"Tell me more" - Bringing More Writing into our Math Curricula

with Dimitri Papadopoulos, EdD, Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of Mathematics

Abstract:

Whether consciously or subconsciously, the ways we evaluate student learning reflect our values. Our choices for the content of an assessment communicate to students, "this is what we think you ought to know." Our choices for the form, constraints, and expectations of a given assessment communicate to students, "this is how we think you ought to demonstrate the things you ought to know." With the abrupt transition to remote teaching in the Spring of 2020 came a much-needed opportunity to question our habituated approaches to the latter set of choices.

One way that I've attempted to do so in my freshman-level calculus courses is by using writing to broaden my focus beyond correct calculations to include exposition and explanation. There's a lot to be learned, both for educators and students in STEM, from incorporating more writing in our STEM courses, and there are surely many ways to do so beyond the two I will describe in this talk.

Speaker:

Dimitri has taught in the Math Department at Drexel for 10 years, with much of that time spent coordinating and teaching the first-year calculus sequence. He has also taught a variety of interdisciplinary courses for the Honors Program as well as a course for the DragonsTeach Program. His research interests include proof-writing and, more recently, the role that writing can play in supporting student learning in non-proof-based math courses.

Happy Hour begins at 4:00pm

Presentation begins at 4:30pm

Register here:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/castle-virtual-pedagogical-happy-hour-tickets-151070529019