Submitted by Dave Tannor, Kellogg PI for Teaching for PROWESS Subaward

In 2024, Kellogg Community College (KCC) was awarded an NSF grant for the State-wide
Professional Development to Promote Active Learning in Mathematics for Michigan Community
Colleges, informally, the Reconnect Mathematics Project (RMP). RMP, a partnership between
KCC and MichMATYC, aims to improve instructional practice at the two-year college level in
Michigan. Inspired by Teaching for PROWESS (TfP), the project stemmed from a desire to
support two-year college math educators in the state, improve post-secondary mathematics
education, increase access in mathematics, and broaden student participation in STEM
academic pathways. RMP’s objectives are as follows:

• Increase Michigan community college math instructors’ awareness and use of evidence-
  based instruction.
• Train and mentor instructors on how to implement and sustain active learning in their
  courses.
• Explore relationships between instructor self-efficacy for active learning and its
  implementation.

Overall, the project’s focus is on active learning, and primarily on gateway courses that are

directly impacted by Michigan Reconnect (MI Reconnect). It will run from fall 2024 to winter 2028. To achieve its

goals:

• The project will partner with six colleges from across the state, each with two math instructors. College teams will be supported with funds of up to $25,000 over the span of 2-2.5 years.
• Teams will design a project to implement evidence-based instructional practices into a course that is impacted by MI Reconnect.
• Training will be provided on active learning summer 2025 with a follow-up training fall 2027. In between, there will be ongoing faculty development.
• Instructors will be mentored over the span of two years, and college teams will be paired
  to form a faculty learning community.
• The project will also explore how to develop an instrument to assess faculty self-efficacy
  for active learning.

RMP’s efforts toward improvement builds on the work of TfP, which in part has also served as

blueprint for structuring the project. Thus, TfP is making a positive impact!