Teaching Portfolio

Abstract

A. Teaching Statement As an undergraduate, the realisation that mathematics is a creative subject captivated my attention. By engaging with theorems and abstract definitions, I began to understand ​ what it was I had been doing in my previous mathematics classes. As my friends and I began to develop our mathematical knowledge, we would excitedly discuss and explain our points of view to each other. The challenge of communicating my knowledge to my peers allowed me to engage with the material more deeply than studying on my own, and provided me with the confidence to express myself to my professors and peers outside the classroom. Despite my own learning experiences, the idea of`​of`​ learning through discussion' is not how I first approached teaching. When I began to teach mathematics, I relied heavily on lecturing and I tried to tell my students the story I had developed of a topic, expecting that the insights I had acquired would aid their learning experience. I discovered quickly that students needed to build their own understanding, and that being an effective educator required a broad and more interactive learning environment. The predominant focus of my pedagogical development has been on providing more opportunities for students to interact with their studies through their peers. I have the strong belief that actively discussing mathematics engages student learning, promotes effective communication skills, and facilitates intellectual and personal inquiry. I have experimented with incorporating a more active approach to learning in several ways that I outline below. At Middlebury College I have been investigating the role of discussion in the classroom in a Calculus II course I have been leading. At the beginning of every class I supply students with a