I teach at Cornerstone University, a private liberal arts college in Grand Rapids. The classes I teach include PreAlgebra, Algebra, College Math, College Algebra, and Trigonometry. I enjoy teaching at the college level. The students are beginning a new phase of their lives by becoming more independent, learning to think for themselves, and striking out away from home. I don't have much interaction with parents other than the occasional helicopter parent of a new freshman student. Many students appreciate the opportunity to develop relationships with their professors and will seek out advice about more than just class schedules. There is an emphasis at the school to view the role of being a faculty member as more than just a classroom teacher. I have developed and maintained significant relationships with some of my students, and even had the opportunity to extend hospitality to a former student who needed a place to stay for a few months after graduating.
The remedial courses (PreAlgebra and Algebra) are small, with fewer than ten students. This allows for a lot of individual attention. I believe that many students in those courses have undiagnosed learning disabilities. The cost of being tested is usually prohibitive for most students, so if they weren't diagnosed in high school, they likely won't discover the disability. One of the major challenges for students in the remedial courses is the mindset of failure. Many students in those courses just expect to do poorly because of the many years of struggle. A much larger aspect of teaching the remedial courses in comparison to the other courses is mentoring, encouraging, and motivating students. This can be both extremely rewarding but also challenging.
The core courses include College Math, College Algebra, and Trigonometry. If a student doesn't have a math or science major or minor, they will take College Math, which is probably the last math class (other than perhaps statistics) that they will ever take. Class sizes are larger than I would prefer (usually 30 to 32 students). Some students lack the motivation to think mathematically in deep and significant ways. They see the course as a check mark in their list of required courses, something to endure. Others really enjoy the class, which has a quantitative reasoning focus, and appreciate seeing math in applied contexts. I appreciate the latitude that I have to experiment with alternative teaching methods. We have a lot of freedom make yearly switches in textbooks if desired. We have "flipped" about one-third of the lessons and use Pearson's MyMathLab online course management system which includes online homework and quizzes. All of our students have university-issued laptops, which is both an asset for and distraction from learning. I find myself needing to address appropriate use of technology in the classroom with my students every semester as well as call out the students who persist in using their laptops during class for activities other than the lesson at hand. Missing too many classes is a challenge for some students who for the first time are without the structure of a parent ensuring their compulsory attendance. Students are practicing making wise choices with their increased freedom, something many first-time freshman struggle to do.
College Algebra and Trigonometry are taken by students who have a science major or an elementary education math minor. These classes are taught in a more traditional way than College Math due to the reality that they are prerequisites for other courses whose instructors expect their students to have a specific set of math skills. The students are generally motivated and for the most part have the prior knowledge that they need due to the math placement test in place (students have to achieve minimum scores in arithmetic and algebra in order to take the class). Class sizes for College Algebra range from 15 to 25 students and usually less than 10 for Trigonometry. Most of the same resources for teaching mentioned above also apply to these courses like the flexibility to make choices about technology and textbooks. The main difference is in the type of student who takes the course.
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