Teaching Philosophy: Christopher Burrows

from the Office of the Provost and the Center for Teaching and Learning 
at the University of Pennsylvania
 
I find that the difficulty many students have with mathematics is primarily a psychological one.  Even those who purport to have always been "good at math" are often quick to acknowledge that the subject can get complicated, and often use this assessment to justify abandoning hope of understanding the material completely.  Math has unfortunately acquired a reputation that perpetuates this.

For this reason, I maintain that the most important part of the TA's job in this department is to provide psychological support for his or her students.  By this, I mean that one shouldmake them feel comfortable.  After all, they all have access to a lecturer and a textbook, each of which already provides a coherent exposition of the subject matter.

The most natural way to achieve this is to develop a good relationship with the class that carries itself outside the classroom.  It is fortunate that most TA's are very near their students in age, so that we are almost peers to begin with.

Even so, the ways to develop such a relationship are obvious --- provide them with what they want in a generous way.  A TA should be available for help outside of recitation, and indeed outside of office hours.  The more the better.  Another means to this end is to provide much interaction in recitations, to make them feel personally involved.

Of course, a duty of the TA is also to answer questions and re-explain ideas --- without this, recitation would not be useful.  This responsibility should be used as before, to make the students feel better about their progress and not discourage them.  I do this by providing the most clear and easy-to-understand answers that I am capable of producing.  This may seem so obvious as to not deserve mention, but it is also the guiding force behind my recitations.  If I can explain a problem well and rightfully conclude with a statement such as "see, this is no different than what you are already familiar with", hopefully I can inspire them with confidence to work through their assignments.  This can be summarized briefly as follows:  NEVER confuse a student with your words.  (Not surprisingly, it is difficult to live up to this.)

So, my approach is to comfort the students as much as I can.  There is one caveat though:  I believe it is possible to lull them into such a state of comfort that they fail to continue studying on their own (for instance, if they are convinced that the class is too easy to deserve their time). This can be prevented by holding their written work to a high standard.  In March, a student commented to me on this, "it is a good thing you grade homework like you do, otherwise I might have failed the exam."