Introduction to the Special Issue: Using Inquiry-Based Learning in Mathematics for Liberal Arts Courses

Abstract

Mathematics for liberal arts courses are a staple of most mathematics departments and are often populated with students who have disengaged from mathematics. Inquiry-based learning is a student-centered pedagogical tool for re-engaging students in mathematics. In this paper, we introduce a Special Issue of PRIMUS on “Using Inquiry-Based Learning in Mathematics for Liberal Arts Courses.”

Notes

¹ The Moore Method is one variant of IBL; other variants include the modified Moore method, problem-based learning, and guided (re)-discovery.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Philip K. Hotchkiss

Philip K. Hotchkiss loves working with all levels of students and uses inquiry-based learning (IBL) almost exclusively in all his classes. He really appreciates the closer interactions with his students and the opportunities for deeper mathematical understanding that an IBL classroom provides. Philip earned his B.S. in Mathematics from Union College in 1987; his Ph.D. from The University at Albany, the State University of New York in 1994; and has been at Westfield State University since 1998.

Volker Ecke

Volker Ecke loves diving into a mathematical inquiry with his students where they can discover their own power in making sense of mathematics, often for the first time. After undergraduate studies in mathematics and physics in Germany, Volker earned a Ph.D. in Computational Algebraic Geometry and Theoretical Computer Science before joining the faculty of Westfield State University.

Julian F. Fleron

Julian F. Fleron’s first intellectual love was inspired by Carl Sagan’s Cosmos, which aired during his early teenage years. This passion drew him to Sagan’s home institution of Cornell University as an undergraduate and it was there that passions for mathematics and mathematics education also blossomed. As a Ph.D. mathematician (1994 in several complex variables) he follows Sagan’s exemplar still, not through astronomy and cosmology but rather as an ambassador for the much-maligned subject of mathematics. A proud descendent of a long line of teachers, his greatest teaching experiences are generally those which involve disenfranchised students awakening to see that in mathematics they can find beauty, feel joy, and realize incredible things are waiting for them to discover.

Christine von Renesse

Christine von Renesse uses open inquiry techniques in all of her teaching. Her passion for music and dancing has been woven into her teaching as part of her inquiry-based approach to mathematics for liberal arts classes. Christine has advanced degrees in Elementary Education, Music and Mathematics from the Technical University Berlin, Germany and a Ph.D. in Computational Algebraic Geometry. She is now at Westfield State University.