As a teacher, my primary goal is to educate my students. I have therefore spent much time and effort developing teaching strategies that will achieve this.
I have found that effective teaching does not take place if the instructor is not well-prepared for each class period. Therefore, one of my teaching strategies is to take time before class to carefully craft my lecture. My lectures are structured, well thought-out, and understandable by the students. This latter statement is validated by evaluations I have received from the students. Periodically each semester, I give my students the opportunity to comment on various aspects of the course. These evaluations sometimes take the form of ``one-minute essays''; sometimes they are in the form of a questionnaire. Either way, I always ask my students whether my lectures are understandable to them, and I always receive positive responses.
Lecturing is an effective teaching method, but it is most effective when supplemented by other techniques that foster more ``active learning.'' For example, I make sure to ask the students questions during the course of a single lecture. Some of these questions are factual in nature; some require more speculation and thought. As another example of an active learning approach to teaching, I will often send students to the board to present problems. Finally, I believe that it is one thing for a student to sit passively in his/her seat and watch me work through examples on the board, and it is something else entirely for that student to actively work through a problem on his/her own. Therefore, after presenting a new concept, I give my students the opportunity during class to apply that concept in solving a problem. Sometimes, I will give my students a few minutes to work individually. Sometimes, I will split the class into groups of three or four and have them work together. I am a strong advocate of group work, for I have used it in several of my classes with very positive results. When students are told to work together on a math problem, they are learning more than just mathematics. They are learning how to communicate and work with other people.
As I indicated above, I give the students the opportunity several times during the semester to comment on what they like and dislike about the class and about my teaching. Receiving regular feedback from the students is very important to me. There is no point in waiting until the end of the semester when the official course evaluations come out to determine what is and is not working; by that time, it is too late to do anything about it!
Not only is it important to receive regular feedback from the students, but it is equally important that I give the students regular and prompt feedback as well. I assign and collect homework every class period, and without exception, I return the graded homework the following day. I am careful to always include helpful comments. I also strongly believe in positive reinforcement, and when a student is doing well, I tell him/her so!
I encourage my students to see me during my office hours,
and I make myself available for any student who wants
help (not necessarily math-related).
As a teacher, I often have assumed the role of counselor, supporter,
and encourager for my students.
Several of my students have come from bad family situations, and clearly
had never been on the receiving end of any positive words of
encouragement. Therefore, I have always tried my best to build up the self-esteem
of my students.
The following letter I received from one of my Math Excel students at the end
of Calculus I:
``Dear Joy, I just figured I would let you know that I
think you're a great teacher, and I really appreciate you.
I don't think
you realize what a great person you are. You have a great personality, and you
seem to be really concerned about others. In my life, it's been on very rare
occasions that I have found people who are genuinely interested in what goes on
in my life, or how I'm doing. Joy, you're one of the great ones! I thank and
appreciate you immensely for all that you have done for me (not just helping
with calculus - you've helped me in ways that I know you can never realize).
Because of you, I have decided to take Calculus II.''
Lastly, I am very enthusiastic about mathematics and about life in general,
and I try to convey
this enthusiasm to my students. As a student, my favorite classes were
always the ones in which the instructor appeared as if he/she were
really enjoying what he/she was doing, and I want my students to have
that impression of me when I am teaching. I believe that I have been
successful based on the comments I have received from my students:
``This has actually been a very interesting course, and I usually hate math.''
``Joy has made MA162 a wonderful experience. I feel very fortunate to have had her as a teacher. She has changed my opinion of math.''
``You have more energy than any teacher I ever had.''
``It's nice to see a math instructor love what she is teaching. Great job!''