Facilitator Bios

Francesca Gandini (Intro Workshop June 7, Working Group June 8, and Intensive Workshop July 27-29) is a visiting assistant professor at Kalamazoo College. Before moving to Kalamazoo, she studied for her Mathematics PhD at the University of Michigan. Her mathematics interests are in algebra, combinatorics, and graph theory. In her time at the University of Michigan she also developed an interest in mathematics education and obtained a Master in Post-Secondary Science Education. Her interest in IBL peaked when she started attending the annual multi-day IBL workshops at the University of Michigan and joined the local learning community on inclusive teaching. When she moved to Kalamazoo, she joined the leadership team of AMIIBL, the Alliance of Michigan IBLers, which is now part of an NSF grant for supporting and studying regional IBL communities.

Annaliese Keiser (Intro Workshop June 7 and Intensive Workshop July 27-29) is a PhD student at the University of Michigan, with a Master’s degree in mathematics from University of Michigan, studying algebraic topology. She has always been interested in mathematics education, and first heard of inquiry-based learning when applying for graduate programs. The department’s interest in IBL strongly influenced her decision to study at Michigan, and she has enjoyed being a part of a strong community dedicated to learning to be more effective and inclusive instructors. Recently, she has been using mastery/standards based grading in her classroom. She is deeply interested in issues of equity in mathematics classrooms as well as in the community, and how individuals can create long-lasting change. She also holds a leadership position in GEO 3550, and in her spare time, enjoys organizing and learning about the labor movement.

Christine Von Renesse (Intro Workshop June 7, Working Group June 8, and Intensive Workshop July 27 only) is passionate teacher, who loves teaching at all levels — from elementary school through College. She uses open inquiry techniques in all her classes, believing that this is the most effective and enjoyable way of learning and teaching. Christine has been running workshops for K-12 teachers and higher education faculty for the last 10 years, first as part of the Discovering the Art of Mathematics project, then as part of the Academy of Inquiry-Based Learning project. Christine also co-founded the New England Community for Inquiry-Based Learning and is on the NSF grant team of the national COMMIT network. Christine has a Master's Degree in Elementary Education, a Minor in Music and a Master's Degree in Mathematics from the Technical University Berlin, Germany. After receiving her Ph.D. in Mathematics at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, she is now a professor at Westfield State University, MA.

Nina White (Intro Workshop June 7, Working Group June 8, and Intensive Workshop July 27-29) has been a teaching-focused faculty member in the University of Michigan Department of Mathematics since 2013, specializing in math courses for future teachers as well as faculty development. In her capacity as faculty developer she has been running multi-day IBL workshops for college mathematics instructors since 2015 and has more recently also been facilitating a learning community focused on inclusive teaching in college mathematics classrooms. In 2018 she joined the AIBL team of national IBL workshop facilitators and also co-founded AMiIBL, the Alliance of Michigan IBLers, which is now part of an NSF grant for supporting and studying regional IBL communities. Her current research focuses on student and instructor attitudes and beliefs and their connection to classroom instructional choices and she was previously part of the research team conducting the MAA’s national study of Calculus.

Robin Wilson (Intensive Workshop July 27-29) is a Professor of Mathematics at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona where he has taught since 2007. He developed a passion for teaching mathematics as a student in UC Berkeley’s Professional Development Program started by Uri Treisman, and he has been teaching mathematics using collaborative discovery-based approaches with a focus on equity ever since. Dr. Wilson was a skeptic of IBL for a long time because of its association with the Legacy of R.L. Moore and his history of exclusion of underrepresented groups from his classrooms, but he decided to give IBL a chance when the community moved away from its association with R. L. Moore. His recent introduction to IBL came through his experience as a TIMES Fellow where was mentored into teaching Abstract Algebra in an Inquiry Oriented way. His experience with Inquiry Oriented Instruction is also grounded in his work with the Algebra Project which has been teaching mathematics through inquiry to the most underserved populations of America’s youth for over 40 years.