Biography
Robert Talbert is a Professor of Mathematics at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan. He holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Vanderbilt University. Through over 25 years of being a classroom instructor at small liberal arts colleges and regional public universities, Robert has experimented with and advocated for research-based, student-focused innovation in teaching and learning. He was an early adopter of computer-based learning in mathematics and helped to pioneer the use of flipped instruction at the college level. He turned these experiences into a blog, Casting Out Nines, in 2006 which catalyzed a global online community around instructional innovation.
In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Robert holds the position of Senior Faculty Fellow for Learning Futures at Grand Valley State, where he works on behalf of the university president to coordinate institution-wide pedagogical innovation projects. He is the author of Flipped Learning: A Guide for Higher Education Faculty and the co-author (with his GVSU colleague Dr. David Clark) of Grading For Growth, and gives keynote addresses and workshops to faculty groups throughout the US and abroad. His continued writing projects include the Grading For Growth Substack (gradingforgrowth.com) and Intentional Academia, a Substack publication about productivity and purpose in higher education.
Robert lives in western Michigan with his wife, teenage children, and three cats. On weekends and evenings, you can find him playing bass in one of four bands he belongs to in the Grand Rapids area.
