Teaching and Department Services

It is important to me to give students an idea of what goes into analytical thinking. Polya's book How to Solve it was my introduction to problem solving through Polya's method, working backwards, mathematical induction, and contradiction arguments. Below is a slide set I have used to introduce some of these ideas in class.

Any time I can take a lecture and make it an interactive assignment, group work, or discussion I will take that opportunity. Below I attach a couple assignments I use regularly, but to the right is an assignment I am beta-testing. I believe that students learn more when they connect new methods, like u-substitution, to old information than when I do it for them, and this assignment tries to access that kind of learning.

It is very important to broaden your horizons as an educator. One extremely useful project we went through in the Teaching in Higher Ed certificate is a Case Study on solving issues in a hypothetical classroom. Using Blooms Taxonomy, Universal Design for learning, and de-escalation tactics we can prepare ourselves to handle uncomfortable interactions or issues in the best interest of ourselves and the class at large. Here are some case study analyses I completed, and how I would respond to issues arising in the classroom.