PROCEEDINGS OF THE 23RD ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2020
Boston, Massachusetts
Departmental change in reaction to the threat of losing calculus: Three cases
Page: 151
This paper presents narratives of change at three university mathematics departments in response to administrative insistence on improvements in the face of pressure from engineering colleges. Specifically, these three departments were faced with the prospect of losing calculus teaching to another unit on campus and reacted to prevent that outcome. These three departments initiated change efforts including the recruitment of newly appointed leaders to oversee improvements, and all have successfully maintained control of calculus because of perceived program improvements. Drawing on sociological perspectives, we discuss the ways in which change was navigated and negotiated at each site. We found common characterizations of change leadership limited these descriptions of complex change processes, suggesting a need to refine such characterizations in ways that capture more nuanced situations.