The beginning of fall is a time when I like to reflect on what my goals are as a teacher. It's time to look at work what worked, what needs improvement, and see if new ideas from the profession can be implemented. The way I taught 10 or 15 years ago is very different than what I do today, because of this continuous effort to move forward.
One of my colleagues who teaches college math was once asked, "Why fix what isn't broken?" in the context of why work on improving classes we have been teaching for many years. Course evaluations are solid, and the instructor is well regarded. The question was meant in the sense of you're doing a good job, so why bother with putting in more effort.
The notion that captures an effective response to this question is the shokunin spirit or the viewpoint of an artisan or craftsman with a deeper sense of social obligation. (Shokunin spirit was highlighted in the movie, Jiro Dreams of Sushi.) In this view, it's not about getting there or making it to some achievement level, but to continually improve, strive for innovation, and give a 100% effort for yourself and the welfare of society. It's like the notion of practice makes perfect combined with running through the finish line. Why not work your hardest? Why let up, before the race is over? Why would you want to be the person who just coasts in?
There is a satisfaction of having tried your best and having found ways to innovate and improve, even if it's small steps that others won't notice. The notion of hard work is sometimes viewed with a negative connotation in the U.S., where hard work is associated with slog, suffering, dreadful repetition. But that's where the point of view of the artisan comes in to lift things up. Artisans are passionate about their work, and hone, refine, and innovate as part of the process of doing what they do, because their process and work is intrinsically interesting and rewarding to them.
Teaching can be practiced with this same spirit. Yes, we could get away with passing out dittos from the 80s and hitting the play button. Or repeating our lines from the lectures notes we wrote a few years after we got out of grad school. An alternative is to look honestly at issues, read articles from Math Ed research, and collaborate with other professionals. We can learn about the documented issues and go to work on trying to make progress on some of them. Conceptual understanding, problem solving, math anxiety, DFW rates, equity and inclusion are not solved problems in college math, the last time I checked. There's a ton of work to be done. We got some fixin' to do!
"Why fix what isn't broken?" is not the question we should be asking. We should be asking, "What are we going to work on next?" As I head into my 19th year of college math teaching, my personal goal is to stay fresh, look for opportunities to make improvements to increase student success, and enjoy the daily process of becoming a better teacher.
Best wishes for a successful academic year, and I hope you also find a way to capture and find your own shokunin spirit!
Friday, August 31, 2018
Friday, August 24, 2018
Women Show Up in Math Ed Reform Efforts
In going through our summer 2018 numbers, I was reminded of a ongoing, persistent pattern. Women Show. Up.
Approximately 55% of participants of the three IBL Workshops in summer 2018 are women. Let's put this into context. Yes, women are half the population, but they make up far less than half the math profession. The AMS publishes reports that give us a good snapshot of the demographics of the profession. Only 15% of tenure/tenure-track positions are held by women. Women comprise 29% of non-tenure track positions (including postdocs), and women are conferred about 25-30% of the PhDs in the Mathematical Sciences.
This is of course a good thing. Women benefit from IBL courses in ways such that it *levels the playing field*. (Men benefit too, and the operative notion is level playing, not one that favors one group over the others. See Laursen et al 2014.) And female math instructors who can be mentors, role models and who also use IBL methods can make a positive impact.
Diversity of perspectives is one of the ingredients of creativity, scholarship, and maintaining a robust field. People have made arguments for why diversity in Math (or any field) is a good thing, and I'm not going to repeat those arguments here. I'm going to instead highlight a very simple idea. If a person, any person, male, female, non-binary wants to learn Math, that should be supported. Period.
Allyship isn't just about agreeing in concept. Allyship is about doing the right thing, or at the very least not getting in the way. Using appropriate active-learning methods or supporting others to use them is a doable step for anyone in the profession. Women, men, non-binary math instructors are all welcome to get off the sidelines and be involved in improving math learning for everyone. Active, intentional allyship matters.
This isn't a zero-sum game. If a female student learns more math, it doesn't take anything away from a male student. Or in this case if we note that women are showing up to IBL workshops, that's a good thing, and doesn't take away from the accomplishments of men in the subfield. Hence, let's acknowledge and celebrate the fact that women show up to IBL Workshops!
Approximately 55% of participants of the three IBL Workshops in summer 2018 are women. Let's put this into context. Yes, women are half the population, but they make up far less than half the math profession. The AMS publishes reports that give us a good snapshot of the demographics of the profession. Only 15% of tenure/tenure-track positions are held by women. Women comprise 29% of non-tenure track positions (including postdocs), and women are conferred about 25-30% of the PhDs in the Mathematical Sciences.
This is of course a good thing. Women benefit from IBL courses in ways such that it *levels the playing field*. (Men benefit too, and the operative notion is level playing, not one that favors one group over the others. See Laursen et al 2014.) And female math instructors who can be mentors, role models and who also use IBL methods can make a positive impact.
Diversity of perspectives is one of the ingredients of creativity, scholarship, and maintaining a robust field. People have made arguments for why diversity in Math (or any field) is a good thing, and I'm not going to repeat those arguments here. I'm going to instead highlight a very simple idea. If a person, any person, male, female, non-binary wants to learn Math, that should be supported. Period.
Allyship isn't just about agreeing in concept. Allyship is about doing the right thing, or at the very least not getting in the way. Using appropriate active-learning methods or supporting others to use them is a doable step for anyone in the profession. Women, men, non-binary math instructors are all welcome to get off the sidelines and be involved in improving math learning for everyone. Active, intentional allyship matters.
This isn't a zero-sum game. If a female student learns more math, it doesn't take anything away from a male student. Or in this case if we note that women are showing up to IBL workshops, that's a good thing, and doesn't take away from the accomplishments of men in the subfield. Hence, let's acknowledge and celebrate the fact that women show up to IBL Workshops!
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