The Stories Students Tell

by

Ian Walton, Mission College, Santa Clara

“I have never spent a more frustrating, thought-provoking, demanding, yet manageable sixteen weeks. How, you may ask, can a class be described by all of the above?”

Several years ago I participated in a forum on exemplary teaching, sponsored by the American Association for Higher Education. I listened to Pat Hutchins suggest that college faculty could learn much by spending more time telling and listening to each other's 'teaching stories'. She felt it was a successful way to share the challenges of teaching, and to recognize their importance in the life of faculty.[1] A slightly different, but equally rewarding, perspective comes from listening to the stories that students tell:

“I was angry because I had to take this class in order to graduate; I was afraid because I did not know if I could pass it; and I thought that the teacher would be another boring person who appeared disinterested in all students not naturally gifted in math.”

“This was the first time in my life that a math class was not emotionally traumatic; not once did I feel like crying. Wow, what a miracle! I talked to my father (my life-long math tutor) a couple of days ago. During our conversation he asked how my classes were going. I said 'Dad, I am having such a good time in my math class'. His response: 'I'm glad I was sitting down for that'.”

For several semesters I have collected 'before and after' comments, like the two quotations above, from students in my liberal arts math class at Mission College. Of course, I knew about the research on math anxiety and the barrier that math presented to women in particular. I knew that encouraging students to share their feelings and experiences was a good anxiety reduction technique. But the words of my students presented the impact on individual and family lives in a way that scholarly articles never could:

“Last semester in algebra I tried my best, but still had to take an F. This broke my heart. After this class I can receive the first two-year degree in my family.”

This student did the best quality work in the class.

The 'before' quotations routinely confirm all the theories about years of failure that often originate with a single incident in school and then build into an insurmountable barrier:

“I can pinpoint my difficulties to fourth grade fractions.”

“I always feel uncomfortable when I see numbers.”

“Most math classes start off well, and then progress into a dizzying snowball of confused dis-interest.”

“Most of my math teachers were football coaches.”

Research shows that many students are permanently limited in their choice of college majors and careers by their avoidance of math.[2] This is increasingly so in a high technology area like Silicon Valley. As you might expect, my students are well aware of their difficulties and the effect on their lives:

“I think I'm doing OK, but actually I'm not.”

“Fear of math has kept me from doing many things.”

“I thought I would never need math out of high school - WRONG!”

But perhaps less expectedly, students still enter this class with hope, and a good sense of what they mean to achieve to move forward in their lives. Perhaps they know that this class is designed to be as different as possible from their previous math classes, with an emphasis on writing and speaking and problem solving techniques rather than answers:

“I hope to be able to think of math as a friendly tool rather than a frightening subject.”

“I hope to not only learn, but to understand.”

“When you said we'd learn to think differently, that excited me.”

And at the end of a successful semester, students have a remarkably accurate picture of what they've achieved (and sometimes what they have still to achieve):

“The classroom was an environment that allowed freedom of expression and freedom for errors and most of all FREEDOM. I would like an A for effort, but deserve a B for the hours of anxiousness and confusion, for the weeks of mental anguish, and for the few minutes of actual mathematical breakthrough. I've learned so much about math; and I don't just mean the application of it.”

“Prior to this course, I put the study of mathematics and the practice of Zen in the same realm - you either get 'it' or you don't. I have acquired a wealth of theoretical knowledge that even a Bodhissatva could appreciate.”

“I learned how to think differently.”

“The understanding was difficult at first but now is coming quickly.”

Many semesters, every woman in the class can relate a story where she was told 'girls don't do math' - even in Silicon Valley in the nineties:

“This class reminded me of how much women have been oppressed in the subject of math.”

“I learned that I need to be aggressive in my education. It is my education.”

“I had not successfully completed a math class since third grade. You have provided me with the most interesting, enlightening math experience I have ever had.”

Many students discover unexpected and unexplored talents. And as the teacher I receive encouragement to experiment with alternative content and approaches to mathematical thinking:[3]

“I have learned that I actually have a propensity for abstract mathematical ideas. This came as a complete surprise, for like most of my classmates, I have been told all my life that I was math disabled.”

“The pursuit of a solution is as important, and in some cases more important, than the solution.”

“I have learned that I probably will never understand infinity, but I appreciate having been exposed to the concept.”

And every once in a while I get the perfect response to a course that in classical liberal arts fashion tries to teach appreciation for the beauty and power of mathematics. Can you guess the major of this student?[4]

“It was interesting to see that all of the mathematics that I will never use is more of interest to me than all the math I do use.”

What can I say?

Thanks to all the students of Math G at Mission College for many good experiences, and to the following in particular for the quotations used in this article:

Gary Abkin, Elaine Anderson, Robert Bradley, Nancy Ceideberg, Angela Cernobori, Jackie Ferguson, Lee Gamma, Cynthia Hatfield, Lilian Hebert, Sandra Henson, Christne Kavoshi, Christie Lefforge, Mary Marhula, Corbin Matousek, Lycia Messersmith, Raj Patel, Virginia Roxas, Serenity Taunton, Paul Vasquez, Linda Wedding, Debra Yantis, Brian Zimmerman.

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[1] Forum on Exemplary Teaching, American Association for Higher Education, San Francisco, 1990

[2] Sheila Tobias, Overcoming Math Anxiety, Norton, 1978

[3] For example:

Professional Standards for Teaching Mathematics, NCTM, 1991

Mathematics Frajmework for California Public Schools, 1991

[4] Art major