Teaching Seminar

Shay FuchsUniversity of Toronto
Teaching with Your Mouth Shut - Inquiry Based Learning in Upper Level Mathematics Courses

Wednesday, April 25, 2018 - 5:30pm
Malott 207

In the Fall of 2010 and 2011 I taught an Introduction to Topology course at the University of Toronto Mississauga. The course was taught using the traditional lecture approach. Although I enjoyed delivering the lectures, students were extremely passive, and performed poorly on tests and exams. In 2012, I have decided to re-design the course and deliver it as an IBL (Inquiry Based Learning) course. I hardly lectured, and instead, most of class time was devoted to students’ presentations, followed by class discussions. I have continued to use this method since then. The students reacted very positively to this new approach. They became active and excited about the material, and performed well on tests and exams. Almost all students mentioned on the course evaluations how they prefer this method over traditional lectures. Inquiry Based Learning in Mathematics is based on a wide body of research and has a long track record of success. In this talk I will explain how I run my topology course, and the benefits of Inquiry Based Learning.

Pizza will be served.