From Data Science to BioCalculus: Transforming Undergraduate Math Curricula At Every Level
Undergraduate mathematics curricula must respond to a variety of student demographics, academic interests and workforce ambitions. In the UCI Department of Mathematics, this includes service courses like BioCalculus, transition courses like Intro to Abstract Math, and concentration tracks, like Data Science. We will describe three grant-funded efforts to revamp critical UCI Mathematics courses and curricular pathways. All of these efforts require significant interdepartmental and inter-campus collaborations that respond to changing curricular and workforce needs for our student learners. A description of these efforts and their potential to transform the student math experience will be highlighted in this talk.
Born and raised in Southern California, Bob Pelayo earned his Ph.D. in Mathematics from Caltech. After 11 years of teaching at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, Pelayo began as teaching faculty at UCI in 2019. Currently, he serves as Vice Chair for Undergraduate Studies - Curriculum and Planning for the UCI Department of Mathematics. He has also successfully obtained several education-focused grants: he serves as Pl on the $1.4M BioCalculus PEA Project, funded by the California Learning Lab, as CoPl on the $1.5M Southern California Data Science Fellowship program, funded by the NSF, and Co-Pl on the $300K Noticing in Mathematics for Student Success program, funded by the NSF. In addition to curriculum development within UCI, Pelayo also has significant experience in creating high school curricula for the College Board and the Hawaii State Department of Education and had previously founded the Data Science program at the University of Hawaii at Hilo.