Aaron Wong, a Professor of Mathematics at Nevada State University, assigns precalculus students to respond to the 2013 Mathematical Association of America Haimo Teaching Award Lecture given by Francis Su. The title of the talk is “The Lesson of Grace in Teaching” which can be found online as both text and audio. The talk communicates to students that they have an inherent dignity apart from their grades, which is foundational to creating a sense of belonging both in the classroom and in STEM fields. The talk explicitly acknowledges the inherent worth of individual students (which is independent of their grades), and it helps to emphasize that struggle is part of the journey of learning.
Wong gives his students a link to the talk and asks them to respond to a prompt as part of a discussion thread in Canvas, his university’s LMS. Students then read and respond to some of their classmates’ comments. The online discussion can be pushed in several different directions, depending on the specific ideas that an instructor wants to emphasize. Sometimes Wong allows the students to simply quote a section of Su’s talk that resonates with them and share a bit about why that feels meaningful, and other times Wong gives them the whole essay but tells them to focus on a specific excerpt.
The primary theme of Su’s talk is, “Your accomplishments are NOT what make you a worthy human being.” Wong typically uses this line as a point of reference just after the first exam of the term, when many students are feeling down about their results. This shared reference gives a platform for Wong to reiterate that student grades do not reflect who they are as people, but are merely a measure of their ability to perform certain types of mathematical thinking under a time constraint. This is a type of grace that many students have not experienced in a math class, and it can start to change their mentality for math and for their education more broadly.
Another theme that Wong draws out of Su’s presentation is the importance and value of “struggle” in learning mathematics. In order to emphasize the value of grit in the learning process in math and beyond, Wong highlights this quote from Su: “the struggle is the more interesting place to be: because healthy confusion is where the real learning begins”. He uses this discussion board assignment to support student persistence throughout the semester.
Digital Resources
Discussion board
Wong’s assignment is given as an online discussion board activity within the university LMS. Students post their initial response and then reply to a couple other students. By presenting it in this manner, students can see how their peers respond to the prompt, which has the benefit of creating more opportunities for points of connection (as opposed to a writing assignment where the faculty member is the only person who reads student work).
In both the initial discussion post and response, Wong encourages (but does not require) students to share from their personal experiences in some way, and reminds them that it’s okay to disagree (as long as they disagree respectfully). This activity and guidance with respectful communication support students in creating a safe and welcoming learning environment where their identities are seen and acknowledged by others.
Digital Enablement
The online discussion board format takes some of the writing pressure off the students, as a place for casual discussion and not a fully formed essay. This means that students can write just a few sentences, and it does not become too much of a burden to complete the assignment. It’s also part of a series of discussions of this type that Wong assigns, which normalizes the idea of students sharing their thoughts and experiences with their classmates online. Wong believes this online discussion practice has some positive spillover effect into face-to-face classroom dynamics. The online discussion board also has the benefit of not using any class time, which many faculty including Wong feel is a scarce commodity. Anecdotally, students have a lot of negative past mathematical experiences and talking about them by connecting with Su’s and peer’s experiences contrasts (sometimes sharply) with those. Since this online discussion is a short assignment, even a minor shift in student thinking about worth and struggle is a significant return on investment.
The Lesson of Grace in Teaching is available as an audio file, which allows access to students who may struggle with reading or processing text for a variety of reasons. This audio file allows students to genuinely hear a voice beyond their professor’s discussing struggle and identity in mathematics. Francis Su is a relatable speaker to many students, having been told by an academic advisor that he didn’t have what it takes to be a mathematician, and then going on to earn a PhD in mathematics and become the president of the Mathematical Association of America.