Engaging with mathematics: how mathematical art, robotics and other activities are used to engage students with university mathematics and promote employability skills

There has been much discussion about what exactly employability skills are for mathematics students and how they can be embedded, promoted and developed in mathematics curricula. Mathematics graduates are highly employable and are valued for their reasoning skills, analytical and logical approaches to problem solving, and their abstract thinking. It is the more general employability skills that are more difficult to promote in a mathematics specific context within programmes. When designing the BSc and MMath Mathematics programmes at Middlesex University the team considered how to develop and enhance employability skills whilst promoting and engaging students with all aspects of mathematics. In this paper we will discuss the types of skills developed, the activities used to promote them, and reflect on the successes and challenges of the venture. Additionally we will discuss plans for future development and enhancement of the initiative

Building mathematics: how the construction and use of artefacts can be used to engage students with their learning of Mathematics

Building mathematics: how the construction and use of artefacts can be used to engage students with their learning of Mathematics

Thematic problem solving: A case study on an approach to teaching problem solving in undergraduate mathematics

Specialist mathematics, statistics and operational research (MSOR) programmes are recognised as intellectually demanding, and require students to formulate, abstract, and solve mathematical problems in a rigorous way. The process of developing the skills to do this well and communicate results can be challenging for learners as it requires a deep understanding of themes in mathematics as well as methods for solving problems. In this article we demonstrate how elements of Freudenthal’s Realistic Mathematics Education (Freudenthal, 1968, 1973) can be applied to teaching problem solving in undergraduate mathematics programmes. We describe an approach that moves away from standard practices and goes beyond problem solving methods to develop an understanding of common themes in mathematics

Programming in groups: developing industry-facing software development skills in the undergraduate mathematics curriculum

Programming is increasingly becoming an expected graduate skill for mathematics students. We argue in this article that programming should be given the same priority as any other graduate skill. Given the practical and philosophical constraints placed on undergraduate mathematics curricula, however, we acknowledge the difficulty in introducing, in a meaningful way, many of the core ideas of programming. We therefore present a case study of a second year course on an undergraduate mathematics programme that introduces Object Oriented Programming and aspects of software design, as well as key practical skill such as version control. We will argue that group assessment in this context is a more natural setting for students to be working and reflects more closely the experience of programming in industry; furthermore, it serves as a convenient platform to introduce students to aspects of software design and practical programming considerations. We will present an example of the type of assessment that can be used and how Version Control Systems like Git can be used to give students a more realistic experience of programming with the advantage of allowing tutors and other group members to track student work

Engaging with maths online - teaching mathematics collaboratively and inclusively through a pandemic and beyond

This case study details several concrete approaches to integrating the use of student-loaned iPads in the teaching of mathematics in Higher Education. Although there is a scarcity of rigorous studies into the efficacy of tablet devices for improved educational outcomes, previous case studies have argued that tablet devices, if used, should be integrated into the whole learning experience. The mathematics teaching team at Middlesex University have developed an inclusive digital pedagogy over the last five years that enabled us to effectively respond to the remote teaching imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic by loaning iPads to all students on specialist mathematics programmes. As we begin the return to campus we continue to integrate these devices into our teaching to address the observed “digital divide” in Generation-Z students which is characterised not by access to smart devices but by the digital skills to use them as effective learning tools. This is particularly relevant at Middlesex University which is disproportionately affected by digital poverty amongst its student population. We discuss the use of virtual whiteboard apps, the necessity of handwritten mathematics, the rich integration of multimedia content, persistent collaborative “problem solving spaces”, and how a common hardware platform allows for varied and equitable inclusive assessment. We also report the results of students’ surveys of iPad use during the remote-only 2020-21 academic year

Programming in groups: developing industry-facing software development skills in the undergraduate mathematics curriculum

Programming is increasingly becoming an expected graduate skill for mathematics students. We argue in this article that programming should be given the same priority as any other graduate skill. Given the practical and philosophical constraints placed on undergraduate mathematics curricula, however, we acknowledge the difficulty in introducing, in a meaningful way, many of the core ideas of programming. We therefore present a case study of a second year course on an undergraduate mathematics programme that introduces Object Oriented Programming and aspects of software design, as well as key practical skill such as version control. We will argue that group assessment in this context is a more natural setting for students to be working and reflects more closely the experience of programming in industry; furthermore, it serves as a convenient platform to introduce students to aspects of software design and practical programming considerations. We will present an example of the type of assessment that can be used and how Version Control Systems like Git can be used to give students a more realistic experience of programming with the advantage of allowing tutors and other group members to track student work

Identification of Candidate Regulators of Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation by Comparative Phosphoprotein Affinity Profiling

Embryonic stem cells are a unique cell population capable both of self-renewal and of differentiation into all tissues in the adult organism. Despite the central importance of these cells, little information is available regarding the intracellular signaling pathways that govern self-renewal or early steps in the differentiation program. Embryonic stem cell growth and differentiation correlates with kinase activities, but with the exception of the JAK/STAT3 pathway, the relevant substrates are unknown. To identify candidate phosphoproteins with potential relevance to embryonic stem cell differentiation, a systems biology approach was used. Proteins were purified using phosphoprotein affinity columns, then separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, and detected by silver stain before being identified by tandem mass spectrometry. By comparing preparations from undifferentiated and differentiating mouse embryonic stem cells, a set of proteins was identified that exhibited altered post-translational modifications that correlated with differentiation state. Evidence for altered post-translational modification included altered gel mobility, altered recovery after affinity purification, and direct mass spectra evidence. Affymetrix microarray analysis indicated that gene expression levels of these same proteins had minimal variability over the same differentiation period. Bioinformatic annotations indicated that this set of proteins is enriched with chromatin remodeling, catabolic, and chaperone functions. This set of candidate phosphoprotein regulators of stem cell differentiation includes products of genes previously noted to be enriched in embryonic stem cells at the mRNA expression level as well as proteins not associated previously with stem cell differentiation status

Engaging with Maths Online - teaching mathematics collaboratively and inclusively through a pandemic and beyond

This case study details several concrete approaches to integrating the use of student-loaned iPads in the teaching of mathematics in Higher Education. Although there is a scarcity of rigorous studies into the efficacy of tablet devices for improved educational outcomes, previous case studies have argued that tablet devices, if used, should be integrated into the whole learning experience. The mathematics teaching team at Middlesex University have developed an inclusive digital pedagogy over the last five years that enabled us to effectively respond to the remote teaching imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic by loaning iPads to all students on specialist mathematics programmes. As we begin the return to campus, we continue to integrate these devices into our teaching to address the observed “digital divide” in Generation-Z students which is characterised not by access to smart devices but by the digital skills to use them as effective learning tools. This is particularly relevant at Middlesex University which is disproportionately affected by digital poverty amongst its student population. We discuss the use of virtual whiteboard apps, the necessity of handwritten mathematics, the rich integration of multimedia content, persistent collaborative “problem solving spaces”, and how a common hardware platform allows for varied and equitable inclusive assessment. We also report the results of students’ surveys of iPad use during the remote-only 2020-21 academic year

Revising the role of the history of mathematics in post-pandemic world

In this short philosophical and discursive paper, the main objective is to reassess a new emergent role of the history of mathematics in order to bring about greater diversity and engagement in the mathematical sciences. The discussion is based around the project undertaken at a North London university and their partner pre-university college, which piloted the larger national project in the UK in the local context. The success of the project, it is further suggested, would greatly benefit from a framework in which the history of mathematics as a humanistic discipline is closely related to viewing mathematics as a virtuous practice. We also include a short summary about the lives and careers of two Serbian mathematicians, Judita Cofman, and Milica Ilić-Dajović, to showcase how learning about the ways in which marginalisation takes place can help students position themselves and contextualise their priorities as they enter the professional mathematics landscape