My Teaching Philosophy
Teaching in General
During my over 19 years of math teaching career, I have taught a lot of different courses to students with a broad range of needs, knowledge, and cultural backgrounds. I have taught high school and college/university students. I also taught a “College Algebra “course to US MARINES stationed in US EMBASSY in New Delhi, India.
I believe that:
As a teacher of mathematics, I like to take advantage of the fact that mathematics is a very special subject:
Teaching Style and Methods
I prepare my classes thoroughly, but I like to improvise whenever possible. I want to be interrupted during my lectures feel good when students ask me relevant questions and keep encouraging them to ask questions. When explaining solution of the math problem, I always refer to different concepts and skills already covered in course and how they are being applied in this particular math problem. I typically conclude with a summary of key points. I always keep a special session for review before every major test both in my campus based and online classes. I usually speak clearly, loudly, and slowly, but enthusiastically. Students are encouraged to learn from each other as their grades are not curved, thus, students are not competing with their classmates. In some classes, I give group projects and homework. I always provide feedback to homework problems, quizzes, and tests in my online classes discussion board is the most active and vital area of the course where students interact with each other thereby creating a healthy learning community. To reduce students' anxiety about tests, I make old exams available on the Web, and often give practice tests. I usually give a test on prerequisites during the first week of the course. Assignments and projects are naturally integrated into my courses. I spend time explaining the assignments and solving similar problems in class for further discussion.
Grading Policy
I generally follow the common practice of the department and institution on specific courses. Grades are mostly based on evaluation of a content-learning. At the same time, I also implemented several ideas in my classes that seem to be not very typical:
My policy on retaking tests is unique in the department. Every student has a opportunity to retake every test; however, the grade can go down in the process if the student is not well prepared. I keep students fully informed of their progress during the semester, always announce final grades before the end of the semester, and give every student a last chance to improve the final grade during the week of finals.
Teaching and Technology
Technology is an essential and integrated part of my teaching. I believe that it is crucial for students to feel comfortable with the technologies that are becoming available; they need to know how to use a new technology effectively, what its limits are, and what to do when the technology fails. I am quite interested and familiar with recent innovations. I am well experienced in using BLACKBOARD and MyMathLab (Pearson product) as course management system.
All my course materials are available on the web in Blackboard which included syllabi, online homework assignments, online quizzes/ tests and grading policy. I stay in touch with my students throughout the duration of course and respond to their questions /concerns promptly either through email or messaging system of the course management system. I require that all students prepare their projects reports electronically and submit them through the Internet. In some course I also created WIKI pages.
At the same time, I strongly oppose the abuse of technology. There are courses in mathematics, where students need to learn how to use their brain rather than calculators/computers.
I keep myself update with the latest research in math education and attend workshops in mathematics to learn from experience of other math educators which I always find helpful in enhancing my instructional methods.
Teaching in General
During my over 19 years of math teaching career, I have taught a lot of different courses to students with a broad range of needs, knowledge, and cultural backgrounds. I have taught high school and college/university students. I also taught a “College Algebra “course to US MARINES stationed in US EMBASSY in New Delhi, India.
I believe that:
- No matter how experienced a teacher is, every new class and every new student pose a challenge. For excellence in teaching, there is always room for improvement.
- A teacher has to appeal to different learning styles, to offer a variety of instructional experiences, and needs to keep an open mind to new teaching techniques to give every student the opportunity to participate fully and actively in the learning process.
- Being a successful teacher depends on creating a learning environment with the open exploration of ideas, a relationship in which students feel respected as well as challenged. Students should be encouraged to stretch themselves a bit beyond their level of comfort and be given an opportunity to leave every class feeling that they have overcome a new challenge successfully.
- Teaching should be an integral component of the creation of new knowledge, an initial step toward continuing education, and first of all, self-education.
- Though student satisfaction is important for better learning, teaching -- especially in mathematics -- should not become a popularity contest, or a show. A teacher is responsible to the society in general, and should resist the pressure of lowering academic standards in education.
As a teacher of mathematics, I like to take advantage of the fact that mathematics is a very special subject:
- Mathematics is an excellent intellectual game where all the players win.
- Mathematics is also a model that can be used for developing independent and critical thinking.
- Mathematics can be seen as a language that allows us to communicate ideas precisely between ourselves.
- Finally, mathematics is a tool used in natural sciences and, thus, a required discipline for many students.
Teaching Style and Methods
I prepare my classes thoroughly, but I like to improvise whenever possible. I want to be interrupted during my lectures feel good when students ask me relevant questions and keep encouraging them to ask questions. When explaining solution of the math problem, I always refer to different concepts and skills already covered in course and how they are being applied in this particular math problem. I typically conclude with a summary of key points. I always keep a special session for review before every major test both in my campus based and online classes. I usually speak clearly, loudly, and slowly, but enthusiastically. Students are encouraged to learn from each other as their grades are not curved, thus, students are not competing with their classmates. In some classes, I give group projects and homework. I always provide feedback to homework problems, quizzes, and tests in my online classes discussion board is the most active and vital area of the course where students interact with each other thereby creating a healthy learning community. To reduce students' anxiety about tests, I make old exams available on the Web, and often give practice tests. I usually give a test on prerequisites during the first week of the course. Assignments and projects are naturally integrated into my courses. I spend time explaining the assignments and solving similar problems in class for further discussion.
Grading Policy
I generally follow the common practice of the department and institution on specific courses. Grades are mostly based on evaluation of a content-learning. At the same time, I also implemented several ideas in my classes that seem to be not very typical:
- Grades are never curved, thus, there is no limit of high/low grades.
- I use multiple-choice tests and constructive response to assess and evaluate students and my instructional methods and strategies.
My policy on retaking tests is unique in the department. Every student has a opportunity to retake every test; however, the grade can go down in the process if the student is not well prepared. I keep students fully informed of their progress during the semester, always announce final grades before the end of the semester, and give every student a last chance to improve the final grade during the week of finals.
Teaching and Technology
Technology is an essential and integrated part of my teaching. I believe that it is crucial for students to feel comfortable with the technologies that are becoming available; they need to know how to use a new technology effectively, what its limits are, and what to do when the technology fails. I am quite interested and familiar with recent innovations. I am well experienced in using BLACKBOARD and MyMathLab (Pearson product) as course management system.
All my course materials are available on the web in Blackboard which included syllabi, online homework assignments, online quizzes/ tests and grading policy. I stay in touch with my students throughout the duration of course and respond to their questions /concerns promptly either through email or messaging system of the course management system. I require that all students prepare their projects reports electronically and submit them through the Internet. In some course I also created WIKI pages.
At the same time, I strongly oppose the abuse of technology. There are courses in mathematics, where students need to learn how to use their brain rather than calculators/computers.
I keep myself update with the latest research in math education and attend workshops in mathematics to learn from experience of other math educators which I always find helpful in enhancing my instructional methods.