I. Call for Conference Reports

As part of its ongoing activities to foster research in undergraduate mathematics education and the dissemination of such research, the Special Interest Group of the Mathematical Association of America on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education (SIGMAA on RUME) presents its thirteenth Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education.

We welcome submissions for two types of Reports:

Contributed Research Report

The SIGMAA on RUME aims to foster a professional atmosphere for quality research in the teaching and learning of undergraduate mathematics. We solicit proposals for contributed research reports presenting results from completed research studies on undergraduate mathematics education that address one or more of the following themes:

  • results of current research
  • contemporary theoretical perspectives and research paradigms
  • innovative methodologies and analytical approaches as they pertain to the study of undergraduate mathematics education

Preliminary Research Report

The SIGMAA on RUME seeks to support the professional development of new researchers and new research ideas in the field of undergraduate mathematics education. To foster constructive discussions toward this goal, we encourage graduate students, new PhDs, undergraduate mathematics educators, and experienced researchers to present preliminary reports on research projects in early stages of implementation or analysis. Significant discussion time will follow each presentation to allow for feedback and suggestions for future directions for the research. Proposals for preliminary reports are expected to include a list of questions that will be posed to the audience during the discussion portion of presentation to help further the research. These questions are part of the two page limit.

II. Proposal Submission

All proposals should be in 12 point, Times New Roman font and be sent as an

attachment (pdf) by e-mail to the Chair of the Program Committee at , with the subject line: RUME 2010 Proposal.

Proposals must conform to the following format provided below and be received by October 5, 2009.

Please keep other questions, queries, and correspondence to the Chair of the Program Committee separate from the e-mail submission of your proposal.

In the body of the e-mail, please include the

Name

Institutional affiliation

e-mail address

for each presenter or co-author. To aid in construction of the conference abstract webpage, please follow this template exactly for each presenter's or co-author's contact information. To help us maintain a blind initial review process, names and institutional affiliations should ONLY appear in the body of your email and not in the attached document containing your proposal. Indicate in both the body of the email and at the top of your attached proposal for which type of session your paper is intended:

  • Contributed Research Report
  • Preliminary Research Report.

Include a brief but informative title (in Title Case) preceding your proposal. An example of title case is: The Case of John's Confusion with Multiplication. This is different from sentence case which is like the following: The case of John's confusion with multiplication, or using all capital letters: THE CASE OF JOHN'S CONFUSION WITH MULTIPLICATION. Include below your title an empty line and then a 100 to 150-word abstract. A handout of all conference abstracts will be produced prior to the conference. Note that your abstract will be included only after your registration payment has been received.

Below the abstract, include 3-5 keywords to describe your paper. When appropriate, your keyword list should include descriptors of the mathematical focus, theoretical perspective, and/or methodology. For example, keywords to describe a design experiment in abstract algebra might include: abstract algebra, design experiment, Realistic Mathematics Education

Other examples of keywords, but not all inclusive, are:

Calculus, precalculus, preservice secondary teachers, differential equations, linear algebra, elementary teacher training, number theory, transition to proof, teaching assistants (TA), discourse analysis, classroom research, cognitive research, new methodology, teaching experiment, classroom teaching experiment, social construction of meaning, cognitive science, student understandings of proof, etc.

The title, abstract, list of keywords, and text of the proposal should all be single spaced, in Times New Roman 12 point font. The length of the proposals text should be 1-2 pages in this single spaced font. (As a rule of thumb, this is about 1200 words, but please stick to the 2 page limit, not including references or abstract.) Remember, it is your responsibility to "blind" the proposals as much as possible. One or more tables or figures may be included that do not count in the page limit or word count, IF they increase the total proposal by less than half a page.

Proposals must address as many of the following considerations as possible:

  • An explicit statement of the question(s) or issue(s) the research explores.
  • Relation of this work to the research literature
  • Theoretical perspective and/or conceptual framework
  • Research methodology
  • Results of the research
  • Applications to/implications for teaching practice or further research
  • A short list of references should be given at the end of the proposal. The references do not count toward the two-page limit.

III. Proposal Review Process

Proposals must address an issue relevant to RUME, address considerations as outlined in the Proposal Submission guidelines (above), and be well-written. Proposals will be reviewed according to the following considerations:

  • Does the proposal explore a significant issue/question relevant to RUME?
  • How does it relate to prior research on related topics/issues?
  • Is the theoretical perspective clearly outlined?
  • Is there an appropriate choice of research methodology?
  • Is it clear what the conclusions/main claims are?
  • Are those supported by data?
  • Does the research contribute to teaching practice/theory development?

All proposals will be reviewed by the Conference Program Committee. Acceptance and declination decisions for each proposal will be made by the committee, who will then create the program of talks. The final program will consist of a blend of contributed talks and preliminary report presentations.