Teaching
I enjoy teaching a variety of courses, from freshman-level calculus to upper-level electives in analysis, differential equations, geometry, linear algebra, and topology. The style I choose for each particular course depends on the needs of the students as well as the practical details of the course.
In most undergraduate courses at DePaul, including calculus in all its forms, I try to minimize the amount of time I spend lecturing at the board. In a typical day, I will alternate mini-lectures with longer periods of group work. The mini-lectures are kept very short, at most 15 minutes, and are carefully designed to cover the essential points of the material. The group work consists of a worksheet that I have created before class, designed to complement the mini-lectures and allow students to encounter some of the fine points of the material on their own. Throughout the group work portions of the class, I circle the room answering questions and giving hints when students are unproductively stuck. This style borrows elements of IBL (inquiry-based learning) and of the flipped-classroom model. Whatever one prefers to call it, I find it effective. It allows students to actively participate in their own learning and improves both student engagement and classroom atmosphere.
None of this is to say that traditional lectures have no place in teaching! For our Master's level courses which meet once per week for 3 hours, I usually use a traditional lecture style. This helps prepare the students for the lectures they may see in Ph.D. programs down the line, as well as for professional talks at workshops and conferences.
Please see my CV for a complete description of my teaching experience, and feel free to contact me if you would like a copy of my teaching statement and/or copies of any of my teaching evaluations.
In most undergraduate courses at DePaul, including calculus in all its forms, I try to minimize the amount of time I spend lecturing at the board. In a typical day, I will alternate mini-lectures with longer periods of group work. The mini-lectures are kept very short, at most 15 minutes, and are carefully designed to cover the essential points of the material. The group work consists of a worksheet that I have created before class, designed to complement the mini-lectures and allow students to encounter some of the fine points of the material on their own. Throughout the group work portions of the class, I circle the room answering questions and giving hints when students are unproductively stuck. This style borrows elements of IBL (inquiry-based learning) and of the flipped-classroom model. Whatever one prefers to call it, I find it effective. It allows students to actively participate in their own learning and improves both student engagement and classroom atmosphere.
None of this is to say that traditional lectures have no place in teaching! For our Master's level courses which meet once per week for 3 hours, I usually use a traditional lecture style. This helps prepare the students for the lectures they may see in Ph.D. programs down the line, as well as for professional talks at workshops and conferences.
Please see my CV for a complete description of my teaching experience, and feel free to contact me if you would like a copy of my teaching statement and/or copies of any of my teaching evaluations.