1.1 - Using Writing and Speaking to Enhance Mathematics Courses

Summary

Introduction

A college wide curriculum change in 1986 prompted my adoption of nontraditional methods in mathematics courses. The curriculum requires students to take one writing intensive course per year and two oral intensive courses in four years. Good practice suggests that students enroll in at least one class of each type in their major field. Given this need for writing intensive or oral intensive mathematics courses, I first developed a writing intensive and oral intensive Modern Geometry course [11]. Later I developed an oral intensive Modern Algebra course [12] and have used similar techniques in Linear Algebra and a capstone course, Topics in Advanced Mathematics. In all these courses, I have two main goals: 1) Make the class time as discussion oriented as possible, and 2) Require students to write and present proofs frequently. In Modern Geometry and in Topics, students also must research an appropriate topic and then write and present a paper on it. Using these methods, I observed an increase in both student satisfaction and success. Following a brief description of writing and oral intensive courses, this paper will describe my methods.

A writing intensive course must provide students with instruction on appropriate writing in the discipline and require them to complete multiple writing assignments. Faculty must provide regular feedback and allow students to reflect on and revise their writing.