Awards and Recognition
Graduate Teaching Assistant Awards
2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003
2006-2007 GTA Winners
Teaching Philosphies
Minah Oh
January 2007
“I came all the way from South Korea to help you learn math. ” Day one of the semester is too important to throw away. This is the day that I can convince each of my students to think that learning in my class is a partnership between me and them. It is also the day to persuade the students that they will be able to understand the math. Once this is done, I am good to go.
The students are taking a math course with me. Therefore, they must learn the math. I think the golden rule of teaching mathematics is to teach ‘step by step’ from the very basic definitions. This is why I teach the definitions just as if I am teaching the ABCs, and continue to make sentences with this alphabet. I repeat important concepts until a few students roll their eyes. The students are required to do a great amount of work, but it is my role to let them know that their work is being recognized and the great effort is worth it. Continuing this process, as long as the students do not give up, they will learn the math.
Learning and living is a continuous ongoing process. I must help bridge from the classroom to the world. The vast majority of students are capable of learning a great deal. Many of them are just not motivated enough. I believe that a mathematical way of thinking, which includes critical thinking, greatly improves one's learning skills, and being motivated to learn follows directly from that.
On the day of the final no one leaves early, and that is the best reward for me, because that shows that no one is giving up. When the test is over, we share a smile, and that is a non-verbal communication between us saying that ‘We made a good team.’
