IMATYC 2026

On October 9th IMATYC 2026 conference will be held at the Urban Campus of Des Moines Area Community College. Here is the address: 1100 7th Street, Des Moines, IA 50314.

Here is a link to a map of the area surrounding the campus. You can see links for hotels in the area for if you need to drive in the night before.

The majority of the conference will be held on the first floor of Building 7 in the large conference room. We will plan to put up the dividers for the break-out sessions during the day, and have the room opened up at the end of the day.

Tentative Agenda (as of 10/6/26):

With generous sponsorship support from:

      

Macmillan will not have a physical presence but wanted to share that that Macmillan Learning supports Mathematics and Statistics learning with their innovative course materials and its digital courseware platform, Achieve. For more information, please visit their website.

2026

CONFERENCE AGENDA

DMACC Urban Campus, BLDG 7, Rooms 170-171 (7-170/1)

8:30 – 9:00  Registration, continental breakfast items, coffee/tea, and conversation

9:00 – 9:30  Welcome in room 7-170/1 Teams Link (active 8:30 – 10:45 a.m.)

Acknowledgement of sponsorship support from McGraw Hill, Macmillan, Lumen, Wiley, Pearson, Cengage.

Welcome messages from:

   ·       Scott Schultz, Executive Academic Dean, School of Sciences

   ·       David Gisch, Associate Academic Dean and past IMATYC President

   ·       Johanna Debrecht, AMATYC Central Region VP (video recording)

9:30 – 10:30  Discussion

    ·         Updates from Iowa Department of Education

    ·        IHEMTAC Updates, Including Position Statement on Proctoring (Eric Weber)        IHEMTAC has been hard at work over the last year ensuring students in Iowa experience positive and beneficial mathematics courses as well as facilitating student transitions into post-secondary environments (college, professional school, military, direct-to-workforce). One issue that has recently surfaced concerns the proctoring—or not proctoring—of exams in mathematics courses, placement assessments, etc. IHEMTAC has drafted a position statement emphasizing the importance of authentic student work and rigorous course assessments. We need help expanding our reach to support students across the state of Iowa!

    ·         Uniform Course Numbering and Learning Objectives for Iowa Community Colleges                  Update (Curtis Mitchell)

10:30 – 10:45  Transition/Break/Visit publisher exhibits 

10:45 – 11:40  Morning Breakout Sessions

·         Room 171 – Presentation by Cengage – “Building Math Readiness with AI Student Assistant, Mastery Sets, and more!” Teams Link (active 10:30 – 11:45 a.m.)

·         Room 213 – Presentation by Lumen – “Teaching Math in the AI Era: A Look at Lumen Learning’s OHM” Teams Link (active 10:30 – 11:45 a.m.)

·         Room 231 – Presentation by Pearson – “From Struggle to Success: AI, Student Engagement, and the Future of Math Learning” Teams Link (active 10:30 – 11:45 a.m.)

·         Room 315 – Presentation by McGraw Hill/ALEKS – “The ALEKS Blend and New AI Tools!” Teams Link (active 10:30 – 11:45 a.m.)

11:45 – 12:30  Lunch in room 7-170/1 (you can also gather and sit in the common area or outside at the picnic tables if the weather is nice)

12:30 – 1:15  IMATYC Business Meeting in room 7-170/1 Teams Link (active 12:25 – 1:20 p.m.)

1:15 – 1:40  Transition/Break/Visit publisher exhibits

1:40 – 2:35  Afternoon Breakout Sessions

·         Room 170 – Data Science Articulation Conversation (Eric Weber) Teams Link (active 1:35 – 2:40 p.m.)

·         Room 171 – “Hello, student? Are you AI?” (Anna Pint) Teams Link (active 1:35 – 2:40 p.m.)

·         Room 213 – “Descartes’ Rule of Parity” (Douglas Mupasiri) Teams Link (active 1:35 – 2:40 p.m.)

·         Room 231 – “Corequisites for All” – Panel Discussion (Curtis Mitchell) Teams Link (active 1:35 – 2:40 p.m.)

·         Room 315 – “Don’t Underestimate What Throwing a WILD CARD Into Your Instruction Can Do” (Julie Hartzler and Chelsy Doyle) Teams Link (active 1:35 – 2:40 p.m.)

2:45 – 3:15  Door prizes and wrap-up in room 7-170/1 Teams Link (active 2:40 – 3:30 p.m.)

Acknowledgement of sponsorship support from McGraw Hill, Macmillan, Lumen, Wiley, Pearson, and Cengage. 

 

Breakout Session Descriptions

 

Corequisites for All - Panel Discussion (Curtis Mitchell) Legislation dictates that Iowa community colleges replace "traditional remedial" math courses with corequisite support by Fall 2028. What do we know about the state's expectations? What is the current landscape of corequisite offerings in Iowa? What are some corequisite best practices? How can we support each other? This session will feature a very brief presentation followed by a substantial discussion.

Data Science Articulation Conversation (Eric Weber) Representatives from the Regents Institutions and the CC's have engaged in preliminary conversations on a potential articulation agreement for data science course work. These conversations occurred at IMATYC last year and the Board of Regents' Articulation conference that occurred earlier this year. We'll continue the conversation by discussing courses at the Regents Institutions that could be targets for articulation, the content of those courses, and expectations for the math, statistics, and computer science skills for those courses.

Don’t Underestimate What Throwing a WILD CARD Into Your Instruction Can Do (Julie Hartzler and Chelsy Doyle) Looking for a simple strategy that gets students talking, thinking, and learning together? Join us as we explore how card sorts can spark collaboration, deepen understanding, and create meaningful learning experiences in any math classroom. Whether you teach developmental mathematics or calculus, this versatile active learning strategy can be adapted to fit your content, your students, and your schedule. Best of all, card sorts are easy to create, flexible to implement in face-to-face or virtual settings, and can be used as a quick activity or a full-class learning experience. Leave with ready-to-use ideas that you can put into practice right away!

Hello, student? Are you AI? (Anna Pint) How do you know who is doing assessments? And, what should you do when you think the student is not doing the assessments? Join this session to discuss what signs you may see in your class and how to handle them. Share your insights or join to listen.

Descartes’ Rule of Parity (Douglas Mupasiri) This talk will focus on Descartes’ Rule of Parity which first appeared in a 2026 paper titled ”Strictly Positive Definite Functions of Finite Order and Multivariate Interpolation” by S. Kilmer, X. Sun, and M. Wright. As the name suggests, the rule is a variation on the Descartes’ Rule of Signs. It is an effective tool for estimating the number of real roots of a polynomial based on the parity pattern of its exponents. In a subsequent paper titled “Descartes’ Rule of Signs,” M. Wright introduced an efficient algorithm based on the Descartes’ Rule of Parity for calculating an upper bound for the number of real roots (including multiplicities) of any polynomial with real coefficients. I will also discuss a hybrid rule combining Descartes’ Rule of Signs and Descartes’ Rule of Parity, which Wright introduced in the same paper. 

Presentation by Pearson: “From Struggle to Success: AI, Student Engagement, and the Future of Math Learning” - Learn how trusted, course-aligned AI can transform learning challenges into teachable moments without replacing instructor expertise.

Presentation by Lumen: “Teaching Math in the AI Era: A Look at Lumen Learning’s OHM” - How can math practice remain meaningful as students use AI in new ways, without adding more work for instructors? In this session, Lumen Learning will show how OHM connects with your LMS, offers ready-to-use courses you can adapt, and gives you control over assignments. Join us to see how students receive immediate feedback and how faculty can identify where more support is needed. We’ll also share how upcoming AI guidance in OHM will help students work through homework questions without simply giving them the answers. Come explore how OHM can support your teaching and your students’ learning.

Presentation by McGraw Hill/ALEKS: “The ALEKS Blend and New AI Tools!” - An overview of how ALEKS blends mastery and traditional homework assignments to help students learn math concepts in our new digital world. We will also touch on some of the new AI tools ALEKS and McGraw Hill have to offer. 

Presentation by Cengage: “Building Math Readiness with AI Student Assistant, Mastery Sets, and More!” - Join the Cengage team for an interactive session exploring how AI, math readiness, and authentic assessment can support student success while promoting academic integrity and career readiness. See how WebAssign tools such as Math Readiness Bootcamps and Mastery Sets can help students strengthen prerequisite skills and build confidence before they fall behind. We’ll also explore the Cengage Student Assistant and how course-aligned AI can provide students with targeted support while keeping them engaged in the learning process. Learn how WebAssign’s assessment tools, analytics, and instructor insights can help faculty identify struggling students earlier, encourage authentic problem solving, and better understand where students need additional support. You’ll leave with practical ideas and tools you can use to improve readiness, engagement, and student success in your own math courses.