My Teaching Philosophy

In my experience, the three biggest obstacles to learning are a student’s belief that math is boring, math is impossible, or math is irrelevant. Therefore, my teaching philosophy is threefold.

Make math interesting. In order for a student to succeed in a subject, that subject must engage him or her. Mathematics is too often taught as a cold, distant science with an endless list of formulas and seemingly no connection between topics. I bring excitement and a storyline to my classes, using energy and enthusiasm to teach ideas while guiding students along a path where each new concept a natural consequence of the previous and a natural precursor to the following.

Make math possible. Even I have to admit that math is not always easy. But when presented in the right way, math is not the Leviathan that it is often made out to be. By learning theorems well, calculating examples that illustrate concepts, and studying difficult cases that need special attention, students can tackle any problem. I remind my students that while a problem may be long, they have all the tools needed to solve it.

Make math relevant. Perhaps the most difficult challenge to overcome is that of student apathy toward the subject. On more than one occasion, I have had a student raise a hand in class to ask, “When will I ever need this?” not believing that what he or she is learning will be of any use beyond the course final. To respond, I stress that mathematics does have a profound impact our daily lives. While everyone agrees math does have a practical purpose, students will often point to the more tedious calculations as proof of math’s irrelevance. And while it’s true that they may never need to row-reduce a matrix again, the ability to think rationally, to clearly organize ideas, and to accurately apply concepts are traits that will always have a practical application.