Student Guide Corner

During a semester, teachers do not always have enough free time available to make radical class improvements.  Consequently, as I have said often in these blog postings over the years, the summer is a fabulous time to work on the upcoming learning process.  Frequently, this advice has focused on the students.  How can you get them especially well motivated for an outstanding class in the fall?  Today, however, I want to address you as the teacher.   I want to make a suggestion for a simple experiment that I hope you will try between now and the first week of class. Creating a great educational experience is impossible unless you have a clear idea as to what success should look like.  What do you really want to happen?   �By the last day of the fall semester, I want to have a great class but I really do not know what that will look like,� is a ludicrous statement.  However, many teachers really do not know what that great class would look...

It's been too long. Can't say I'll be back with regularity but I have to share something I read this morning , eloquently written by Richard Ellenson, advocate for equality and equity for all students.  He writes from a parent's perspective and shares this: My kid is different than your kid.  He is sixteen; smart, self-aware, kind, funny, loves his friends, loves the Yankees, loves Broadway even more�. and Apple products even more than that.  He�s also in a big electric wheelchair. He can�t speak words, and instead he talks using an app on his iPad. He loves big rare steaks but needs help to eat them. When he goes on a date, someone has to accompany him. And, of course, he needs to deal with the big psychological impact of all that � which he does with amazing grace.  He�s a wonder.  But not everyone sees that. Instead, teachers are often stopped short by the more obvious manifestations of his disabilities. They don�t see his challenges; they see their ow...

Last week, I sent an email to my students about making good use of their summer.  I suggested that they read a book that Bill Gates had recommended in Time magazine, Business Adventures by John Brooks.  I was clearly trying to serve in a mentoring capacity by recommending an activity that was never going to be on the students' test.  I hope some of them take me up on the assignment. I liked that idea so I posted a short discussion of it on this blog (May 28, 2017).   We seem to have difficulty in getting everything covered in a four-year education.  We need to find ways to increase what a student can learn during the college experience.  Making good use of summer is one place to start. My friend Bob Jensen (retired teaching legend from Trinity University) sent me a note about his own version of this summer assignment.   In all honesty, I liked his idea better than I liked my idea.   We live in a time when things evolve so rapidly that our student...

When it comes to my classes and my students, I worry about many things.  Perhaps worrying makes me a better teacher.  Here are two things I at worrying about at the current time. --I worry that students will not make good use of the 3-4 months they have off each summer.   I know that college students are very busy people.   Many have jobs or internships.  Others are taking summer classes.   However, learning simply cannot cease for such an extended period.   That is not a good use of available time or brainpower.  Learning should not be limited to formal classroom experiences.   College students need to be getting themselves prepared for what educators refer to as �lifelong learning.�  In our fast moving society, that becomes more and more important.  No one can afford to stop learning at 22. --I worry that students will wind up in a program or a major that does not really intrigue them.   College ...

By  Lew Ludwig  (Editor-in-Chief),  Denison University As the academic year comes to a close, Teaching Tidbits is headed for summer vacation. We hope you enjoyed the inaugural year of the blog and found it useful for your classroom. As you prepare for next year�s classes, be sure to read our posts from the last year, particularly our three most popular posts: 5 Ways to Respond When Students Offer Incorrect Answers How to Deal with Math Anxiety in Students   5 Reflective Exam Questions That Will Make You Excited About Grading   While the blog is on summer holiday, we encourage you to seek out other sources of good teaching tips, like attending the � Encouraging Effective Teaching Innovation � contributed paper session at this year�s MAA MathFest in Chicago this summer. We also welcome your suggestions of topics or ideas for future posts by contacting: teachingtidbits@maa.org . Enjoy your summer and see you in the fall. -The Teaching Tidbits Team

Over the years, I have written occasionally about the role of being a mentor for my students versus being a pure teacher.   Personally, I prefer to be open to mentoring for those students who might want it.   I think many of them like knowing that there is some rather disinterested person available that they can go to and simply say �I need some advice.�  For example, a former student wandered into my office a few days ago who was interested in talking about Teach for America.   This was a decision that had stressed her out and she began to cry.   We chatted for 10-15 minutes.   She didn�t leave dancing or singing but at least she wasn�t crying.  I did not mind listening and giving my opinion. But, at other times, I want to be a mentor to my students without even being asked.   I want to butt into their lives just a little bit�especially as it deals with college and their education.   Without any request, I ...

By  Dana Ernst ,  Contributing Editor,   Northern Arizona University Active learning is all the rage these days, and with good reason. As teachers embrace active learning, students are building problem solving skills that promote analysis and evaluation of the content they are given in the classroom. Read on to learn how active learning can give your teaching style a makeover. Active learning has been gaining traction over the past few years, aided in part by public approval from several entities, including the 15-member society presidents of the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences in 2016. Active learning comes in several shapes and sizes, and inquiry-based learning (IBL) is just one of many forms. In particular, the IBL community has grown up to be very active and supportive in the past few decades. Loosely speaking, IBL is a pedagogical framework characterized by two essential principles: students deeply engage in meaningful problems, and  students coll...