Here are my teaching goals, followed by some approbatory comments by a student.
Community in the classroom matters:
- Knowing everyone’s name
- Facilitating communication between diverse students
- Facilitating exchange of knowledge between students, not just faculty and students
- Safe to ask questions
Predictability in the classroom matters:
- Guided notes provided in advance
- Advance notice on assignments and due dates
- Practice tests
Creativity in the classroom matters:
- Pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey in Statistics
- Paper airplanes in Trigonometry
- Lifting weights in College Algebra
“Thanks so much for the wonderful Statistics class –
I never thought I’d ever say those words, but I was really impressed with how much I enjoyed the challenge and the new ideas you presented in our class. Even the goofy math jokes were something to look forward to after a while and I really enjoyed your enthusiasm, your tight grasp of the subject being presented and your friendly demeanor throughout the course. Thanks so much for making it a challenge – I really feel I earned my grade with some very hard work! I was never a ‘math person.’ You did a fantastic job… you are an excellent teacher!”
~K. E., 2015
