RUME 28
2026
Alexandria, Virginia
Mentoring, Belonging, and Feedback Loops: A System Dynamics Model of Foundational Mathematics Course Coordination
Page: 1395
Mentoring and coordination are central to supporting graduate student instructors (GSIs) as they learn to teach foundational mathematics courses within complex collegiate systems. In the context of professional development sessions for eight faculty members who are foundational math course coordinators, we present a system dynamics model built using Vensim software (Mohaghar et al., 2017). This model simulates how mentoring structures, coordinator orientations, and institutional policies interact to shape instructor belonging and the use of active learning (AL) strategies over time. The model comprises 12 interacting variables connected through three key feedback loops: the Mentoring Loop, Humanistic Growth Orientation Loop, and Exclusion Brake. These loops represent dynamic pathways through which mentoring fosters AL, belonging reinforces growth-oriented coordination, and institutional pressures can either suppress or sustain support. Variables such as Shared Time, Recognition Events, Course Resource Rationales, and Barriers to AL function as policy levers that influence the system’s long-term behavior. Rather than isolating individual factors, the model provides a generative framework for examining how coordinator orientation, structural design, and cultural signaling co-produce inclusive learning environments that can support sustained instructional growth in coordinated mathematics courses.