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This is a really deep point. A math professor at The University of Chicago wisely pointed to me as this being a super important thing to keep in mind when teach
by ChicagoBoy11 5y ago
This is a really deep point. A math professor at The University of Chicago wisely pointed to me as this being a super important thing to keep in mind when teaching (I've gone into secondary education). Often the material you are and how well the student is receiving has a much smaller impact on the student than what the emotional experience of it communicates to them about their own capabilities, including their chance at continue to struggle through the material in the hopes of fully grasping it. Especially in the latter years in school, it seems you find a lot of teachers who almost revel in making their courses "impossible" for kids, which can sometimes be very motivational for extremely high-achievers but absolutely devastating to a well-intentioned student who is having a challenge with the material.
- msteffen 5y agoAnother UChicago student here (former math major). I think the UChicago math department took education seriously in a unique way that I wish they got more credit for; the Inquiry-Based Learning classes, the summer classes for Chicago public school teachers, and the Research Experience for Undergraduates were all pretty special, I think. Also, the math classes all had a shared policy of "you can work with anyone you like on a problem set, as long as everyone's name is listed on there when you hand it in." I loved that, and I did all my problem sets in groups while I was there, and I think I learned more because we were always explaining things to each other and arguing about solutions. I heard a rumor at one point that this policy was the direct product of Peter May's bad experience at Princeton, which required students to work alone when he was there. TFA does seem like a pretty stinging indictment of Princeton's math department.