André Heck (KdVI), Marthe Schut (KdVI) and Natasa Brouwer (FNWI TLC) have contributed four chapters to a book Inquiry in University Mathematics Teaching and Learning: The PLATINUM Project that recently appeared online. Among others there is chapter that describes the development at our faculty: Design and Implementation of an Inquiry-Based Mathematics Module for First-Year Students in Biomedical Sciences.

Three-layer model

The book reports on the development of mathematics teaching and learning at university level to enhance the learning of mathematics by university students. Its theoretical focus is inquiry-based learning. It bases all activity on a three-layer model of inquiry:

Inquiry in mathematics and in the learning of mathematics in lecture, tutorial, seminar or workshop, involving students and teachers;
Inquiry in mathematics teaching involving teachers exploring and developing their own practices in teaching mathematics;
Inquiry as a research process, analysing data from layers (1) and (2) to advance knowledge in the field. This is done in communities of inquiry.

PLATINUM project

The book presents developmental outcomes from the PLATINUM project, an EU Erasmus+ project involving eight partner universities in seven countries in Europe. It gives an inspiring support to mathematics lecturers and education innovators in STEM who wish to introduce this powerful approach in higher education following a pedagogical relevant and evidence based way. The chapters devoted to the PLATINUM project give insight in the strong international collaboration.

The book is peer reviewed and in open access available online.

Gómez-Chacón, I., Hochmuth, R., Jaworski, B., Rebenda, J., Ruge, J., & Thomas, S. (Eds.). (2021). Inquiry in University Mathematics Teaching and Learning: The PLATINUM Project. Masaryk University Press.