The Daily Bulletin Archive

Jane Cushman, associate professor of mathematics, was one of several faculty members from across the country selected to serve as workshop facilitators for Cal Poly’s Academy of Inquiry Based Learning (AIBL) program. Funded by a $2.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation, the AIBL’s 2016 Summer Inquiry Based Learning workshops will provide professional development opportunities for math instructors across the country to increase inquiry-based learning (IBL) in the classroom. Cushman joined fellow facilitation team members at Cal Poly over Presidents Day weekend to plan content for the summer workshops. These teams will train other math instructors on how to implement IBL methods in their own classes.

Workshop participants are college math instructors and professors new to IBL. This year, 65 percent of the participants are from minority-serving institutions. Research has shown that IBL is especially effective at mitigating achievement gaps in math courses within minority groups and women.