Day 5 (10/16/13)

River Dell Regional High School

(7:30-12:00)

            Today I began creating my own lesson plan for class. Mr. Sincak provided me with reading materials and sample lesson plans from various teaching colleges, and I learned how teachers can prepare for each class. I specifically focused on creating a lesson on solving non-routine problems, such as those involving mathematical modeling or problems that might appear on math competitions. I designed the overall purpose of the lecture, outlined prerequisite knowledge and expanded on how the lesson would actually be carried out. I found example problems and practice questions for the class from the reading materials provided, and I specifically chose to incorporate problems that involved higher-level thinking in geometry and probability theory. Specifically, for example, I began the first day’s lesson plan with a coin-flipping game for students, in order to experimentally calculate the probability that more heads than tails show up when five coins are flipped. Then, I continued by asking students to think of ways to prove that their resulting probability was correct, with several different suggestions on how to approach the problem. Finally, I ended the lesson plan by demonstrating how one can theoretically calculate the required probability, emphasizing the methods utilized in attaining that answer.

Throughout the process, I learned and realized how I can also organize my thoughts and lessons for when I tutor students throughout the year. I have really enjoyed all of the processes and techniques associated with teaching that I experienced so far, and I hope to use these skills that I learned when I grow up.

Fairleigh Dickinson University

(1:00-3:00)

            Today’s class was devoted to reviewing for the test. We discussed problems from an old Midterm from the course, and several students presented solutions on the board. Professor Farag also outlined possible topics that would be on the test, and encouraged students to remember the main concepts and definitions.

            After the class, Professor Farag introduced me to Professor Dolbin, another mathematics professor at the university. While I could not speak with him for long, I learned that his interests in research were in Lie algebras, representation theory, and associated combinatorics, which I also find very fascinating. Professor Farag suggested that I ask him to mentor me in a research or independent reading project regarding that field of mathematics, and I am very thankful for that suggestion. I will soon email Professor Dolbin for an opportunity to work with him.