Banff Workshop — Teaching First-year University Mathematics Courses: Past, Present, and Future

The workshop’s main objective is to generate specific suggestions for possible large-scale modifications to entry-level mathematics curricula in Canadian universities, given the emergence of the new social, economic, and political environment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. These modifications will aim to move us onward toward the creation of a curriculum that is rooted in the modern world, which is robust and flexible, and strongly interconnected in numerous aspects. The ultimate goal of the new curriculum will be to meet the mathematical needs of upcoming generations of undergraduate students. This workshop will be a major event, building on the outcomes of several initiatives, meetings, and documents, most notably the First Year in Maths (FYiMaths) project in Australia, the far reaching 2016 U.S. document “Common Vision for Undergraduate Mathematical Science Programs in 2025,” and the “First-Year University Mathematics in Canada” conferences hosted by the Fields Institute in 2018, the University of Alberta in 2019, and, virtually, at the University of Toronto Mississauga in 2020.