues interested in SoTL, in college-level mathematics courses at their own institutions and nationwide. 

Contact Us to Learn More!