Introduction
Many faculty were interested in teaching linear algebra with inquiry in Spring 2020 so we had a mixture of visits and collaborations happening:
Chrissi von Renesse (Westfield State, MA) and Rachel Schwell (CCSU, CT) are both members of the NE-IBLM leadership team, and co-creators (along with the other members of the team) of the Faculty Fellowship & Coaching Program. Erin Rizzie (UConn, CT) was an applicant to this program specifically for linear algebra for spring 2020, and as Chrissi and Rachel were both teaching linear algebra that semester, we created a team of three: Chrissi as lead mentor, Erin as faculty fellow, and Rachel as apprentice mentor. Megan Heenehan (ECSU, CT) had been informally working with Erin and Chrissi and so she became a fourth member of the team in an unofficial capacity. Debbie Borkovitz (Boston University, MA) was also teaching linear algebra using the same book as Chrissi, Erin, and Megan, and so Debbie and Chrissi exchanged visits during the online phase of the spring semester. Our linear algebra classes differed in sizes: Erin had the largest with two classes of about 35 students, Chrissi had 20, Rachel had 15, Megan had 30 and Debbie had two classes of about 30 students each. We reflected together on our experiences in a series of blogs...
Blog 2: Megan's Experience
At the fall NE-IBLM meeting I was excited to learn that Erin would also be teaching Linear Algebra and wanted to implement IBL techniques for the first time during the spring 2020 semester. It had been quite a while since I taught linear (before I knew anything about IBL), and I wanted to completely revamp the course. Erin and I started exchanging emails about materials and plans. When she got the faculty coaching fellowship she and Chrissi kindly included me in meetings. It was helpful to be part of these meetings early on. During the meetings I was reminded of IBL techniques and exposed to new ideas. Erin was much more familiar with the course material which helped when choosing a book and in trying to figure out where students would struggle. It is always helpful to hear how others are organizing their course and this was no exception.
After our meetings during the winter break, I felt ready to lead a more active inquiry-based linear algebra course. In person, for the most part, the course went well. It helped that I had had about half of the students before, so they were used to a more active classroom. The students found the activities from Understanding Linear Algebra engaging and challenging. Activities often took longer than I expected, but groups were having meaningful conversations. One thing I need to improve upon is how I ask questions of the students, how I get information out of them, and my whole class discussions. In observing Chrissi’s Math for Liberal Arts course I tried to pay close attention to how she asked questions of the students and her prompts for students. I often feel like my questions of students give too much away and I’ve been told my face gives a lot away when students answer questions.
For me, the whole structure of my course came crashing down when we moved online. Between technology, my emotional state, and my students’ emotional state everything just seemed overwhelming. Focusing on my synchronous class meetings while hearing my daughter in the other room was very hard. Students were struggling with family responsibilities, technology, additional work hours in grocery stores and nursing homes, motivation, and the general state of the world. I used Microsoft Teams, which was great for organizing everything, but not great for transitions from whole class discussions to groups. It felt like everything took 5 times longer and we were getting nowhere. My “mini lectures” started being not so mini and eventually I gave up on the group work (it just didn’t seem productive). Students still completed preview activities, but in class it became a combination of lecture, students working individually, and whole class discussion. Within this small IBL group, I started to feel like an imposter. Of course, when I admitted to the group that I had given up on most of the IBL components of the course the group was extremely supportive. Admitting this to them and hearing their reaction allowed me to make peace with what the course became. It was a good reminder that I am usually my own worst critic and sometimes it is OK, even necessary, to let some things go.
