Current and former graduate students Daniel Kowalczyk, Alex Fritschi, Austin Bell, and Daniel Havens will participate in the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) 2024 Spring Teaching Conference: Community-Engaged Teaching and Learning. They are organizing a panel that will take place on Thursday, April 4, from 3-4pm, virtually via Zoom. According to the conference webpage the Zoomlink will be forthcoming.
The panel's topic is on "Presenting Mathematics at Open Chalk".
“Open Chalk” is a monthly event in the Mathematics and Statistics department that invites undergraduate and graduate students to share mathematics they care about in front of the chalkboard to an audience of their peers. The panelists, who are organizers and participants on the monthly "Open Chalk" events, plan to discuss this inclusive practice and the way this venue develops belonging and connection in the department and with our community.
This event began in Fall 2023 and provides a venue for performing math, but more importantly also fosters a community that shares ideas and supports others through inevitable presentation slip ups. Low-stakes opportunities to share mathematics that students care about, often not common in math courses, can build confidence to communicate in both undergrad and grad students while simultaneously building skills for future conference talks or poster presentations. Furthermore, opening up the chalkboard to students is an inclusive practice that helps students see themselves connected to a valuable tradition in math. The "Open Chalk" has attracted community college students who plan to transfer into UNM and those who are just starting at UNM to find connection. This work is specially meaningful as we restore the fabric of our community after the pandemic years!
This is at least the second year our students have participated in the Spring Teaching conference. In Spring 2023, graduate students Austin Bell, Daniel Havens, and Jose García organized and lead a panel on "Humanizing Math Education", and Daniel Kowalczyk organized and lead the mini workshop "Connecting the Head and Hands in Statistics".
