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Teaching Philosophy Example 3

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Teaching Philosophy Example 3 Page 2
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and to provide the rationale for why that content is important. I feel very strongly that the level of scientific
literacy in our society is at a dangerously low level. Whether I am teaching majors or non-majors, it is a
consistent goal of mine to foster a level of discussion that connects scientific knowledge to social, political and
economic issues.
Mathematics, James Peirce
My strongest quality as a teacher is simply my passion for mathematics, which I believe is contagious in the
classroom. My primary goal as a teacher is to use my enthusiasm for mathematics to motivate my students. I
project an upbeat attitude when I am in front of the class; I take pauses in the lecture to interject math anecdotes;
and I provide short historical accounts of the mathematicians who discovered the material. I also continually tell
students that I am willing to spend extra time working with them. I believe that this commitment and attitude
inspires my students to put more effort into the course. I felt proud that I had achieved this goal when I received
a student evaluations that said, “I heard math classes were hard no matter what teacher you get. Dr Peirce, you
made it a little easier to understand. I am glad I stuck through this class.” (See Appendix A) The principle at
work here is simple: motivated students work more and hence learn more.
I believe that a good instructor must invest time in preparing a clear, precise lecture. Like a good story, a lecture
needs to have a beginning, middle, and a well-constructed end (including a climax if possible). These parts of a
story are crucial to capturing the student’s attention and sustaining their interest during the lecture. I do this by
constructing appropriate examples, finding applications that are interesting to students, and anticipating difficult
areas in the material. When commenting on the class, students are quick to mention the usefulness of the
examples: “You covered the material thoroughly and gave many examples, which helped a lot.” and “Examples
in class were very, very helpful!” (See Appendix A)
When preparing a lecture, I carefully construct examples that review the recent ideas and present the students
with a concrete, often visual example. I practice these illustrations beforehand to ensure that during lecture I am
able to reproduce the clearest picture of what I want to demonstrate. Beyond preparing simple examples that
demonstrate basic math techniques, I have also made a habit of presenting real-world application in my classes.
Math students come from various departments on campus, so I keep on hand an arsenal of real-world examples
from a wide range of fields, from Business to Population Biology. For instance, in my differential equations
class, I noticed that a particular topic was the source of confusion for many students. Now when we study that
topic, I introduce the material in terms of a Mathematical Ecology problem, and have my students read a
supplemental review I've developed on how the concept at hand is used to model the dynamics of the HIV virus
as well as a fun model about the ups-and-downs of love. I hope my rich collection of real-world examples helps
students connect to and remember the material, feel motivated to continue in math by seeing how math can be
used, and maybe catch a glimpse of the beauty of mathematics. I know that this is approach is working when a
student comments, “I love how he relates math to every day life.” (See Appendix A)
Another important aspect of lecture preparation is anticipating difficult areas and common errors, and preparing
a strategy to address those questions in a way that encourages students and accommodates different learning
styles. When I spot a topic that will be difficult for students, I devise a series of questions, each question
following from the previous answer, which leads the students to the correct conclusion. This technique involves
students actively in the lecture, and gives them the feeling of discovery and accomplishment. Anticipation of
difficult area becomes easier the more I teach a class. I think that this was evident in my college algebra course
during the 2004-2005 academic year. In the Fall semester, I taught College Algebra for the first time in my
career. Some lectures went better than others and I created notes on places to make improvements. During the
following semester I acted on these improvements and my student evaluation of instruction scores increased
from 3.83 to 4.35. (See Student Evaluations section below)
I believe that active involvement in class increase students' confidence and give them the experience to work
problems on their own. When I take questions from students, I always keep three things in mind: I involve the
whole class in thinking about or addressing the problem; I emphasize the progress that the question-asker has
already made on the problem and the progress that the class makes in solving the outstanding question; and I
take as much time as is needed, either during the lecture or after class. I hope that students are comfortable
Teaching Philosophy Example 3