MATH 599: Mathematics Teaching Techniques
Lectures:
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 12 noon-1 PM, room Math 202
Instructor:
Greg Martin
Office: Math 212
Phone: (604) 822-4371
E-mail: gerg@math.ubc.ca
Office hours: by appointment
Course description: The purpose of this course is to provide students with
training to help them become more effective teachers, and also to give the
mathematics department a means for evaluating the suitability of students
to teach undergraduate courses in mathematics. Virtually everybody is capable
of becoming a competent and skillful instructor, but virtually nobody would
do well if made to teach a course without preparation or forethought about
effective teaching practices. Structuring a course, preparing lectures, delivering
information, responding to questions, assigning homework, dealing with problem
students, and so on are all areas where a little consideration of certain
guidelines can vastly improve a teacher's performance. Much of what
comprises excellent teaching is quite different from individual to individual;
most of what comprises bad teaching, on the other hand, is universal yet
easily avoided with some experience.
Evaluation: The course is graded on a pass/fail basis. Passing the course is based on the following criteria:
- Attendance
- Participation in discussions and class activities
- Completion of teaching presentations
Students will give two presentations during the semester, one of length 15 minutes and one of length 40 minutes. The first, short presentation will be to critique the students' mechanics and classroom presence, while the long presentations will be to critique their organization of material into a beneficial lecture. Students will teach typical topics from first-year calculus as if the audience were actually a first-year calculus class, after which they will receive feedback from the rest of the class and the instructor.
Supplement: I found a teaching statement I wrote last year, and it's surprisingly lucid. It could be thought-provoking for you to read over.
Schedule:
- I. Preparation for short presentations
- Wednesday, September 6: Overview of course
- Friday, September 8: Description and scheduling of short presentations
- Monday, September 11: Example lecture and discussion
- Wednesday, September 13: Blackboard technique
- II. Short presentations
- III. Preparation for long presentations
- Wednesday, October 11: Lecture design and modularity
- Friday, October 13: In-class group activity, practice lecture design
- Monday, October 16: Description and scheduling of long presentations
- Wednesday, October 18: Feedback and discussion of practice lectures
- Friday, October 20: Asking and receiving student questions and feedback, classroom psychology
- IV. Long presentations