Philosophy

I approach teaching from a position profoundly influenced by my own undergraduate liberal arts education, namely, that my job as an educator is to train my students in thinking and writing, and Mathematics is merely the medium I use to achieve those goals. It is an especially apt medium because it compels one to think and communicate with a level of clarity and precision unlike that required for any other subject. As the March Hare in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland would say, "You must say what you mean and mean what you say." I also approach learning from the position that, whether you are the instructor or the student, you get out what you put in. It is thus also my job to encourage my students to put as much thought and effort into the learning process as possible, and to do the same myself as I execute my teaching responsibilities.

Project NExT (New Experiences in Teaching)

I am a 2010-2011 Project NExT Fellow. Project NExT is a professional development program for new and recent Ph.D.s in the mathematical sciences that is run by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA). Project NExT addresses all aspects of an academic career, from improving the teaching and learning of mathematics, to engaging in scholarship and research, to participating in professional activities. It also provides Fellows with a network of peers and mentors as they assume these responsibilities. For more information about Project NExT, or to apply to become a Fellow, please see the Project NExT web site.

MEFT (Mathematicians Educating Future Teachers)

I am a participant in the MEFT program at the University of Georgia. The MEFT program trains graduate students and postdocs to teach mathematics content courses for preservice elementary and middle grades teachers. In Spring 2010 I sat in on the course Math 5030 Geometry for Middle Grades Teachers, and then in Spring 2011 I taught the course Math 5003 Algebra and Problem Solving for Elementary Teachers under the guidance of Professor Sybilla Beckmann.

VIGRE Graduate Student Seminar

This semester I am the organizer for the VIGRE Graduate Student Seminar at UGA. The VIGRE Graduate Student Seminar is a junior colloquium sponsored by the VIGRE grant at UGA. The seminar meets Tuesdays from 2:00-3:00pm. Audience members include graduate students in various stages of their degree programs, as well as junior and senior mathematics faculty. The seminar aims to expose students and junior faculty to a wide range of topics that may not necessarily be close to their research fields. Speakers are encouraged to pitch their talks at a mathematically mature but non-specialist level.