2023 IMACC Conference

The 2023 IMACC Conference was be held Friday, March 31, and Saturday, April 1, at Allerton Park in Monticello, IL.

Visit the 2023 IMACC Conference Photos page for a selection of photos from this year’s conference!

See below for the conference proceedings. The full Conference Program is also available.

Keynote and General Sessions

Making Students as Smart as Their Phones & Fixing Their Common Bugs
Dr. Alan Zollman

Let’s Talk Bots
Robert Capetta
Internet applications like wolframalpha, photomath, mathway, symbolab and others present opportunities and difficulties for teaching and learning mathematics. How can they best be used to support rather than replace student understanding? Is it possible to design assignments that are more difficult for the bots to solve?

The Beauty of Mathematics in Gershwin’s Jazz
Dr. Paula Wilhite
The rhythm and instrumentation of the jazz of George Gershwin, regarded as the most important American musical works of the 20th century, is rich in mathematical design and structure. Selections of Gershwin’s wealth of compositions can be attributed to variations created with mathematical systems and will be analyzed for complex patterns and style.

The Beauty of Mathematics in Beethoven’s Compositions
Dr. Paula Wilhite
The beauty of the patterns of mathematics in Ludwig Beethoven’s romantic style of musical works may explain how his creativity appeared unaffected by his tragic deafness. Famous compositions from Beethoven’s artistry will be examined for complex mathematical design.

Concurrent Sessions

Pointless Grading
Peter Keep
In this session, I will share my experience transitioning my courses away from a traditional points-based grading system to alternative grading schemes. We will discuss different iterations of these grading schemes, as well as their impact on student success.

Leveling the Playing Field
Cindy Johnson
It is five days before classes start and you are told you have a visually impaired student in one of your classes. How do you adapt your coursework? Pedagogies and resources will be discussed.

Initial Results from the Transitional Math Program
Matthew Wechter
District-wide implementation of the College of Dupage transitional math program started in 2020 and there is finally initial data to share. This talk will promote an open conversation about the successes and failures of transitional math so far.

Developmental Education Reform Roundtable
Ellen Field and Michael Caparula
Join us for our ongoing discussion of how schools are implementing changes due to recent legislation HB2170. Learn how other community colleges in the state have redesigned their remedial math classes and share what’s happening at your school.

The Mathematics of Ancient Greece
Kyriakos Kypriotakis
Influenced initially by the Egyptians, Greek mathematicians would push on to make breakthroughs such as Pythagoras’ theory of right-angled triangles, by focusing on the abstract, bringing clarity and precision to age-old mathematical problems. Their solutions provided the fundamental mathematical building blocks that all future mathematicians and scientists would build upon right up to the present day.

Teaching Mathematics with Metaphors
Robert Capetta
Sharing cookies is the earliest mathematical metaphor that many students see as a tool for learning arithmetic. Elevator tickets, clothes lines, and flooring are just a few examples of metaphors that may help students internalize more sophisticated concepts. This presentation will examine metaphors for topics that range from arithmetic to calculus and attendees will encouraged to share of their favorites.

Standards Based Grading: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
Matthew Lee
In this session I will introduce standards based grading and discuss its pros and cons. In a sentence, standards based grading is an alternative assessment system focused on growth through revision and reflection.

Birds of a Feather: Panel Discussion on Experiences of Online Teaching and Learning
Sunil Koswatta & Omar Adawi
The session will offer the opportunity to discuss faculty experiences with online teaching and learning at various community colleges in Illinois.

DERA: Where we are 2 years into the legislation
Kathleen Almy
The Developmental Education Reform Act (DERA) has impacted every community college in Illinois. This session will give a status update on implementations based on work being done with over 25 colleges in the state through Women Employed’s ASPIRE project and the Partnership for College Completion.

Designing Assignments around the Pesky Math Tech and Homework Helpers
Peter Keep
Chat AI, PhotoMath, and Integral Solvers, oh no…Instead of putting ourselves in an adversarial position against students and technology, let’s investigate some interesting ways of engaging students in deep mathematical thinking while also using these tools.

Teaching to the Masses: Corequisites
Cindy Johnson and Gary Lewis
Responding to state mandates to reduce developmental coursework, Heartland’s first attempts were in the preparation for our non-STEM offerings. In this session we will share victories and struggles in scaffolding underprepared students in Statistical and Quantitative Literacy.

Math Accessibility Roundtable
Michael Caparula and Denise Caparula
Having trouble with accessibility compliance in your tests, homework, and handouts? Confused about what’s actually required? After presenting what IS required, attendees will discuss what works for them at their school.

Department Chair/Lead Faculty Discussion
Abby Bailey
This is an open discussion for faculty to hear and share news from around the State. We will talk about the efforts and challenges currently facing community college math departments. You don’t need to be a chair to attend.

Incorporating a Semester-Long Student Led Project into a Statistics Course
Dan Kernler
In this session, I’ll be discussing my experience incorporating a semester-long project into my statistics courses. I’ll share examples, some lessons I’ve learned along the way, specific project guidelines and rubrics, and we’ll hopefully have some discussions about your ideas as well. I’ve used versions of this project in online, hybrid, and face-to-face sections, all with success.

Curve-Fitting Using Determinants
Jim Trefzger
The simple property that a determinant equals zero if two of its rows are alike can be used to set up otherwise-complicated curve fitting problems. Topics include the three point circle, the five point ellipse, and polynomial curve-fitting.

Note: Payments made via check can be sent to our Treasurer:
Amy Madden
Moraine Valley Community College – L 244
9000 W. College Parkway
Palos Hills, IL 60465