Assignments

• First assignment (due in my e-mail box by 9 am on Wed. Aug. 25):
  • Read chapter 1 of "How to Teach Mathematics (2nd edition)" by Steven G. Krantz. The math department will provide you with a copy you can borrow for the semester. Find something in this chapter that you disagree with, and write a paragraph explaining why.
  • (Only for those of you in the class who are teaching!) Write a paragraph describing one specific thing about your teaching that went well on the first day of class.
• Second assignment (due in my e-mail box by 9 am Wed. Sept. 1):
  • Attend the class of one of the TA's in the math department who is not in this course. You need only spend 15 minutes or so in the class. Then write a paragraph describing one specific thing that went well during the part of the class you sat in on.
  • Read sections 2.1 of 2.8 of Krantz. Write a paragraph naming one specific practical teaching skill you think it might be possible to improve with practice. (Later on in the course we might take turns teaching 5-minute segments practicing a specific skill.)
• Third assignment (due in my e-mail box by 9 am Wed. Sept. 8)
  • One paragraph on the role of the instructor in a mathematics class.
  • One paragraph on "Does presenting applications have a place in college algebra?"
  • Read the handout I passed out titled "Study Habits'', and be prepared to discuss.
• Fourth assignment (due in my e-mail box by 9 am Wed. Sept. 22)
  • Read sections 2.16, 2.19, 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3 from Krantz.
  • Read the article "Contemplations after forty years of teaching", and write a paragraph or two comparing and contrasting the advice in that handout with that given by Krantz.
• Fifth assignment (due in class Wed. Sept. 22)
  • Turn in your worksheets showing the grades you assigned to the sample test questions on Wed. Sept. 17.
• Assignment due Wed. Nov. 17:
  • Turn in a statement of your teaching philosophy. See this article for some advice.
  • Read sections 3.10, 3.12, 3.13, 3.14 from Krantz' book, for discussion in class
• Syllabus for the course.

Further reading

• Resources for Preparing and Supporting Teachers of Undergraduate Mathematics.
• The Idea Center is a website with some quite specific suggestions on things you can do to improve your teaching. For example, this paper on speaking skills emphasizes certain aspects of your delivery which you might not have realized were important. Another paper which is relevant to a question we've discussed in class is this one, on the topic of assigning students course work with the purpose of encouraging them to stay up-to-date in the class.
• The article Technology solutions for developmental math: an overview of current and emerging practices, by R. Epper and E. Baker, discusses the prospects for technology in teaching college math. The article is actually concerned with "developmental math", also known as "remedial math", but also serves as a good introduction to what's out there for college math instruction in general.