Teaching Mathematics in Colleges and Universities: Case Studies for Today's Classroom. Graduate Student Edition. (Issues in Mathematics Education, V. 10) (CBMS Issues in Mathematics Education) [Paperback]

American Mathematical Society (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 18, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0821828231 | ISBN-13: 978-0821828236

Progress in mathematics frequently occurs first by studying particular examples and then by generalizing the patterns that have been observed into far-reaching theorems. Similarly, in teaching mathematics one often employs examples to motivate a general principle or to illustrate its use. This volume uses the same idea in the context of learning how to teach: By analyzing particular teaching situations, one can develop broadly applicable teaching skills useful for the professional mathematician. These teaching situations are the Case Studies of the title. <P>Just as a good mathematician seeks both to understand the details of a particular problem and to put it in a broader context, the examples presented here are chosen to offer a serious set of detailed teaching issues and to afford analysis from a broad perspective. <P>Each case raises a variety of pedagogical and communication issues that may be explored either individually or in a group facilitated by a faculty member. <P>The methodology of Case Studies is widely used in areas such as business and law. The consideration of the mathematics cases presented here will help readers to develop teaching skills for their own classrooms.

Editorial Reviews

Review

It will be specially useful to graduate students who are TAs or will be college teachers. The option of this volume was to present fourteen case studies ... `of common teaching situations' ... these teaching exercises are valuable and the project was very carefully conducted. ---- Zentralblatt MATH<br /><br />By analyzing particular teaching situations, one can develop broadly applicable teaching skills useful for the professional mathematician. -- --FIZ Karlsruhe

By analyzing particular teaching situations, one can develop broadly applicable teaching skills useful for the professional mathematician. ---- FIZ Karlsruhe

Product Details

• Paperback: 67 pages
• Publisher: American Mathematical Society (May 18, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821828231
• ISBN-13: 978-0821828236
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,383,419 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You will get at least $5000 in non-pecuniary benefits from this book., October 18, 2009

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N. Thompson (Boise) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Teaching Mathematics in Colleges and Universities: Case Studies for Today's Classroom. Graduate Student Edition. (Issues in Mathematics Education, V. 10) (CBMS Issues in Mathematics Education) (Paperback)

You might be initially put off by the sappy narrative structure that this book employs, but if you are a mathematics graduate student teaching for the first time, you need this book. If you can get overlook the format of the book, and focus on the substance, then it will begin to feel surreal. Each case study ends in tragedy. You read one, and the name of the teacher becomes your name, the name of the student becomes the name of the student who said exactly the same thing as the case studies prophesied. In one case study, you are verbally assaulted by a student who believes that your attempts to test understanding is a mere annoyance, since he knows the mechanics. After all, mathematics is all form and no substance! You deliver a lecture showing the applications of a certain mathematical technique, and are quite pleased with yourself thinking students will be pleased to learn that your class is not merely an exercise in difficult but mindless symbol manipulation. But your students are actively hostile during this lecture, and inform you that they just want to get through the class/hoop; applications be damned-this lecture is a waste of time. Then they fail the test on that material. You get bent around the axle thinking its your fault-what a fool you were thinking they cared about knowledge!-so you ask a senior professor what to do. He essentially says you shouldn't care about how good your students do, or you'll get bent around the axle and have a nervous breakdown. You find his opinion crass, you keep caring, and then you get bent around the axle and have a nervous breakdown. Your students collectively fail the next test.

But if you read this book, you will understand that teaching is not a fulfilling job, your bad students will fail with or without you, your good students will do good with or without you, and your job is an exercise in futility. You will convince yourself that half your students fail because they don't show up to class. But then you might remember your advanced statistics class, and think that maybe, it just seems like your students fail because they don't show up, really it's because all your good students only show up to class out of politeness.

This book will help you give up your delusions about teaching. Once you do, then you can emotionally detach yourself from your students performance, and merely focus on improving your teaching. That is your job, after all.