Dr. Katie A. Evans Walter Koss Associate Professor of Mathematics College of Engineering and Science

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1 Dr. Katie A. Evans Walter Koss Associate Professor of Mathematics College of Engineering and Science I would like to thank the University Senate for nominating me for this award. It is an honor to be considered among such an accomplished and effective group of educators. Undergraduate teaching activities Quarter Undergraduate Course Enrollment Retention Evaluation W MATH 482: Introduction to Real Analysis 20 90% TBD MATH 101: College Algebra 53 49% TBD F 2013 MATH 243: Calculus III 49 82% 3.9 UNIV 100: University Seminar % N/A Spr 2013 ENGR 122: Engineering Problem Solving III % 3.9 MATH 490: Topics in Mathematics (Predator-Prey 1 100% N/A Modeling Applied to Neuroscience Research, undergraduate research) W ENGR 121: Engineering Problem Solving II 17 82% 3.9 MATH 490: Topics in Mathematics (Introduction to 2 100% N/A Nonlinear Dynamics, undergraduate research) F 2012 ENGR 120: Engineering Problem Solving I 39 74% 3.8 UNIV 100: University Seminar % N/A Spr 2012 MEMT 203: Dynamics 43 93% 3.4 W MEMT 203: Dynamics 50 88% 3.5 F 2011 MATH 241: Calculus I 62 68% 3.8 W MATH 482: Introduction to Real Analysis 11 73% 3.3 Spr 2010 MATH 483/583: Introductory Analysis % 3.9 W MATH 482: Introduction to Real Analysis 11 82% 4.0 F 2009 MATH 244: Math for Engineering and Science V 40 75% 3.3 MATH 245: Math for Engineering and Science VI 35 86% 3.6 UNIV 100: University Seminar % N/A Spr 2009 MEMT 312: Dynamics 39 82% 3.4 W MEMT 312: Dynamics 35 74% 3.4 F 2008 MATH 240: Math for Engineering and Science I 42 62% 3.2 MATH 245: Math for Engineering and Science VI 40 80% 3.8 UNIV 100: University Seminar % N/A Sum 2008 MATH 241: Math for Engr & Science II % N/A MATH 244: Math for Engr & Science V 27 89% N/A Spr 2008 MATH 490: Calculus of Variations & Optimal 35 97% 3.9 Control F 2007 MATH 245: Math for Engr & Science VI 40 85% 3.7 MATH 243: Math for Engr & Science IV 43 93% 3.6 UNIV 100: University Seminar % N/A Summary undergraduate teaching evaluation over last six years: 3.65 (average) / 3.7 (median) F. Jay Taylor Undergraduate Teaching Award - Katie A. Evans 1

2 Significance of undergraduate teaching within the overall mission of Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech has evolved over the years, now placing significant emphasis on advancing the research and economic development enterprise. However, at its core, high quality undergraduate education remains the University s highest priority. Higher education itself is in a state of transition, with traditional courses taught on brick and mortar campuses being in competition with MOOCs and courses offered by for-profit institutions. I believe that for Louisiana Tech to continue on its positive trajectory, faculty must stay relevant in the classroom. We must provide to our students innovative instruction and opportunities for experiences they cannot achieve online, like project-based learning, cutting-edge undergraduate research projects, and engagement with faculty as their mentors, both in and out of the classroom. My cross-cutting approaches to both teaching and undergraduate research align well with Louisiana Tech s mission and future advancement. Because my interests and research area as an applied mathematician so closely connect to engineering, I have had the opportunity to teach both mathematics and engineering courses. The engineering courses have not always been inside my comfort zone, but I have asked for those challenging assignments so that I can stretch myself and develop further as a teacher. My multidisciplinary teaching experiences have provided me with the unique perspective of seeing two sides of the Integrated Engineering Curriculum the engineering calculus sequence on the math side and the freshman engineering sequence and sophomore dynamics, a required course for mechanical and civil engineering majors, on the engineering side. I have been able to go into calculus classes and connect the mathematics to what the students are doing in their engineering courses and vice versa. Briefly mentioning these relationships in the classroom can certainly aid in student motivation and learning. However, my diverse background affords me the opportunity to speak to these connections with depth in both the mathematics and engineering settings. Consequently, I am able to encourage my students to think critically about problems from mathematics, engineering, and their intersection. Students have commented to me that they appreciate my teaching style because I show how mathematics and engineering concepts support each other. Mentoring undergraduate students As mentioned above, I believe that mentoring undergraduate students is mission critical to the University. While mentoring may be a responsibility of each faculty member, I consider it a privilege and do not take that role lightly. Here I provide information regarding some of my more significant activities in serving as a mentor to undergraduate students as well as service activities directly related to the mentoring and development of undergraduate students. In recent years, numerous students have found their way through my office door looking for information about majoring in mathematics. As a program with a small number of majors, the undergraduate advising is handled through the Program Chair s office. However, having taught both engineering and mathematics courses, and having a reputation as being approachable and concerned about student well-being, or so I have been told, students have sought me out for advice on changing majors from engineering and career opportunities for mathematicians. I have recruited a number of these students into our program and always volunteer to serve as their advisor. On paper, I may only serve as the official academic advisor for 3-4 students at a time. However, with these students, and others who debate changing their major, I spend significant time with each one and F. Jay Taylor Undergraduate Teaching Award - Katie A. Evans 2

3 offer individualized advice by discussing the pros and cons of changing majors, doublemajoring, taking classes that will count toward multiple degree programs while students decide which major to choose, internship options, career options, etc. I cherish these interactions because I am truly committed to helping our students find paths that are right for them. I want our students to succeed professionally and personally, and as faculty, we have a responsibility to help each student find a path that will allow them to pursue their calling. Because of these interactions and my reputation among students, I have had other, more formal, mentoring opportunities. In 2012 and 2013, I delivered presentations to the Louisiana Tech chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) regarding career opportunities for mathematicians and the importance of mathematics in other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Based on my own reviewing experiences, I also served as the faculty participant for the 2013 Louisiana Tech COES NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) application tips workshop. I have also ] applying for fellowships (one former undergraduate student applying for the NSF GRFP) and one undergraduate student applying for a summer program. Each commitment involved considerable time spent coaching the student and reading and editing essays in the application package. I presently serve as the Director of Louisiana Tech s National Academy of Engineering Grand Challenge Scholars Program (NAE GCSP) (September 2013-present). One of only fourteen programs in the world, this program combines curricular and co-curricular activities in five components with the overarching goal of preparing students to solve the grand challenges facing society (see NAE fourteen Grand Challenges). I have been on the Steering Committee of the Louisiana Tech program since its formation in To aid in program recruitment, committee members visit COES University Seminar classes and give a short presentation about the program each fall. In the last two years, I have assumed the role of visiting the majority of these classes myself. Being committed to the goals of this program, I have further served as a Faculty Mentor for two student Apprentices who graduated from the program (Fall 2010-May 2012). Convicted that the Louisiana Tech Mathematics and Statistics Program needed to offer a formal way to support and encourage math majors to participate in undergraduate research opportunities, I took it upon myself to champion this cause in my program. I have become the go-to person in my program for undergraduates interested in mathematics research. I have met with numerous students to discuss different ideas for projects and also coach them on approaching other faculty to serve as research advisors. I also worked with my Program Chair to institute a policy and mechanism so that undergraduate mathematics researchers could obtain mathematics elective course credit for their participation in such projects (Math 491: Undergraduate Mathematics Research first appeared in the catalog). In December 2012, I took on two undergraduate students to complete research projects under my direction. I proposed and received an REU supplement to one of my NSF grants to financially support one of these students on a project related to biological modeling. I also proposed and received a Louisiana Board of Regents Supervised Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) award to support this same student to work on a separate project related to nanoparticle delivery for cancer therapeutics. This project is on-going. I served as Committee Co-Chair with Dr. David Hall of the COES Education Strategic Plan Team (October 2011-January 2012). The results from this committee produced the ideas that would serve as the tactics in the COES Strategic Initiative to provide innovative high quality education. I then served as a Committee Member of the Strategic Plan Implementation Team to refine proposed ideas related to education, research, and national recognition, and prioritize future activities in these areas (February 2012-May 2012). F. Jay Taylor Undergraduate Teaching Award - Katie A. Evans 3

4 I served as the faculty mentor and coach for two multidisciplinary teams of undergraduate students from the College of Engineering and Science (COES) to compete in the annual Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM) (2007, 2008). During the months prior to the contests, I met with each team for about an hour each week looking at contest problems from previous years and brainstorming about possible solutions. The 2007 Louisiana Tech team finished in the top half of all participants (1222 teams), earning an Honorable Mention distinction. I served as a LaTechSTEP Faculty Mentor on this NSF-funded project designed to encourage and prepare high school students to graduate in STEM fields in college, possibly Louisiana Tech (January 2006-May 2012). I participated in Saturday workshops with high school teachers, then their students, to demonstrate math and science applications (hands-on activities, projects, etc.). The LaTechSTEP Program team won an award from the Louisiana Tech Engineering and Science Foundation Board of Directors in January 2008 for its commitment and service to undergraduate education. Undergraduate teaching innovation I have implemented numerous teaching innovations in the classroom. Here, I document what I consider to be my most significant innovation. WeBWorK is an open source, internet-based homework delivery tool that was developed by Professors M. Gage and A. Pizer of the University of Rochester. They developed the tool in 1995 as a mechanism for effectively and efficiently delivering online homework to mathematics courses. I, along with another colleague, introduced WeBWorK to the Mathematics and Statistics Program at Louisiana Tech. In Fall 2006, my colleague and I piloted WeBWorK in Math 240, 242, and 243. I also introduced WeBWorK to other Math 243 instructors the same quarter. Prior to the introduction of WeBWorK at Louisiana Tech, homework papers for most mathematics classes were graded by undergraduate paper graders. This represented a huge non-instructional, budget expense for the college to sustain. Faculty would often collect hard copy homework assignments and give them to a grader who would only be able to grade a problem or two from each paper due to pay constraints. The grader would normally return the papers a week later, at which time students would have forgotten the topic of the assignment and thus fail to look closely at their errors. This is no longer the case. The WeBWorK system offers students real-time feedback on each problem by telling the student whether their response is correct or incorrect. At the instructor s discretion, students are afforded multiple attempts on the homework set, until a specified due date and time. Most instructors allow students an unlimited number of attempts on the homework problems. WeBWorK problems are written in a parameterized fashion, allowing a random number generator in the WeBWorK program to produce different problem sets for each student. When a student first accesses the WeBWorK server to look at a particular assignment, a personalized problem set is generated for the student. Students can print out the assignment, work the problems on paper, and then access WeBWorK at a later time to enter their answers and see if they are correct. Students may work together to solve their homework because the problems have the same structure; however, students cannot simply copy answers from their classmates. In an age when students can easily access complete solutions manuals, faculty have been left to wonder if students are actually doing their own homework assignments in a way that contributes to their understanding. Completing homework assignments in WeBWorK trains students to become more effective problem solvers since they cannot look at the answer in F. Jay Taylor Undergraduate Teaching Award - Katie A. Evans 4

5 the back of the book. Thus, they are better trained in independent thinking and better prepared for today s workforce. The pedagogical advantages of WeBWorK over traditional homework resulted in huge support by the mathematics and statistics faculty for the WeBWorK system. Therefore, my colleague and I sought to obtain a server on which to run WeBWorK and offer more classes. I wrote the proposal securing the funds from the Louisiana Tech Student Technology Fee Board. My colleague and I continued to put together WeBWorK classes and write problems if too few were available in the National Problem Library. Several other program faculty were so enthusiastic about WeBWorK that they also began putting classes together and/or writing problems. Consequently, the Mathematics and Statistics Program moved many of its undergraduate classes to WeBWorK, and COES has been able to reallocate to better use the funds it once spent for paper graders for our program (approximately $15,000 per year). Furthermore, other faculty in the College became aware and excited about WeBWorK, resulting in the development of homework sets for other engineering courses. Seeking to leverage the enthusiasm for WeBWorK and the existing efforts of the faculty, I served as PI on an NSF proposal to extend the original intent of WeBWorK by moving into engineering curricula, which has only been done to a limited extent. The project was funded in Summer 2013 and is now on-going. The project will result in freely available homework problems for three engineering courses that are part of the core curriculum of any engineering program: Statics and Strength of Materials, Circuits, and Thermodynamics. Even commercially available digital homework packages are only now moving into the engineering arena. Therefore, evaluation and assessment about the effects of electronically delivered homework in engineering curricula is an open area of study which will be addressed in this project as well. This project also represents a partnership with Bossier Parish Community College (BPCC). A Memorandum of Understanding already exists between Louisiana Tech and BPCC to establish an Associate of Science (A.S.) degree in Engineering at BPCC. The program allows a student planning to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering at Louisiana Tech to satisfy the first 60 hours of the bachelor s curriculum while at BPCC. As part of the agreement, Louisiana Tech has provided BPCC with academic and support resources, including curriculum information. This WeBWorK project will strengthen the existing collaboration Louisiana Tech has with BPCC. The project citation, including involved faculty, is as follows: OPES (Opensource Problems in Engineering Studies): Making the WeB WorK, National Science Foundation, Katie Evans (PI), Melanie Watson (Co-PI), Niel Crews, Paul Hummel, Dave Meng, Michael Swanbom, and Bossier Parish Community College faculty June Schneider and Clif Frilot, $250,000. Presentations related to undergraduate teaching American Association of University Women meeting at Louisiana Tech, panel speaker, February 9, 2014, invited. Where are the mathematicians (and what are they doing anyway)?!?, Louisiana Tech chapter meeting of NSBE, October 23, 2013, presentation modified from previous year, invited. COES NSF GRFP Workshop, speaker, September 19, 2013, invited. Where are the mathematicians (and what are they doing anyway)?!?, Louisiana Tech chapter meeting of NSBE, December 18, 2012, invited. F. Jay Taylor Undergraduate Teaching Award - Katie A. Evans 5