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Overview, philosophy and goals
I have taught several mathematics courses and have always been eager to transfer to my students, not only the materials, but also the excitement of knowledge. Over the years, I have also adapted my teaching styles to the size of the classes and students’ abilities. However, I believe that no matter the size of the class or the quality of the students, learning from the students’ formulation or reformulation of a given problem could determine how much they know of that problem.
Overview
As a tutorial instructor (2008-2011) of mathematics for undergraduate students at the University of Buea (Cameroon), I was in charge of guiding the students in solving questions that were assigned in class. The first semester was very challenging, as I had a class of over 150 students. I had designed a strategy to make all my students participate in the process of solving all questions in each problem sheet from start to end. This strategy, the “one student one number”, consisted of assigning a random number to each student, for each class session. Students were then called to the board and guided towards solving a specific question in the problem sheet, according to their assigned number. The random distribution of the numbers made the process very effective, since it encouraged students to prepare the questions before actually coming to class. This method had proved efficient as I was elected best tutorial instructor many times.
As a lab instructor (2010-2011) for numerical methods with Matlab for undergraduate and graduate engineering students at the University of Buea, I had to introduce techniques of simulations to highly motivated learners in the field of mechanical engineering. Instead of giving them pre-written source codes for their immediate use, I used to proceed by an active learning method where the source codes were written from scratch with the students. This allowed them to learn the programming process, from the choice of the structure to debugging. The students were very satisfied with my methods, since they were thus able to work out their own simulation projects independently; and this could be seen in their grades, not only in my class but in other courses.
During the first two weeks of August 2010, I served as an Assistant Faculty for the Hands-On Research in Complex Systems School that was organized at the University of Buea and sponsored by the Abdus-Salam International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP). This program had brought together over 350 participants from all over the world, and was the first time for me to teach learners of different nationalities, languages and cultures. In fact, I was co-leading a workshop on simulations with Matlab and had to guide participants whose first languages were not English, whose cultures or religions prevented them from physically touching or being physically touched by others, etc. In brief, I learned the international way.
As a more experienced instructor, I realized that my responsibility should not be limited at sharing knowledge, but also to drive the learners towards critical thinking, so that the general question that undergraduate students often ask, “what is the use of mathematics in real life?”, is being answered by the students themselves.
Between Fall 2013–Summer 2016, I served as a tutor, then as an instructor of mathematics for undergraduate students at Howard University. The courses I thought included precalculus, calculus, algebra and ordinary differential equations, with some seminar and colloquium talks for graduate students. Here, I realized that with the exception of students whose major program is mathematics (or of mathematical sciences related programs), students sometimes admit that they “hate” mathematics. With this in mind, I always made sure to give enough examples on the application of course concepts; I also made sure to keep these examples as simple as possible, with hope that the students would be able to reproduce the techniques and gain competence. For example, when teaching second order ordinary differential equations of one variable, I always recalled the techniques for solving quadratic equations. As such, the students would be less intimidated once they understand that identifying and solving the characteristic equation is a main part of the solution process for second order ordinary differential equations of one variable. At the beginning of every class, I used to engage the students with motivation questions that relate the previous topic thought and the topic that we were about to learn. Homeworks or home assignments play an important role in my plan of teaching and evaluating the students. I usually gave them weekly homeworks that I collected every first day of the following week. These homeworks consisted of specific problems that were intended to help the students understand the subjects thought in class, and to get ready for the next topic. My intend in giving homeworks to students has always been to allow them to use time wisely, to work independently, and eventually to work as team-mates with their fellows.
Between 2018–2020, I served as a Postdoctoral Research and Teaching fellow at the University of British Columbia where I taught Mathematical Biology and Calculus III (calculus of real-valued functions of several variables). The course Mathematical Biology was a first year graduate level course for students who aspire to perform research in biology and ecology in particular, and in applied science in general, with the use of mathematical and computational techniques. For this course, I designed a syllabus which combined the notes and interdisciplinary interests from all those who mentored and advised me in the field of mathematical biology over the years. I did this to ensure that I do not copy one’s style, but bring a new style from a combination of many, including my own personality.
Since joining RIT as a faculty in Fall 2020, I have taught several courses from various levels (MATH 219: Multivariable Calculus, MATH 321: Combinatorial/Classical Game Theory, and MATH 505/605: Stochastic Processes). I have also supervised and mentored a number undergraduate and graduate students, two of which successfully defended their MS theses. My first two semesters at RIT were totally online, and the rest were in-person. At RIT, my teaching as compared to previous experiences has been very interesting and enriching, with no class being comparable to another in terms of feeling and culture. Moreover, the challenge of preparing a new course material every semester makes me feel that I have grown so much in maturity so far, and I keep growing in this way everyday.
Philosophy and Goals
I have known many scientists and educators in my life, but one of them has really fostered my appetite to become one. He used to say that “doing mathematics is the most beautiful thing that one could do; and being able to transmit the knowledge of mathematics is being a god”. My goal everyday, and at every class, is to engage the students into the journey of the topic’s materials of interest, so that, by the end, they are able to share with me at least as much knowledge as I have taught them. In general, as an educator I try to substitute myself to the learners and identify the best strategies that will enable a smooth understanding of the subject. I have done this through years and have found four main ingredients that are required for a balanced teaching experience:
The learners must have the desire to study the topic: it is my duty as a teacher to encourage every student in my class to participate as best as they can in making the class a better place to learn and share knowledge. However, I acknowledge that students come from different backgrounds and with different learning strategies; I should always remember the latter. I recognize that I am a natural stage performer, helped by my years as a chorister, dancer and theater player (in Cameroon). As such, it is with great pleasure that I turn each of my classrooms into interactive environments where students can learn from each other, and, of course, can rely on me for more advanced cases. As an example, when teaching MATH 321 Classical Game Theory this Fall 2022 semester, I set the students into 8 groups of 3–5 members from the first day of class. It was interesting to see how the students who, apparently, had never met each other before, played along and naturally clustered per their sitting pattern in class. As the semester went on, these sitting patterns were maintained, and, for every new examples and exercises treated in class, it was with great joy that I saw the students discussing and solving these problems as team members. This strategy clearly put a big burden on me as the instructor since, when discussing within their groups, the students often came up with very challenging but interesting questions. Most times we discussed these questions in class, with students from the other groups suggesting answers or extending the original questions for further thinking. However, for those questions that seemed beyond my understanding, the students took it well when I told them that their questions would be addressed in the following class; I always did my best to keep my word in this regard.
The learners must feel confident that the teacher can convey the knowledge of the course topic: I have learned this the hard way through students’ evaluation at the end of my first-time teaching MATH 321 in the Fall 2021 semester. In fact, despite my regular encouragements so that the students could give feedback on the class progress, I realized that not all students would feel at ease when it comes to expressing their feelings, but would rather wait until they can anonymously evaluate the professor’s overall performance. With this in mind, in the following semester where I taught MATH 505/605 (Stochastic Processes), I created an online “suggestion box” where students were able to drop their comments whenever they wanted, and more importantly, anonymously. This strategy proved very efficient and useful since it gave me the opportunity to discuss some of the comments in class; I intend to keep using an online “suggestion box” until it eventually proves itself consistently inefficient.
The learners must gain enough competency in the topic that is being taught, and be encouraged to think critically: Although the main currency for most students is grade, it is my duty as an educator to ensure that my students earn the necessary critical thinking and problem solving skills associated with the techniques of the course. I do this by solving, along with the students, as many examples as possible, and by exploring problems that can be treated as research topics in applied mathematics where the techniques under consideration can be used. I have used this method before joining RIT, and since my semester as a faculty at RIT (Fall 2020), I have spotted, recruited and mentored at least one undergraduate student for research experience each summer.
The instructor must understand and adapt to the learners’ culture: In my MATH 505/605 (Stochastic Processes) class in Spring 2021, and MATH 321 (Classical Game Theory) in Fall 2022, I adapted my lecture styles from mostly theoretical (statements and proofs) to more numerically demonstrative. This transition resulted from my observation that, in my previous classes (MATH 219 - Multivariate Calculus - over Zoom, and more importantly MATH 321 - Combinatorial Game Theory), the students felt more engaged and participating when the class materials were practice-driven. I also noticed that all students in my various classes either can write computer programs or are very interested in learning how to write computer programs. Based on this observation, I started to include a coding component in my courses, through homework or group projects.
Finally, I believe that the traditional lecture methods with marker/chalk and board still has value, especially when combined with active learning techniques. These techniques would involve students working on problems together in class. However, modern tools such as multimedia, slides and the Internet (e-learning) could be excellent complements, since students use these platforms intensively. To enhance my professional development as a teacher in the mathematical sciences, I was awarded an RIT training grant to participate in the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD) Faculty Success Program 2021, where I was trained on techniques to be productive as a faculty (teaching, scholarship and service) while maintaining a healthy life style. Before this, I participated in the 2018 Summer Institute on Scientific Teaching’s Mobile Summer Institutes’ workshop. Also, I have so far (and still) enjoyed the wisdom of my designated mentor at RIT, as well as the leadership and very useful advice of the School Chair (previous and current) and of all the other RIT faculty I have been privileged to talk to so far. These mentors continue to guide me everyday through the culture at RIT.
Professional development
National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD) Faculty Success Program, Summer 2021. This is a 12-week online program that helps non-tenure track, tenure-track, and tenured faculty with the skills necessary to increase research and writing productivity while improving other requirements of their faculty positions and maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
The Mobile Summer Institutes (MoSIs) of the National Institute on Scientific Teaching, Summer 2018. During the MoSI, participants take part in interactive workshops on evidence-based teaching strategies and project-based group work to create effective teaching modules for their classrooms. By the end of the MoSI, participants leave with peer-reviewed teaching materials and the skills to implement scientific teaching in their classrooms and evaluate themselves and their peers, to continue developing as reflective practitioners.
What Student Say
Siewe specifically allotted class time to checking up on students and asking them how they are doing in the class. I believe this is very helpful as it gives you time to ask questions and or build a professional relationship with the professor. (RIT MATH 219, Fall 2020 - remotely)
He is willing to help students work through problems and talk about any questions they bring up. One thing in particularly he did well is to regularly ask students for feedback and then actually implement changes based on this feedback. While I see many professors ask for feedback, I see very few make changes based on them, so I was quite impressed. I liked that he was also willing to put up not just the lecture recordings, but also the class notes on myCourses to accommodate different students’ preferences. This also made up for the fact that some lecture material (ex: the images) were not in the lecture slides. He was also generally accessible, sometimes at unexpected hours, which is not necessary but nice considering he only had one slot for office hours a week. (RIT MATH 219, Spring 2020 - remotely)
The instructor tried to learn from his mistakes and take student feedback. While it was clear the instructor was new, he tried hard to listen to student suggestions. I thought that the test was fair and well made. I also thought the later quizzes had good questions. Overall, I liked having the instructor and think he would be a very good one in a few years. (RIT MATH 321, Fall 2021)
He is very open when it comes to feedback for improvement, which not every professor is. (RIT MATH 505, Spring 2021)
This instructor had organized notes that he posted for each lecture in a timely manner. (RIT MATH 605, Spring 2021)
MATH 459/559: Sep 4 - Nov 30, 2018; Tue Thu 9:30-11; ART 102
Mathematical Biology
Mathematical modelling in biological disciplines such as population dynamics, ecology, pattern formation, tumour growth, immune response, biomechanics, and epidemiology. Theory of such models formulated as difference equations, ordinary differential equations, and partial differential equations.
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