TEACHING STATEMENT Selma YIldmm Yolcu School of Mathematics

"I hear and 1forget. I see and 1remember. I do and 1understand." Confucius

I am a teacher, who was raised by a teacher, my father. I observed that his hard work and dedication resulted in his students' successes and gave him immeasurable satisfaction and happiness. I was deeply affected and, as a result, I wanted to be a teacher.

During my life as a student, I have observed many good teachers as well as bad teachers. Some strived for me to learn; some just gave the facts and left me alone to figure it out on my own. Yet I learned something from them all. I learned that good teachers are well organized and competent, that they care about the progress of their students, that they are enthusiastic about their subject and use a variety of activities to engage the class and that they are concerned about the quality of their teaching and improving themselves. I also learned that bad teachers are very strict and biased, that they explain only one way to solve a problem, that they want their students to memorize certain formulas or theorems and they discourage their students from asking questions.

Being organized is one of my strengths in teaching. I plan each course before the semester starts. The first part of this plan is to prepare the syllabus, which I consider to be a contract between students and instructor. I expect my students and myself to stick to it as the course progresses, so, once I set up the syllabus, I don't change the rules. This prevents future conflicts and clears up misunderstandings. The second part is to set up the course web page. I see the web page as another way of communicating with the students and having a good one shows my respect and care. For example, in case they aren't aware, I list other possible sources of getting help beyond office hours.

Organizing each lecture is as important as organizing the course. Before each class, I always prepare some notes that include important topics and examples. This helps me to use class time efficiently. However, just being familiar with the subject is not enough to present the content proficiently. A famous Turkish philosopher, Mevlana, said: "Your knowledge is as much as your listeners' understanding." To make lectures sufficient, and the learning process easy, I use several teaching aids such as computers, different colored board markers/chalk and overhead projectors. When I use the board, my clear and neat handwriting helps me convey the ideas effectively.

At the beginning of each class, I summarize the previous one by giving an example or explaining important parts. Then, I tell them what I want to cover during that class time. After explaining the theoretical part, I usually solve a couple of examples of varying difficulty, from simple to complex. I provide step-by-step explanations for the first problem and omit the unnecessary steps in the solutions of the following problems. If time permits, I also show them different ways to solve the same problem.

There is nothing worse than the traditional passive lecturing-note taking process. As Confucius said, "I hear and I forget". When I teach, I ask lots of questions and encourage my students to ask questions. This not only creates a dynamic classroom environment and helps me see how much they understand, but it also fosters reflective thinking. Answering why-questions prompts the students to think about outcomes as well as the procedure itself. It took me some time to learn the knack of questioning. After several fruitless attempts, I learned to be patient and to allow students enough time to respond before providing a hint or an answer. I also learned that calling names is very effective when asking a question because the students feel more comfortable. I usually know more than half of my students' names by the middle of the semester. On the first day of class, I ask them to write something special about themselves on index cards. I find it very exciting to read all the cards afterwards.

I develop the content of a course according to my students' understanding. Teaching a second­year differential equations course is different from teaching a first year calculus course to freshmen. Unlike freshmen, differential equations students are already familiar with college instructors. So, I have to tailor my teaching and adjust my pace according to their level and understanding. In the first class of a semester, I usually give a diagnostic test/ review sheet consisting of the basic concepts they should know for that class. I tell them not to write their names on the sheet because my aim is only to learn what they know and what they don't know. In the next class, I review the basic parts accordingly.

Mathematics and teaching go hand in hand in academia. Learning more about teaching mathematics improved my job performance. I obtained a B.s. degree in Mathematics Education at Middle East Technical University where I had the opportunity to learn and implement many teaching methods. During my four years of teaching at Georgia Tech, I have applied group work and discovery methods in my classroom. Using different activities improved my students' understanding and also created a more engaging, enjoyable atmosphere.

Group work is one of my favorite teaching methods for a small class. I applied this method effectively when I taught precalculus in spring 2007 to only ten students, many of who were student athletes. It was obvious that math was not their favorite subject. Their hectic schedules made it even harder for them to study. To get them to do the necessary work, I gave lots of worksheets during lectures and recitations. They formed groups and worked their answers on the board. At those times, I was like a coach and offered help when necessary. I observed that they benefited from this peer learning process a lot. They felt more comfortable as they and their friends helped each other. This created a friendly, and interactive classroom environment.

When I have a larger class, I create activities that involve the entire class instead of small groups. Sometimes, I just write a problem on the board and ask them what successive steps (second, third. etc) would be. I guide them in their discovery and provide hints and directions when necessary. When I have similar theorems/statements, I intentionally leave some parts blank and ask the students to complete them. I praise correct answers by rephrasing the answer, and provide clues for incorrect answers.

To evaluate the quality of my teaching, and improve myself, I grade their work and read student evaluations. After grading each test, I look over exam papers to learn what the common misconceptions are, as well as to see whether they understand the concepts. Then I emphasize the important parts one more time and correct common misconceptions in the next class, which provides feedback to the students. I also learn more about my teaching from student evaluations. Georgia Tech's student survey form is very comprehensive but it has one disadvantage: I cannot read the comments until after the semester has ended. This doesn't help my current students. So, I have designed a simple evaluation form to be completed by the students given in the middle of the semester. In this way, I still have time to improve.

In addition to teaching duties, I have worked as a mentor to my teaching assistants who were teaching for the first time during the last two summer semesters. I met with them regularly to talk about their teaching, observed them on videotape and in their classrooms, and provided feedback on their performance. At the end of the semester, I discussed my observations with the TA coordinator.

Since 2005, I have volunteered to help with the School of Math New International Graduate Student Workshops. These orientations take place for two weeks before each Fall Semester begins. In 2005, I helped the coordinator by organizing special events and preparing the materials. I provided the new international graduate students with essential information about teaching at Georgia Tech such as school policies and teaching assistant duties. In subsequent years, I have participated on panels discussing adjustment to graduate life in the US, and continued to help with the micro-teaching activities, by observing their work, providing feedback on their teaching, and discussing teaching issues such as partial credit with them.

My husband is also a mathematician and mathematics teacher. We always talk about our experiences, teaching methods and different strategies. When one of us finds an interesting and instructive math problem, we tell the other. Being an instructor in a liberal arts university, he has had different experiences and used different methods. By sharing them with me, he has helped me to be a well-rounded instructor.

As a mathematician, I not only teach abstract theories, but also promote critical thinking. Our complex world needs successful people and the prestigious institutions like Georgia Tech bring them alive. Therefore, my goal in any course I teach is to be the one who works the hardest in making students successful.