Vincent  Chan

PhD Candidate - Mathematics

Teaching

Teaching Philosophy

When I think about teaching, I think about why we need to have an instructor, or class for that matter. For instance, what is the benefit students receive by going to class, instead of reading a textbook? At the moment, I feel that the instructor adds three main ingredients. First, they can provide motivation to the student; very rarely does a student (especially one not pursuing a career specialized in mathematics) have the motivation to learn mathematics from a textbook. Secondly, they provide a structure to the material that goes beyond content, such as timing or pace. Finally, and potentially most importantly, an instructor can cater to the needs of the class. This provides a benefit that is mimicking the vast benefits of 1-on-1 tutoring, while being time efficient enough to help an entire class of students.

My teaching philosophy follows these three tenets. To promote motivation, I let my own enthusiasm show through when teaching, and attempt to link the mathematics to the interests of the students. For structure, I carefully design the examples to be used in class, linking the current material with what students have seen and what they will see. Every class, I gauge the level of understanding of the students, and work through concepts that have a great deal of common problems. I offer many more office hours and provide additional resources that are geared towards the strengths and weaknesses of the student. I try never to leave a question unanswered, in one way or another, while striving for a balance in time.

Current courses

I am teaching Math 101 (Section 11) this term. The section webpage can be found here, and the course-wide webpage can be found here.

Past courses

I taught Math 101 (Section 13) in the Winter of 2012.