Overview of Teaching at
Penn State
James Sellers
sellersj@math.psu.edu
First Things First
• Welcome!
• Who is this guy?
James Sellers
• PhD, 1992, Penn State University
• 1992 – 2001: Mathematics Professor,
Cedarville University (Ohio)
• 2001 – Present: Director of Undergraduate
Mathematics and Associate Professor,
Penn State University
James Sellers
• Research: number theory (related to
partitions), combinatorics
• Teaching (at Cedarville): precalculus,
calculus, differential equations,
combinatorics, elementary number theory,
“math for liberal arts majors”
James Sellers
• Teaching (at Penn State): first year
seminar, “math for liberal arts majors,” first
year calculus, elementary combinatorics,
elementary number theory
• Extracurricular: racquetball, basketball,
church activities, time with my wife and
kids
Your Roles at Penn State
• Student
– This is familiar territory
• Researcher
• Member of a team
– You are a colleague in the department,
especially in your role as teacher
Your Roles at Penn State
• Teacher
– An integral part of the department!
– Our department services the entire university
(engineering, business, liberal arts, etc.)
– We offer the second most credit hours on
campus (behind the English Department).
– Teaching mathematics is an extremely
important endeavor; it should be viewed as a
primary task while you are here.
Your Roles at Penn State
• Teacher
– There will be many tasks to juggle as you
teach in our department
• Much of this semester’s training will focus on this
– We value teaching (awards, recognition, etc.)
– We provide a great deal of support (Mentoring
Program, GTA Oversight Committee)
Your Roles at Penn State
• Classroom Manager
– Next semester, you will probably be in charge
of a classroom full of students. For many of
you, this will be a first!
– In a number of our sessions this semester, we
will strive to get you ready for this.
A “Top 10” List For Your
Consideration
• Know your audience and know the goals
of your course
– Aim the content correctly
• Always go to your class prepared (to
teach, to return graded materials, etc.)
– This takes time outside of class
– Again, we will give you lots of advice this
semester
A “Top 10” List For Your
Consideration
• Always conduct yourself in a professional
manner in class
– Never go to class looking or acting like you
just got out of bed
– “TA came to class in pajamas”
– Remember that students call parents and
parents will get involved. (“I pay lots …”)
A “Top 10” List For Your
Consideration
• Never demean your students or
colleagues
– “No such thing as a bad question”
– We will talk more about this later this
semester
• Always contact your coordinator or me if
you have any questions about your class!
A “Top 10” List For Your
Consideration
• Always give students the opportunity to
see their quizzes, midterms, and final
exam after grading
• Remove as much uncertainty as possible
– Try to give students as much detailed
information throughout a course as you can
– Exception? Don’t give too much information
about specific exam problems during review
A “Top 10” List For Your
Consideration
• Never ignore student requests for
meetings or clarification on grades
– Return emails or phone calls!
– If you don’t know the answer, direct them to
your course coordinator; just don’t ignore
them
A “Top 10” List For Your
Consideration
• Always strive to find a substitute for a
class rather than canceling class (again,
student focus on tuition lost, etc.)
– Again, you are a member of a team, and
many in the department are willing to help
A “Top 10” List For Your
Consideration
• And my all-time favorite: Never say
“Wow, that was a hard exam” or
“Wow, am I glad I did not have to take
that exam” to your own class!
– This really happened
– This really got the parents calling me
Overview of Teaching at
Penn State
James Sellers
sellersj@math.psu.edu