Debate #1 - On the Design of Service Courses in Undergraduate Mathematics: In our mathematics service courses, such as calculus, we are teaching the wrong things.
DEBATERS
Chantal Buteau, Brock University
Becca Carter, Queen’s University
Miroslav Lovric, McMaster University
Chester Weatherby, Wilfrid Laurier University
Bios
Chantal Buteau is a Professor of Mathematics in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Brock University. Over the past 20 years, she has often taught the two main (i.e. largest) service math courses offered at Brock, namely the applied Statistics and applied Calculus courses for other programs such as those from Business. Together with colleagues, she is currently involved in a conversation with faculty and members from Business to question and review their Calculus requirements. Chantal’s main research interests focus around the teaching and learning of computational modelling (with programming). She is recipient of the 2023 Brock’s Distinguished Teaching Award.
Becca Carter is a Ph.D. student and teaching fellow in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Queen’s University. Her research interests are in spectral graph theory and mathematics education. She is particularly interested in task design and students’ conceptions of mathematics.
Miroslav Lovric is a Professor of Mathematics at McMaster University. His research interests include Riemannian geometry, mathematics and medicine and mathematics education. Miroslav has taught mathematics to a wide variety of students from almost every program. He created a much-needed numeracy course and has been working on modifying the curricula of some of the courses taught in his department.
Chester Weatherby is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at Laurier University. His research follows two streams. The first is the transcendental nature of various infinite sums, infinite products, as well as special values of well-known functions (zeta, gamma, digamma, etc.). More recently, he has become interested in math education and has begun to study more effective methods of teaching mathematics. In particular, he is interested in the ways in which new/innovative teaching methods compare to the traditional lecture model.
