D EEPAK A RALUMALLIG
E S UBBARAYAPPA
T EACHING S TATEMENT
To teach mathematics is to teach students to learn by themselves.I make this clear at the be-ginning of each semester,by teaching them how to read a mathematics textbook.A teacher can only unlock the door,students have to walk through the door to get what they want.As a teacher I will help them to walk through the door.Teaching is a responsibility rather than authority.It is my responsibility to explain the material clearly,successfully conveying key concepts and making connections between the subject and the real world problems,so that the students can go further without the help of the teacher.
My passion to teach math started as early as high school,when I used to tutor my class mates, kids in my neighborhood and my younger brother.As an undergraduate student I volunteered at a math club in Bangalore,India.This was basically set up to help freshman students with their math classes.As a graduate teaching assistant(GTA)at the Department of Mathematics and Statistics,Wichita State University(WSU)I had the full control of my classes.My duties were to •design the course syllabus for the class from the prescribed textbook,engage in
•prepare course material,homework and exams,and
•make use of the available technology like graphing calculators,computers and web-based support systems like WebAssign,Eduspace,or MyMathLab.
I started as a GTA in the Spring of2004.Since then I have taught College Algebra,Trigonom-etry,Business Calculus,Pre-Calculus and Calculus I.The students are comprised mainly of fresh-men students belonging to the College of Liberal Arts and Science,Business School and School of Education.We have been using web-based support systems since Fall2006.This online technol-ogy has been widely appreciated by many students,since they get the feedback as soon as they complete their assignments online.Also,many other resources are available on these websites which make learning math a lot easier.
Teaching mathematics for non-math majors is a challenging job.The challenge is to motivate them to learn mathematics.In my opinion every college graduate should have some mathemati-cal education.This is important because mathematics teaches one to think analytically and apply one’s ideas in day to day life.One of the main qualities of a good teacher is enthusiasm.When I say enthusiasm,I mean that the teacher has to be well organized and well prepared before the class.This enthusiasm helps to motivate students.
Let the students make mistakes.Learning some methods which do not work is just as im-portant as learning a technique which works.Students learn more from understanding why an incorrect answer is wrong.Experimentation is essential to education,students must be encour-aged to learn from their mistakes.In fact,sometimes I make intentional mistakes which warn them not to do the same mistake again.
A good way to engage students and identify mistakes is to give short quizzes during class after the discussion of each major idea.These quizzes are not graded since they are primarily to test how well I am explaining the material and holding the attention of the students,and it is inap-propriate for the students to get bad grades if exposition is ineffective or boring.Even though they are not graded,these quizzes help the students to understand the key points because they know that I expect them to be able to answer the questions correctly.If they cannot,it is a warning sign that they have not mastered the material and will have difficulty with their tests and assignments.
To teach math is also to share through active participation,which helps to engage students.A teacher should create a friendly environment in the class where ideas can be exchanged.In addi-tion to quizzes,I frequently ask questions on the material that we discussed.I insist that everyone has to answer to verbal questions one time or the other,this helps to clear any misconceptions.
Self awareness and positive influence are very important qualities of a teacher.I am always aware whether students have difficulty understanding the material or not.I ask short questions to get immediate feedback about my lectures.Some of the questions I ask are,did I explain anything in a way that you found unclear or confusing?Are there any topics you would like me to revisit? One,of the reasons to pursue my Ph.D.in mathematics is due to the positive influence that some of my professors had on me during my master’s course at WSU.I always strive to create a positive influence on students.
Any teacher must establish fair and clear grading policies.Despite our best efforts to inspire students to learn simply for the joy of learning,there will always be many students who focus primarily on whatever aspects of the material they believe will result in receiving a good grade. However,this is not a bad thing,the proper grading and assessment policies can guide these stu-dents to focus their attention on the essential points.It is also important that grading policies be fair and relevant to the objectives of the course.
A teacher must respect the goals,needs,and individuality of each student and help each stu-dent do his or her best to achieve these goals.Not all students respond to the same methods,come from the same background,or have the same level of preparation.Teachers must also respect that students ha
ve other interests and engage in time-consuming activities outside of the classroom, there are limits to how much time students can reasonably be expected to spend on one course.
To conclude it is my responsibility to make the students learn and apply mathematics.I strongly believe that given an opportunity I have the ability to teach mathematics through mo-tivation,enthusiasm,self awareness and positive influence.I am always careful to remember that the higher goal of teaching mathematics or teaching in general,is not to prepare the students to answer the questions we pose them in class,but to answer the biggest question of all,life?

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