1. I am a junior in school and a mathematics major.
2. The post-calculus math courses I have taken include Linear Algebra, Differential Equations and Mathematical Proofs (Math 290).
3. I am taking Abstract Algebra because it is required for a bachelor's degree in mathematics, which is a subject I enjoy as it is my major.
4. The math professor I have had who was most effective was here at BYU. He did many things I like so I have a lot to say. He was very organized and spoke clear and loud. He wrote most everything on the board and went at a slow pace. This allowed us to write down what he was saying and let the concepts sink in so that we could think about what he was teaching us and ask questions. He was always making sure we were keeping up with what he was saying.
Every once in a while he would do in class worksheets with groups of 2-4 to get the class period going. These were like brain-starters for the material to be taught that day or from a previous day. This helped me to recall the material being taught and also allowed me to get to know other students in the class. He had periodic 2-3 question quizzes (about once a week) so that we would stay fresh with the material. I didn't like the quizzes at the time, but there is no doubt that it helped me when exam time came around because I was already working on retaining what he had been teaching and doing so on a regular basis.
Often times he would print out sheets that organized past material together which was very effective in seeing how past concepts lead/connected to the next. Important formula and theorem sheets, written in more understandable terms, were also given to us.
Our homework assignments were graded on completeness which is something I really liked. It was his philosophy that homework is still part of the learning experience and tests are what measured exactly what we knew and how well we knew it. This philosophy allowed me to be more open to the various ideas that flowed to my mind when trying to solve a problem because I wasn't solely focused on getting it textbook perfect that time in order to keep up. My creative thinking improved as a result. The next class period he would then proceed to answer any questions and problems we had with the homework before we had to turn it in. If we were really struggling it was not uncommon for him to extend the due date of that homework while still keeping the new/next homework assigned as normal.
His tests were a compilation of problems similar to the homework. We always took a class period to review before the test and always went over the tests afterwards. His tests were never timed, other than the final. He would print out a solution sheet to all of the test questions for us to look over. The final exam was cumulative and consisted of various questions similar to that in our past exams.
5. I like to play sports and be active. Volleyball, tennis, snowboarding, hiking, biking, basketball, frisbee and softball are among my favorite things to do. Something else unique about me is that I tried a piece of gum for the first time this summer!
6. When I am unable to come to your scheduled office hours the times that work best for me are Tuesday and Thursday at any time other than noon-1 and 6-7 pm.
No comments:
Post a Comment