Graduate Seminar (Teaching Mathematics and Statistics)     

Math 5195 (CRN 19127)

WELCOME!  ˇBIENVENIDOS!              Monday, August 21, 2006

 

Description from Graduate Catalog:  “Conferences and discussions of various topics in mathematics and statistics by faculty, graduate students, and outside speakers.  Required of all graduate students during each semester of full-time enrollment.  May not be counted more than once toward the degree requirement.”

 

Meetings:  Mondays 12:30-1:20 in Bell Hall 143 (except Sept. 4); the instructor will announce if there may be some weeks we do not meet (e.g., in order to free up time to schedule teaching observations or post-observation conferences)

 

Instructor:  Assoc. Prof. Dr. Larry Lesser (rhymes with “professor”, spelled like “<”)  

I began teaching university courses (especially statistics!) in 1988, and I’ve also worked as a state agency statistician and as a full-time high school teacher & department chair! 

My teaching innovations were recognized with the 2001 AASU Gignilliat Professorship and with nominations for the ASA’s Waller Education Award.  More info and statistics/mathematics education resources are available from my homepage:   www.math.utep.edu/Faculty/lesser/.   (FYI:  you can even access the syllabus there if you ever lose this one, by clicking “SCHEDULE”)

 

How to reach me:  my official Bell Hall 213 office hours will be finalized, announced and posted this week; I’m also usually available during intra-class “break times” and for a few minutes right after class and by appointment; changes will be announced and posted;

also, feel free to ask/leave me questions by phone (747-6845; “SIR-OUIJA”) or email (Lesser (at) utep.edu). It’s my job and privilege to serve you and provide guidance. 


Feedback on This Semester’s Teaching:

One of the most important and practical parts of this course will be the opportunity for you to get formative evaluation (and perhaps make adjustments) on your teaching this very semester!  This will happen in two ways:

* A written Midterm Student Evaluation will be conducted in your class during the last 10-15 minutes of a particular class meeting that you pick; I will supply you with a packet of forms; the day you pick must be between September 15 and October 6; you must leave the room during this process and have one of your students volunteer to collect the forms and deliver them to CETaL (in UGLC 122)

* have one of your class meetings observed where you are teaching.  We will aim to do this roughly in the middle of the semester (i.e., between September 18 and October 27) so that (1) you have a chance to get the class going and benefit from the conversations of our first few meetings and (2) you still have a chance to try out modifications or adjustments with that same class after receiving feedback.  It is hoped that arrangements will be in place for the class meeting to be videotaped so that you will have the benefit of later watching your teaching from the students’ perspective, as you receive feedback from an appropriate faculty member such as Dr. Lesser or CETaL’s Dr. Reimers.  You are required to email Dr. Tine Reimers (reimers@utep.edu) with at least 2 weeks’ advance notice of when you would like to be videotaped (give a couple of alternate dates, if possible) so that she can arrange for her staff to do the taping.  The videotape will not be viewed by anyone except you and the faculty member giving you feedback (e.g., me or the CETaL Director), and will be taped over (erased) after you have watched it and received feedback.

 

Grades:  letter grade is determined by the usual cutoffs of 90, 80, 70, 60, based on: 

 

30% -- Class participation/attendance, which is calculated as 100(M – U – E)/M, 

where   M = # of class meetings we have,   U = # of days of unexcused absence/nonparticipation, E = max{0, # of days of excused absence/nonparticipation – 2}

 

20% -- having a Midterm Student Evaluation done sometime between September 15 and October 6 and having your teaching observed sometime between September 18 and October 27;  the results of these are not seen by anyone besides you and CETaL or supervising faculty member unless you choose otherwise)

 

35% -- 2-3 page “Reflection on Your Fall 2006 Teaching” (due on or before Nov. 27 12:30) typed, 12 point font, 1” margins, double-spaced.  This will take into account what you learned (and perhaps what you changed as a result) from the formative feedback you received on your teaching this semester (e.g., Midterm Student Evaluation and a videotaped observation).  Include reflection upon your greatest strengths and upon areas that have the most room for improvement.

15% --  2-3 page “Statement of Teaching Goals/Philosophy” (due on or before Nov. 27 12:30) typed, 12 point font, 1” margins, double-spaced; this narrative includes your ideas about teaching and learning, a description of how you teach, and why you teach that way (examples and background on this can be easily Googled, such as:  http://ftad.osu.edu/portfolio/philosophy/Philosophy.html; http://chronicle.com/jobs/2003/03/2003032702c.htm).  This statement will grow and develop over your career, but it’s good to start thinking about this from the beginning.

Textbook/Resources:    it’s free!!

A Handbook for Mathematics Teaching Assistants (Preliminary Edition)

Tom Rishel, Mathematical Association of America

http://www.maa.org/programs/tahandbook.html

It is your responsibility to “bring this book” to each class, whether you print out your own hardcopy or have it downloaded to your laptop. 

 

We will also assign and discuss additional individual articles, such as:

Larsen, Michael D. (2006) “Advice for New and Student Lecturers on Probability and Statistics.” Journal of Statistics Education, 14(1), http://www.amstat.org/publications/jse/v14n1/larsen.html

and some case studies from Solomon Friedberg et al.’s

Teaching Mathematics in Colleges and Universities: Case Studies for Today’s Classroom. (2001)  American Mathematical Society and Mathematical Association of America

 

also, MAA has published useful books on the teaching of mathematics and statistics:

Thomas W. Rishel (2000) Teaching First: A Guide for New Mathematicians (MAA

Notes #54)

Matt DeLong and Dale Winter (2002). Learning to Teach and Teaching to Learn

Mathematics: Resources for Professional Development.  (MAA Notes #57)

Thomas Moore (2000) Resources for Undergraduate Instructors Teaching Statistics.  

(MAA Notes #52)
Florence and Sheldon Gordon, Eds. (1992) Statistics for the Twenty-First Century. 

(MAA Notes 26)

Joan B. Garfield (2005). Innovations in Teaching Statistics. (MAA Notes 65)

 

here are some useful websites for your teaching career:

http://www.rsscse.org.uk/ts/TBO.html

http://archives.math.utk.edu/ICTCM/

http://chronicle.com/jobs/topical/teaching.htm

http://www.phds.org/career-guide/teaching

http://www.ams.org/employment/job-articles.html

http://www.causeweb.org/

http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/~history/

http://education.ti.com/educationportal/sites/US/sectionHome/download.html

http://mathdl.maa.org/mathDL/3/

http://mathforum.org/library/

http://illuminations.nctm.org/

http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/tools.html

http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html

 

Check out the RESOURCES and SERVICES provided here at UTEP by CETaL:

http://academics.utep.edu/Cetal   

 

When you teach students, you should be aware of resources provided by UTEP

(e.g., http://academics.utep.edu/tlc  and

http://studentaffairs.utep.edu/counsel) as well as

policy issues from the Handbook of Operating Procedures (http://admin.utep.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=30181): check out key items in Section II (chapters 1.3.1, 6.3, 6.4) and Section III (4.2, 4.8.2, 4.8.3, 4.8.4, 4.12, 4.14, 4.15, 4.16, 4.17, 4.19.1).

Also, feel free to refer students to this page: http://www.math.utep.edu/Faculty/lesser/mathtips.html

 

Professionalism:   Professional courtesy and a positive, collaborative attitude are required in this course (this includes using discretion regarding cell phones and beepers during class time).  Be open to using or sharing opportunities for professional growth beyond this class.  I expect to learn from you, too! 

 

Attendance:  Attendance is taken and required, and is very important considering that much of this course involves group discussions that are virtually impossible to recreate on one’s own.  The instructor may count tardiness or early departure as a half-absence or even a full absence, depending on what is missed.  In general (out of fairness and logistics), late work will not be accepted, and may be subject to a penalty in the rare cases that it is accepted. 

If you’ll be missing a class, it’s your responsibility to:

(1) have a classmate (pick a couple of study buddies NOW if you need to) give you copies of notes, handouts and announcements (and turn in any work),       AND

(2) let me know by email (Lesser (at) utep.edu) or voicemail (747-6845) or daytime math dept. fax (747-6502) at the earliest opportunity, especially if the absence might be “excused” or if you have a situation which may affect a test or multiple class meetings.   Give me a written note or email by the 15th day of the semester (Sept. 11) if you will have absence for religious holy days (which are excused, of course).   As the UTEP Catalog says, “When in the judgment of the instructor, a student has been absent to such a degree as to impair his or her status relative to credit for the course, the instructor may drop the student from the class with a grade of “W” before the course drop deadline [Oct. 27] and with a grade of “F” after the course drop deadline.”  To be specific, more than 2 unexcused absences will result in an instructor-initiated drop or course grade reduction.  On a positive note, a strong record of attendance will be taken into account if your final average is a few tenths of a point shy of a letter grade cutoff.

 

Academic Integrity:  As teachers, I trust you especially appreciate that cheating, plagiarism and collusion in dishonest activities are serious acts which erode the university’s purpose and integrity and cheapen the learning experience for us all.  It is expected that work you submit will represent your own effort (or your own group’s effort, if it is a group project) and will not involve copying from or accessing unauthorized people or resources.  Violations are unacceptable and will be referred to the Dean of Students Office for possible disciplinary action.  Don’t resubmit work completed for other classes without specific acknowledgment and permission from me. 

For Group Work:  Within a group, members are allowed to divide up subsets of the project for which individuals will take the initial responsibility for coordinating efforts, but it is assumed that by the time a group turns in a writeup that all members have read and understand all parts of what is being turned in.  Group members may even discuss general ideas and strategies with members of other groups, but NOT share parts of actual written work.  At a minimum, to be safe, put away all written notes and writing materials and recording devices before having any intergroup conversations.  And if you still see a “gray area”, play it safe and ask the instructor!

 

Disabilities: If you have or believe you have a disability that will require accommoda-tions or modifications, you may wish to self-identify by contacting the Disabled Student Services Office (DSSO; 747-5148; East Union Building room 108; slopez@utep.edu; www.utep.edu/dsso/) to show documentation or register for testing and services.  DSSO will ask you to discuss needed accommodations with me within the first 2 weeks of the semester or as soon as disability is known, and at least 5 working days before an exam.  DSSO provides note taking, sign language, interpreter, reader and/or scribe services, priority registration, adaptive technology, diagnostic testing for learning disabilities, assistance with learning strategies/tutoring, alternative testing location and format, and advocacy.  All information provided to DSSO is kept strictly confidential.