Teaching Statement Terrance Pendleton
I believe that Hyman Bass said it best when he said “Mathematics is one of the deepest and most powerful expressions of pure human reason, and, at the same time, the most fundamental resource for the description and analysis of the experiential world.” It is this quality about mathematics that drives my teaching. As a teacher, one of my biggest challenges is overcoming built up fears, inhibitions, and the classic “I’m not good at math” attitude, prevalent especially in students who have failed to optimize their success in math prior to my class. My job as a mathematics instructor is motivated by my desire to show them how a deep understanding of how mathematics work can help elevate their thinking and ability to reason.
Of course, I want students to do more than just understand the material, I want to create and enhance enthusiasm for mathematics. Aiding students in appreciating the beauty of mathematics is intimately related to ensuring that they learn the material. As every student and teacher knows, it is much easier to learn when the subject fascinates you. The most prevalent force keeping students from enjoying mathematics is a lack of understanding for the subject.
My many years of teaching have led me to conclude that mathematics can be incredibly fascinating and powerful if successfully motivated and explained, or incredibly dull and tedious if it is insufficiently motivated and explained. Almost everything I do as a teacher centers around assisting students in understanding and appreciating the concepts rather than just memorizing the rules with the broad goal of creating more critical thinkers. I seek to create imaginative learners as opposed to imitative learners. It is my responsibility to give students every possible opportunity to accomplish these goals. In every class that I teach from basic Algebra to Analysis, I follow these principles to maximize every student’s potential to learn and appreciate mathematics.
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I create an environment that is conducive to learning. My classroom is a place where students can feel relaxed and thus freely express themselves mathematically. I try to give students a substantial amount of control over their own learning experiences.
To help facilitate this freedom of expression, I make it my personal mission to connect with each student in the classroom–especially the students who initially are not as fond of the topic as others. Learning mathematics is not a spectator sport–it takes effort from the students and I to produce measurable success. No matter how many students I have in a class, I make it my business to learn the students’ names and majors. Whenever possible,
I try and foster enthusiasm by aligning mathematical concepts with their interests based on their major.
When introducing concepts in a class, it is not sufficient for me to stand in front of a classroom, do an example of some mathematical concept, and then open the floor for questions. Instead, I try to emphasize critical thinking and problem solving skills by challenging students to question, reason, investigate, and conjecture. I want students to relish in the thrill of learning and discovery. For instance, in many of my classes, I play a game call “What will Terrance do next?” where I turn the class over to the students and have them decide how I should continue a problem, based on what has already been done up until that point. In my proof-based classes, it is not uncommon for me to hand
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Teaching Statement Terrance Pendleton the chalk over to a student and have them write the next line of a proof on the board. As a class, we critique the line and then the student passes off the chalk to another student to continue the proof. In this manner, we continue until we reach the desired conclusion.
This helps students better visualize the logical justifications that connect one idea with another.
In my classes I ask the students to interact with me and their fellow colleagues in such a way that they become as active as possible in their own learning process. If I find that a student is incorrect in their reasoning, then it is not enough for me to tell them that they are wrong and correct the mistake for them. Rather, it is my job to help the student discover where the mistake lies, and how to avoid such a pitfall in the future. Allowing the students to have more control over their learning experiences helps facilitate a greater freedom of expression. In turn, this allows the students to really learn and comprehend the material.
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Students should be able to take seemingly abstract ideas in mathematics and make them applicable to their interest of study.
I am a firm believer in making mathematics applicable to students. One major compliant that has been prevalent in my teaching experiences is the claim that mathematics is not useful or pertinent to students’ lives. For instance, I have found that the subject of linear algebra becomes much livelier when concrete applications are discussed, such as
Google’s PageRank algorithm or the dynamics of population changes. If I had a class filled with engineers, I may consider examples involving work and hydrostatic pressure in a Calculus II course. Alternatively, if I had a class filled with biology majors, I would consider growth and decay models using differential equations. This requires that I make a connection with each student to gauge their interests. As a mathematics instructor, one of my goals is to convince students that mathematics is relevant in many aspects in their lives. Even if students do not directly apply some of the skills learned in the classroom,
I hope to show them that the reasoning skills garnered from studying mathematics are invaluable and transcend beyond the educational setting.
Since my duration at North Carolina State University and Iowa State University, I have had the privilege and pleasure of serving as the main instructor for a variety of math courses which have ranged from PreCalculus Algebra to undergraduate Analysis. My experiences have allowed me to be exposed to a variety of students in all different stages of their respective mathematical journeys. I have worked with freshmen in Algebra–who are taking their first steps in a world virtually unknown to them up to advanced Analysis students, who work to transcend to heights they thought could never be attained. It is the combination of these experiences, which has helped determine what path I want my life to take. As a teacher, I believe that it is paramount that I adapt my teaching strategies to match the caliber of the students. As a black male, I believe that I am in a unique position to provide not only an environment conducive to the learning of advanced mathematics, but hopefully as a role model and mentor to underrepresented students who are interested in pursuing an advanced degree in mathematics.
Given the opportunity and the right set of tools, I sincerely believe that any student can be successfully in mathematics. To help aid in the success of the student, it is my job to
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Teaching Statement Terrance Pendleton create an environment conducive to learning, allow students to express themselves freely and confidently, and show students how mathematics is directly related to their lives and career goals. It is unfortunate that so many students’ views on mathematics are tarnished by a negative experience in some math class in their past. Thankfully, with patience and guidance, these views are easily reversible. One of the best feelings in the world, is when a seemingly unreachable goal suddenly becomes attainable, and you have that classic “Aha!” moment. Once students overcome their fear of mathematics, they can begin to realize and celebrate their intelligence, and become one step closer to fully realizing their potential and becoming productive citizens in our society.
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