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Kien Lim

Description: Description: UTEP translucentDepartment of Mathematical Sciences
University of Texas at El Paso
500 W. University Ave
El Paso, TX 79968-0514

Office: Bell Hall 301
Phone: (915) 747-6772
E-mail: kienlim@utep.edu

Description: Description: image006

 

The current habits of mind of math students and the current teaching practice of math teachers pose a great challenge in math education in the United States. Students’ undesirable habits of mind include (a) diving into a procedure without analyzing the problem, (b) manipulating symbols without attending to their meanings, (c) waiting to be shown how to solve a problem, and (d) relying on teachers for conviction about their answers. These habits of mind are internalized partly because of the way math has been traditionally taught in schools and colleges. Having observed these undesirable habits of mind and beliefs among students, I became passionate about helping them improve their habits of mind and change their perspectives of teaching and learning mathematics. My mission is to transform math students from memorizers to thinkers and to transform math teachers’ beliefs from mathematics as a collection of facts and procedures to be memorized to mathematics as a discipline that involves problem solving, conjecturing, investigating, proving, and abstracting. Accomplishing such a mission requires the support and aspiration of math teachers in El Paso, prospective math teachers, and math instructors at UTEP,

 

Information for Mathematics Teachers in El Paso 

·        Masters of Arts at Teaching – Mathematics  

·        Fostering Mathematical Thinking in Middle Schools – Teacher Quality Grant

·        SABE MAS Academy – Professional Development for Math & Science Teachers

·        Local Educational Agencies Partnership Grant Conference  

·        Mathematics Graduate Course Work Scholarships for Grades 9–12 Teachers

·        TEACH Grant Program

·        iMPaCT-STEM Project

 

Other Information

·        Online Access to My Publications at Selected Works

·        Slides of PowerPoint Presentations at the Conferences and Workshops 

·        Wiki for Mathematics Educators interested in Mathematical Habits of Mind



Updated on January 17, 2013

 

The true measure of success is not knowing the right answer,
but in knowing what to do when you don’t know the answer.
                                                                    Arthur Costa