University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg math professor Kayla Heffernan won a national award for creating a college algebra textbook that uses a teaching method called guided inquiry.

But Heffernan, 33, of Hunker, finds more value in the impact her work has had on students.

The POGIL Project is a nonprofit based in Lancaster with practitioners across the United States and about 20 other countries. It helps educators incorporate the POGIL method of instruction — process oriented guided inquiry learning.

The project started out as a chemistry-based organization in the 90s and received official nonprofit certification in 2012, said Associate Director Marcy Dubroff.

“As (the nonprofit) grew, it was clear that this is a very effective way to learn, not just in the chemistry classroom, but in other educators as well,” Dubroff said.

Heffernan was selected as one of two recipients of this year’s POGIL Early Achievement Award for creating the nonprofit’s first college algebra textbook, “College Algebra: A Guided Inquiry.” The book, published in January, details a series of guided inquiry activities, which encourage students to work in teams to form their own understanding of the material.

Heffernan, a Scottdale native, was introduced to the nonprofit in 2018, but she learned about guided inquiry in her graduate classes about 10 years ago. She has used the method in her classroom ever since.

One of her lessons, for example, helps students learn about transformations of functions. Instead of just lecturing about the concept, she gives students time to form their own understanding of how a function plotted on a graph can be altered to reflect a different curve.

The nonprofit, Dubroff said, has materials for chemistry, biology and art, but its math resources are sparse. Now, other educators across the country are working to develop math materials, and Heffernan is working on a college calculus textbook that she hopes to test in classrooms by the end of 2025.

“Kayla is part of a growing math community in the POGIL project,” Dubroff said.

One of the most rewarding parts of writing the textbook, Heffernan said, was hearing about its impact on students.

A parent of a college biology major reached out to the publishing company, Kendall Hunt Publishing, to thank Heffernan for how helpful the resource has been to her son.

“She said ‘Oh my God, it built a little bit of confidence for him.’ They started working through it, and I guess he made a comment to her like ‘Why couldn’t I learn math like this in high school?’

“For me, I know it’s a nationwide award, and I’m really thankful for that recognition in writing this book,” Heffernan said. “But even for it to just touch one student and make a difference for one student, that’s completely worth it to me.”

A seven-year associate professor at Pitt-Greensburg, Heffernan does research on math identity, focusing on “how to get students who fear or hate math to better identify with it.” Guided inquiry goes a long way in breaking down barriers for students who struggle with the subject, she said.

“I have found that by using guided inquiry, my students seem to do better in the long run,” Heffernan said. “They remember things longer and they get that joy out of math that they otherwise might not get.”

According to a 2017 study by researchers from the University of South Florida, about 45% of students in one of the university’s lecture-based calculus classes received an A, B or C grade from the class. A calculus class that used the guided inquiry method of instruction saw 63% of students achieve an A, B or C.

Guided inquiry gives students practice writing about and talking through math concepts with their peers, Heffernan said.

“I know I’m just supposed to teach math. There’s no expectation that I’m creating these humans that can go out and think in a different way, but to me, it is that.

“I want my students to leave my class feeling comfortable talking to one another about stuff,” she said. “It’s not this independent work all the time. I want them to have that sense of collaboration.”

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