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Promoting Faculty Development
What I Did on my Holidays
Mike Wills
Acknowledgements
• The MAA
• The United States Military Academy at West Point
• National Science Foundation under Grant No. 08-546
• The Thayer Hotel (at USMA)
http://www.dean.usma.edu/departments/math/courses/FDW/FDW_NSF/Details.html
A View of the Thayer Hotel
Paper Darts
Deadly with a Paper Dart
I forgot my identically dressed partner
Team Continental U.S. M.A.th
Why Did I Go?
Why Did I Go?
• Improve Teaching
Why Did I Go?
• Improve Teaching
• Faculty Development
Why Did I Go?
• Improve Teaching
• Faculty Development
• It was Free!
Current and Past Teaching Techniques
• Primary means of communicating math is via lecture.
• Occasional Group Discussions
• Student Board Work
Features of Lectures
• Efficient
Features of Lectures
• Efficient
• The Standard Paradigm
Features of Lectures
• Efficient
• The Standard Paradigm
• Require Limited Involvement with Students
Features of Lectures
• Efficient
• The Standard Paradigm
• Require Limited Involvement with Students
• Force Students to Learn Outside the Classroom
Features of Lectures
• Efficient
• The Standard Paradigm
• Require Limited Involvement with Students
• Force Students to Learn Outside the Classroom
• Rarely Discussed Explicitly at the Workshop
Features of Board Work
• In an extreme form, leads to the Moore Method
Features of Board Work
• In an extreme form, leads to the Moore Method
• Used in abundance at USMA and also at the Air Force Academy
Features of Board Work
• In an extreme form, leads to the Moore Method
• Used in abundance at USMA and also at the Air Force Academy
• Students are more likely to engage in class
Features of Board Work
• In an extreme form, leads to the Moore Method
• Used in abundance at USMA and also at the Air Force Academy
• Students are more likely to engage in class
• Can lead to a loss in the amount of content covered
Features of Board Work
• In an extreme form, leads to the Moore Method
• Used in abundance at USMA and also at the Air Force Academy
• Students are more likely to engage in class
• Can lead to a loss in the amount of content covered
• May increases the likelihood of a “transformational experience”
Features of Group Work
Features of Group Work
• Collaborative
Features of Group Work
• Collaborative
• Dynamic
Features of Group Work
• Collaborative
• Dynamic
• Smoothes over differences in students
Features of Group Work
• Collaborative
• Dynamic
• Smoothes over differences in students
Features of Group Work
• Collaborative
• Dynamic
• Smoothes over differences in students
• Slow Paced
Features of Group Work
• Collaborative
• Dynamic
• Smoothes over differences in students
• Slow Paced
"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and
over again and expecting
different results".-Albert Einstein
Needs and Motivation(Hierarchy Theory)
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Self-actualization
Belongingness
Esteem
Safety & Security
Physiological
• Where are your students?• At what level should we expect
them?• To what level can we elevate them?
Deep vs. Surface Learning
Deep Learning (LT Memory) Surface Learning (ST Memory)
Involves analyzing new information, relating this information to prior experiences, and leads to understanding and long-term retention of the new information for use in problem solving in unfamiliar contexts.
Involves accepting new information as isolated facts, and leads to short-term retention of the information for use as “cookbook” solutions to problems that are not fully understood.
Characteristics
Looking for meaning Relying on rote learning
Relates previous knowledge to new knowledge
New knowledge and previous knowledge are unrelated
Focuses on the concepts needed to solve a problem (memorizes for understanding)
Focuses on reproducing solutions to similar looking problems (memorizes for regurgitation)
Approaches to learning, not attributes of individuals
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Tactile Ideas
• Throwing balls to illustrate the concept of a function
Tactile Ideas
• Throwing balls to illustrate the concept of a function
• Exploring geometric transformations of functions through interpretive dance
Tactile Ideas
• Throwing balls to illustrate the concept of a function
• Exploring geometric transformations of functions through interpretive dance
• Bring in games like the Towers of Hanoi
Tactile Ideas
• Throwing balls to illustrate the concept of a function
• Exploring geometric transformations of functions through interpretive dance
• Bring in games like the Towers of Hanoi
• Go outside and use trig to measure the height of a tree
Other Teaching Ideas
• More writing assignments
• More real world applications
• Role-playing
Faculty Development
• Start small
• Attend each other’s classes regularly
• Share ideas about a course with colleagues before you/they teach it
• Regular discussions about development
A Useful Resource
Learning to Teach & Teaching to Learn
Matt DeLong and Dale Winter
