Time for (Research on) Change in Mathematics Departments

Abstract

This research commentary argues for more research that attends to the processes of organizational change in mathematics departments. It outlines both the ways that research on organizational change can benefit scholarship in mathematics departments, and how mathematics education researchers are needed to develop theories of change that are contextualized to the teaching and learning of undergraduate mathematics. This commentary closes with a research agenda for moving this emergent field of study forward. This agenda involves applying change theories to historical, ongoing, and new change projects in mathematics departments, while simultaneously attending to issues of equity and social justice.

The role of leadership in educational innovation: a comparison of two mathematics departments’ initiation, implementation, and sustainment of active learning

“…Although calls for educational reforms are not new (e.g., Dewey 1902), sustained reforms resulting in student-centric teaching have been elusive (e.g., Kezar 2014;Lane et al 2020;Laursen 2019;Reinholz et al 2020;Stains et al 2018). Although "bottom-up" approaches that begin with instructors have long been theorized as having more potential for sustainability and impact (e.g., Darling-Hammond 1990), reforms that do not also attempt to address cultural change and power dynamics over time tend to be short-lived (e.g., Kezar 2014).…”

“…Although "bottom-up" approaches that begin with instructors have long been theorized as having more potential for sustainability and impact (e.g., Darling-Hammond 1990), reforms that do not also attempt to address cultural change and power dynamics over time tend to be short-lived (e.g., Kezar 2014). Effective leadership for education innovations is a promising approach (Spillane and Diamond 2007), but little research on higher education leadership in mathematics exists (Elrod 2020;Reinholz et al 2020). Kezar and Gehrke (2015) define a community of transformation as a "distributed community of individuals that uses a core philosophy to create and foster new practices that can be integrated into the various institutions in which individuals work" (p. 20).…”

Contrasting undergraduate mathematics students’ approaches to learning and their interactions within two student-centred learning environments

“…However, in terms of educational development, we should aim high -for department-level research-based interventions (cf. Dolmans et al, 2016;Kember, 2016;Reinholz et al, 2020).…”

Focus on Outcomes: Fostering Systemic Departmental Improvements

“…Universities, like organizations, consist of many individuals who may have competing priorities, goals, motivations, and expertise. Thus, organizational change research provides a useful starting point for understanding how change occurs in universities and guidance for how planning and decisions are made (Reinholz, Matz et al, 2019;Reinholz et al, 2020).…”

“…As a result, innovations are often forgotten and replaced. Thus, there is a pressing need to develop robust models for change in higher education (Kezar, 2011;Reinholz et al, 2020).…”