MSU at 2026 RUME Conference
The 28th Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education (RUME) will be held this Thursday, February 26th through Saturday, February 28th, 2026. Hosted by the Virginia Tech Department of Mathematics, the conference will be offered in a hybrid format, with the in-person sessions held at the Westin Alexandria Old Town in Alexandria, Virginia—the Metro Washington, DC area.
The conference is a forum for researchers in collegiate mathematics education to share results of research addressing issues pertinent to the learning and teaching of undergraduate mathematics. The conference is organized around the following themes: results of current research, contemporary theoretical perspectives and research paradigms, and innovative methodologies and analytic approaches as they pertain to the study of undergraduate mathematics education. The program will include plenary addresses, contributed paper sessions, and preliminary paper sessions.
MSU faculty and graduate students participating in and attending at this year’s conference include Saul Barbosa, Ayesha Bundy, Jose Contreras, Maria Cruciani, C. Davis, Sara Elakesh, Jenny Green, Reagin Taylor McNeill, Seth Ricarte, Sasha Rudow, Sevda Sadik, Eunice Tachie-Menson, Matt Voigt, Kristen Vroom, Samantha Wald, and Sabrina Zarza.
For Eunice Tachie-Menson, this is her 2nd time giving a poster presentation at RUME, but her first time attending in-person. “I am thrilled for the opportunity to finally experience this conference and connect with the RUME community,” per Eunice.
Sara Elakesh noted that this will be her third time participating in the RUME conference, but her first time attending in-person also. “So far it is the only math ed conference I have attended, but I really enjoy the space and think it is warm and welcoming,” Sara remarked.
This will be Seth Ricarte’s third RUME conference. He commented, “I love this conference because it is a smaller community and you can really feel the community vibes as you walk around and hang out with people. Everyone is super supportive and there's a whole bunch of non-scholarly activities that people try to set up (e.g., morning run groups, karaoke, etc.).” Seth continued, “My favorite thing though is getting able to hang out with everyone post-conferencing. People just lounge about, play games/music, and relax together. Super different than other conferences (I've been to at least) where people just retreat back to rooms or don't engage in activities.” Seth is excited to present a report with Dr. Kristen Vroom titled, Designing Activities about Definition Values through Collaboration and Attention to Professional Obligations.
See the listing of presentations from MSU math ed faculty and graduate students at RUME below.
MSU Math Ed Presentations
Thursday, February 26th
1:30pm (Session 1), Edison C Room
Theorizing Anticolonial Praxis in Undergraduate Mathematics Education
Reagin McNeill, Sabrina Zarza, Jose Contreras, Ayesha Bundy
1:30pm (Session 1), Edison E Room
Interrogating Proof Norms: “It’s Kind of Like Telling Me, ‘Oh, Act Like a Robot
Saul Barbosa and Kristen Vroom
2:10pm (Session 2), Edison E Room
Designing Activities about Definition Values through Collaboration and Attention to Professional Obligations
Seth Ricarte, Kristen Vroom, and others
Friday, February 27th
9:40am (Session 6), Bell Room
Embedded Math Tutor’s Noticing: A Collaborative Exploration and Change of Practice
Jose Contreras
10:50am (Session 7), Edison C Room
Queer Readings of Mathematical Proof: Appropriating Norms in the Pursuit of Epistemic Justice and Queer Joy
C. Davis
1:30pm (Session 9), Whitney Room
Untangling Active Learning: A Framework of Dimensions, Strategies, and Outcomes
Ayesha Bundy
2:10pm (Session 10), Edison C Room
When We Say “Rigor” in Undergraduate Mathematics, What Do We Mean?
Reagin McNeill (and others)
Saturday, February 28th
8:20am (Session 13), Banneker Room
Student Perceptions of Norms Supported by Definitions in Proof-Based Courses
Kristen Vroom (and others)
9:00am (Session 14), Edison E Room
Teaching Practices Supporting Students’ Awareness of Definition-Related Mathematical Norms
Kristen Vroom (and others)
10:50am (Session 16), Edison C Room
Living as Abstract Nonsense: Ontological Tensions in Trans Experiences of Mathematics
Reagin McNeill, C. Davis, with Justin Gutzwal and Mal McCall also at MSU, and one other
10:50am (Session 16), Edison E Room
Leveraging Universal Design for Learning to Scale Inquiry-Oriented Instruction on Sequences and Series
Kristen Vroom and one other
4:00pm (Session 21), Edison C Room
Visualizing the Work of Critical Transformations: Processes, Positions, and Emotions
Matt Voigt and others
MSU Virtual Poster Presentations
Thursday, February 26th
4:40pm, Location T-18
“I’m Making This Math, Not Only Taking This Math”: Poetic Transcription of a Trans Student’s IO Calculus Experience
Kristen Vroom, Jose Barbosa, C. Davis, Ayesha Bundy, with Mal McCall also at MSU
Friday, February 27th
3:00pm Location F-18
Can Prerequisites Be Predictors?
Sevda Sadik, Sara Elakesh, Eunice Tachie-Menson, Ayesha Bundy, Sasha Rudow, and Samantha Wald
Saturday, February 28th
4:50pm, Location S-10
A Bustling Inquiry-Oriented Math Environment: Who is Present and What is Happening?
Eunice Tachie-Menson, Kristen Vroom and one other
4:50pm, Location S-15
Power Evasiveness in the Graduate Texts in Mathematics Series
Saul Barbosa and Reagin McNeill
4:50pm, Location S-20
How Cultural and Familial Ideologies Shape MENA Students’ Mathematical Identities
Sara Elakesh
4:50pm, Location S-26
How is Gender Discussed? A Textual Analysis of RUME Proceedings
Matt Voigt, Ayesha Bundy and others
4:50pm, Location S-30
Modules for Developing Statistics Graduate Teaching Assistants’ Capacity for Teaching
Jenny Green, Maria Cruciani and others
