Andrew Neyer

Teaching Philosophy

 Important skills I want to teach my students

In addition to the specific math content in my courses, I think the most important skills are communication, collaboration, and problem-solving. I want my students to be able to take the skills they have and apply them to never before seen situations — this is the essence of problem solving. I also want them to be comfortable working as part of a team working towards a common goal.

Teaching methods to reach these goals

My classes are very student centered instead of teacher or textbook centered. The students work in groups to tackle problems and then we discuss their solutions as a class. All problems have a real-world context so they can draw on their own life experiences to make connections to the math we’re learning.

My favorite projects

I love hands-on projects. This is particularly helpful in geometry when we are working with triangle congruence proofs and developing the principles of trigonometry. My favorite project I’ve done was in a statistics class. The students take the “Coke-Pepsi Challenge” to see if they can taste the difference between the two. Then we create a simulation using dice to see if the class results are statistically significant. This project helps develop the concepts of sampling distributions and significance tests.

What I like best about teaching at Seven Hills

I love having the autonomy to try new things in the classroom! I also appreciate the support I receive from both my colleagues and the administration. But most importantly, I love working with the Seven Hills students! They are curious, motivated, and fun to be around.