Making Mathematics Accessible to Non-Mathematics Majors

The purpose of this workshop is to present alternative strategies of instruction that will make the subjects of mathematics and statistics more accessible to students with non-mathematics backgrounds. It is not surprising that introductory mathematics and statistics courses can seem a little overwhelming and inaccessible to students with non-mathematics backgrounds. As a result, these students tend to feel distanced from the course material, or even discouraged from approaching instructors or teaching assistants (TAs) for help. The audience for this workshop includes graduate student TAs, post-doctoral fellows, instructors, lecturers, and anyone who wants to make mathematics and statistics a more engaging subject for students without the technical background. The focus of this workshop will be two-fold. First, we will examine how mathematics/statistics instructors can explain concepts to students of different backgrounds effectively via various role-play scenarios. Second, we will use the jigsaw technique to break up complex mathematical problems into pieces with the aim of encouraging collaboration and student engagement (Perkins & Saris, 2001). By attending this workshop, instructors will be able to help undergraduate students see mathematics as a more enjoyable learning experience that they can apply in their own respective fields. These two activities will help students with non-mathematical backgrounds feel more engaged with the material and become more confident when asking for help from an instructor or TA.