Here are the reports for the Spring 2009 UTAs.
Warren Harper
Sponsor: Dinesh Thakur
Course: Math 129
The opportunity of being an undergraduate teaching assistant is something I greatly appreciate having not passed up. Being on the other side of the desk has given me a lot of perspective as both a teacher and especially as a student. Explaining material and concepts to students has really helped me to understand how I think about math in general, and how I can best learn and study in my own classes. I’ve also gained some useful skills in approaching math problems from helping so many students; I used to approach math by doing large numbers of problems and memorizing certain facts, but this semester has led me to grow into a more logical and methodical problem‐solver. Since student’s problems are not something you can predict, the ability to do problems on the fly is important. I feel that being a UTA has really helped me grow in the sense that my problem‐solving abilities have become to be based more on iron logic than on memorization.
But this is perhaps not the most notable aspect of being a UTA. My confidence in my ability to solve problems has grown substantially, and I have gotten to meet some fun and interesting people in the math department. One of my favorite parts of the program is the weekly meetings in which the art of how to approach helping a student and the best way in which to present yourself in a classroom was often the topic. It was very interesting for me to observe how the tone of your voice, your body language, and the mathematical language you use on the board all factor into giving a good presentation. Getting to know some of the faculty and graduate students is also a great perk that would be quite difficult to do otherwise. The UTA program is a wonderful one, and I think it is one especially beneficial for math majors. I hope everyone has as great of a time as I did!
Daniel Lukaszewski
Sponsor: John Palmer
Course: Math 362
I really enjoyed being an undergrad teaching assistant for this semester. My job mostly consisted of holding office hours every Tuesday and Thursday and grading all of the homework and labs.
The most beneficial part for me was being completely in charge of grading. This gave me the chance to see how different students approach the same problem as well as giving me experience in finding where students had made mistakes. Sometimes I would notice that a lot of students were making the same mistakes, which I would then forward on to the professor so that he could provide further clarity to the students.
Even though I held regular office hours, most of the time I only had one student show up. This meant that I would usually spend my office hours helping students in other classes or grading the homework. I would have preferred to have more, but this one student did give me the opportunity to test my knowledge of the subject.
Working with Dr. Palmer was another great part of being a UTA. I would often show up to his office hours, which nobody seemed to attend either, and we would discuss different kinds of math. Most of the time he would help me with understanding some material from my other classes, but he would also give me guidance on which classes I could take for my senior year.
Overall, I loved being a UTA and I would recommend the job to anybody who is interested in teaching others.
Jaimie Sauls
Sponsor: William Vélez
Course: Math 124
I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience as an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant because it has given me a rare chance not only to test my skills as a tutor and instructor, but also to meet some of the finest minds the university has to offer. Throughout the semester, I have had the chance to hold weekly homework sessions and test reviews, grade papers, and even teach a lesson to the class. Although I am not a Math Education major, this experience has led me to consider a career in the field of education in the future. The theory behind education to which my sponsor is so dedicated is fascinating; attempting to apply these concepts to an actual lesson in the classroom is both challenging and rewarding. In addition to discussing these ideas at length with my sponsor, I was also able to find insight with my fellow tutors during our weekly tutor room hours. Both instructors and UTAs volunteer their time here, so discussing their current research and interests beyond teaching have given me inspiration for my own future study. Overall, the benefits of participating in the UTA program have outweighed all else, and I would recommend it to any student with a passion for helping others.
Jeffrey Truman
Sponsor: Dan Madden
Course: Math 323
During the Spring 2009 semester, I participated in the Undergraduate Teaching Assistant program for Dr. Dan Madden's MATH 323 class (an introduction to mathematical proof). I held office hours where I was available for help with problems in the course, as well as working three hours a week in the lower-division tutoring room. However, unlike most UTAs, I did not do any grading for the course, as Dr. Madden does all of the grading himself. While holding my office hours, I was disappointed that so few people came; I would estimate that around 90% of the tutoring I gave during my office hours was to two particular students. I would suggest that more students should take advantage of the resources available to them; I am aware that there were students that had never come in for help who received extremely low exam scores (in one case, less than 10%).
As part of the UTA program, I also attended weekly meetings, generally concerning topics in math education. I learned some interesting and useful things from these sessions; for example, one session talked about common student misuse of the ‘=’ sign (a problem that I can attest to in my tutoring) and suggested methods to help.
Caree Wheeler
Sponsor: Fred Stevenson
Course: Math 323
The UTA program was great! In fact, it practically fulfilled my every need: “Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifulest ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion. Miracles.”1 Yep. That pretty much sums up my experience. Pretty much.
This semester I was a UTA for Professor Fred Stevenson in Math 323. Going into the program, I didn’t know Professor Stevenson and wasn’t very sure what I had gotten myself into. Now, at the end of the semester, I have to say it was a terrific decision of mine to get involved as a UTA. Professor Stevenson was fantastic. I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to get to know him and work with some of his students. Many times I found myself being grateful for the chance to review some of my Math 323 skills as I helped people in the class. If I had to pick a single aspect of being a UTA to continue doing on my own, it would be tutoring. I had so many uplifting experiences and often left the room feeling like I really helped someone to understand a concept. Tutoring is so rewarding. There aren’t many things that can take the place of feeling like you’ve made a difference in someone else’s life, even if it’s only by bringing down their stress level in math.
Overall? A fabulous experience.
1. S. Morgenstern, & William Goldman (Ed.). (1998). The Princess Bride. New York: The Ballantine Publishing Group.
Ben Wilson
Sponsor: Paul Dostert
Course: Math 410
Overall, I would say that I enjoyed my experience as a UTA. My faculty sponsor was great, and I have no complaints about my responsibilities. For my faculty sponsor, I helped come up with projects for the students to do. I also took the exams and did all the projects prior to giving them to the students. I did not have to grade anything. I held office hours once a week in Math 101 to help students with MATLAB.
The weekly meetings were also interesting. I learned a lot about teaching and different teaching techniques. I also saw a lot of interesting math that could be used to get students more interested in mathematics.
Tutoring was my favourite aspect of the experience. I was able to tutor students in a variety of classes ranging from college algebra to differential equations. Tutoring really exposed me to the difficulties that arise in teaching mathematics. Each student was different, and learning to explain math from many different perspectives was a great challenge.