Professional Enhancement Programs (PEPs)
Professional Enhancement Programs (PEPs) take place each year at the Joint Mathematics Meetings (JMM). PEPs aim to improve mathematical education at all levels, contribute to building a more mathematically literate society, make mathematics and statistics more attractive as a discipline and career pathway, and enhance the careers of mathematical scientists.
Quick Facts
- Length: PEPs are hands-on and participants should leave with a tangible product, skill, or resource.
- PEPs are scheduled for two 2-hour periods.
- AMS will provide a total of \$1000 to the designated organizer of approved PEPs.
- Participants pay a fee to take the PEP.
Full Description
Mathematical and statistical instruction has grown in importance due to the expanding connections between mathematical/statistical ideas and computing, interdisciplinary foundational connections, as well as the ever-growing impact of technology on the social, economic and cultural fabric of our society. In educating a skilled and diverse workforce at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, departments must be able to provide learning opportunities for advanced topics in mathematics and statistics. In accomplishing this, departments face a wide range of challenges, including navigating the interface between online teaching, active learning and inclusive pedagogy, developing courses that address the importance of data analysis and modeling, conducting effective outreach, collaborating with broader scholarly communities, and increasing diversity in recruitment and promotion practices. Broadening access to mathematical and statistical education at all levels has important implications for addressing society?s most pressing and complex problems and for erasing long-standing socioeconomic inequities.
The Joint Mathematics Meetings (JMM) brings together the entire mathematical sciences community. Members of the community are invited to propose a PEP that will provide professional development opportunities for participants and serve to strengthen departments? efforts to meet their responsibilities and challenges.
- PEPs are expected to be hands-on and participants should leave with a tangible product.
- PEPs are scheduled for two, 2-hour sessions.
- AMS will provide a total of $1000 to the designated organizer of approved PEPs.
- Participants will pay a program fee.
Suggested Topics
- Effective pedagogical and assessment practices for online instruction in the mathematical and statistical sciences (especially given lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic)
- Inclusive pedagogy in the mathematical and statistical sciences and curricular practices that promote diversity, equity and inclusivity in undergraduate and graduate programs
- Pedagogical practices that promote active learning in specific mathematical and/or statistical courses
- Novel methods and applications for incorporating data science into established undergraduate and/or graduate courses and programs or into established faculty research agendas
- Innovative implementation of software
- Interdisciplinary research collaborations within the mathematical community or new connections between mathematics and/or statistics and other disciplines
- Any mathematical or statistical topic that enhances professional development for faculty and is suited for the PEP format
Proposal Components
- Title of the event
- Session Format (select "PEP Program")
- Name, affiliation, email address of each organizer, with one organizer designated as the contact person for all communication about the event, and their website(s), if available
- A brief public description of the topic of the proposed PEP program (character limit 500 with spacing and punctuation)
- A detailed (character limit: 3000) description of the proposed event to include participant takeaways
- Some sessions associate their event with an organization (click here for a partial list); list the organization(s) agreeing to be associated with your event
- Time slots to avoid (please indicate in the Notes section where possible)
- Other JMM events to avoid (please indicate in the Notes section where possible)
- A list of other events proposed by the organizer (please indicate in the Notes section where possible)
- If applicable, a two-digit MSC (Mathematics Subject Classification) number matching the topic of the event or a three-digit code from the New Expanded Classification System adopted for topics included previously in an MAA or other JMM session