A well-rounded mathematician, musician and educator in Toronto, committed to a career of effective teaching and fostering scholarly activity.

Methodology

I am profoundly committed to a career of effective teaching and fostering scholarly activity. I a man organized, flexible and open-minded educator. I do believe that one of my greatest strength as a teacher is my willingness to learn from my students.

I am conscientious, motivated, and hard-working; I am also very sensitive to my students’ needs.

I am an individual who combines expertise in mathematics with a strong commitment to enhancing the quality of mathematics education, broadly defined. Furthermore, my mathematical maturity, strong verbal and written communication skills and commitment to academic excellence have all strongly influenced my decision to become a teacher. I believe that my effectiveness as a teacher is due in large part to my excitement about the mathematics curriculum at the high school, college and university levels, and my ability to convey this enthusiasm to students.

Those of us who are faced with the duty of imparting mathematics to others share an awesome responsibility. My teaching strategy has been to deliver clear and concise ideas, mainly with the average student in mind. Indeed, the role of the mathematics teacher, I think, is to make mathematics accessible, interesting and exciting; to listen to, investigate, and challenge students’ ideas,at any level. (This was learned implicitly through observation over long periods of time throughout high school and university. I was fortunate enough to have been taught by some truly inspiring,passionate teachers!) I do, however, keep my eyes open for those students who feel the need for challenging problems, and I see to it that such problems are always available. This has the advantage of cultivating an air of mathematical sophistication, and it provides inspiration for further study and collaboration, so crucial to the discovery process in mathematics. This is especially important for making connections to other scientific disciplines, and not just within mathematics itself.

I am committed to enhancing the quality of mathematics education by understanding the challenges of mathematics for students with varying backgrounds, levels of knowledge and learning abilities; having a talent for tutoring one-on-one; and incorporating useful pedagogical strategies to promote a more active learning environment in the classroom.

The teaching of mathematics is endlessly fascinating and a very rewarding intellectual endeavour. In my mind, the one test for effective mathematics instruction is a student’s feeling of pride, enjoyment and a sense of mastery of a mathematical idea.