TOP 10 list on...

PROFESSOR LESSER!

more on Lesser with my rap, intentions,

or home page (top link when you Google “Larry Lesser”)

10. My job & last name rhyme!

9. At UTEP since 2004 -- and also lived & taught in: Savannah, Houston, Austin, & Greeley (CO).

8. I got my BA in math and MS in stats, but my PhD (and research) is in math/stats education, because my biggest strength and interest was to study learning, not prove theorems -- that’s why I value your questions, strategies and struggles more than a numerical answer, and why I expect to learn from you (when I ask “tell me why you say that”).

7. Teaching is en mi familia (e.g., my grandma Julia Lesser taught math for 25+ years in TX public schools; my aunt Matilda Shanblum was Teacher of the Year at EP’s Zach White ES and the first UTEP scholarship fund for future teachers bears her name). Before UTEP, I got to be a HS math teacher for 2 years, which taught me a lot about motivation, assessment, etc.

6. I enjoy reclaiming my HS Spanish, and I’ve researched the distinctive strengths and challenges of bilingual learners learning statistics. (Other research foci are teacher ed, misconceptions, intuition, equity, educational fun/engagement.)

5. Not just a “numbers guy” – I’ve done qualitative research as well as quantitative. I love interdisciplinarity of statistics and math education and I’ve coauthored with profs of math, statistics, math/stat ed, bilingual ed, linguistics, philosophy, psychology, sociology, neuroscience, educational technology, business administration, and music. My college “compass” was math, music, and philosophy, and my most profound growth, learning, and interactions often happened outside a classroom, and I’m happy to discuss your path.

4. I love real world stat connections! I was staff statistician for the Texas Legislative Council for 1990-91 redistricting and my class on lottery math was mentioned on CNN in 1993 (and I’m still interviewed when jackpots get huge)!

3. I love my job, and am more than my job. I also love spending time with family and our 2 hairless rescue dogs. And I love writing poems/songs -- some use math/stats (you’ll hear some of those) and some don’t (like my Feb. 2020 album).

2. I’ve struggled (and persevered), too…..with college classes, math/statistics content, life, etc.! Dropped intro computer class twice, but changed approach and passed (with an A!) on try #3. I’ve also known struggle and growth in non-academic areas of my life where I had no close role models.

1. I believe grades measure progress, not promise, and that your value and my respect for you as a person does not depend on your achievement (or job, title, # of Facebook friends, etc.).

BONUS Fun Fact:

As college students in the 80s, a friend and I once played 2-on-1 basketball against Charles Barkley (….and we lost!)