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About the initiative..
The 'Question of the Week' program is a students’ activity in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Delhi. The main attraction of the activity is the much interactive classroom discussion sessions in which research scholars and MSc students of the department participate actively and develop their problem-solving abilities and most importantly teaching skills. The methodology that we follow for the classroom discussion is adapted (we're trying to adapt!) from the MTTS (Mathematics Training & Talent Search) program. In contrast to a regular classroom, as we do not have to follow a particular syllabus, while discussing a particular topic, students are given the opportunity to raise any related questions or comments, which in turn makes the discussion an extremely helpful one. We keep on improving this methodology so that it may benefit the students the most. Hence it is also important that the participants shall give regular feedback and suggestions to the organizers.
We usually post a problem sheet containing two or three questions on every Tuesday and a discussion of the problems is conducted on the next Monday. Our plan is to include questions that we usually do not come across in a regular course in the department. The problems are aimed at all the post-graduate students of the department, and we will make sure that the questions are accessible to even the first-year students. Students are encouraged to try to solve the problems, discuss with their friends and present their answers/ideas during the discussion. Even if a student knows answers to all the questions given in the sheet, he/she may not hesitate to attend the discussion. Discussing math among people certainly helps one grow his/her mathematical abilities like a snowball. We believe that it will be extremely beneficial to learn different ways to solve a problem than learning a unique solution from a teacher or a book. And that is the main aim of this initiative.
The program will certainly help the students to perform well in the future in competitive exams like NBHM Scholarship Exams, CSIR-UGC NET/JRF, GATE, entrance tests at various research institutes etc. Most importantly, we believe that the confidence that the students achieve from the discussions will help them face academic interviews without worries/fear and explain math with pride in front of a bunch of experts in the subject. Above all, we wish that the program will help students to realize that they should learn math for the pleasure of doing it and not for the sake of examinations!
The program will mainly focus on improving the following skills of a student:
Problem-solving skills
Mathematical thinking
Mathematical writing
Interaction/questioning skills
Teaching/presentation skills
Discussion/leadership skills
Note: This is NOT a 'net coaching', but an in-depth training in Mathematics!
Venue and time of discussion session:
In R-5, Ground Floor,
Satyakam Bhawan.
At 3.00 pm every Monday.
The program is being suspended
indefinitely due to the
COVID19 outbreak.
Few alternatives to the program in these difficult times
Prof. S. Kumaresan, founder of the MTTS Programme, has started preparing video lectures for undergrad students. These lectures may serve as a substitute to learning from the MTTS programme. The topics may sound very elementary, but it will certainly help you in improving your understanding of the subject. Click on the following link to visit the YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-0NPN0sLa8l5W1r2z_LMCQ
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