A&S T&L Community of Practice: Rethinking Teaching and Learning in Math: Humour and Standards-Based Testing

Presented by: Teaching & Learning, Faculty of Arts & Science

Community of Practice: Rethinking Teaching and Learning in Math: Humour and Standards-Based Testing
Friday, November 22, 10 – 11:30 am, Online, Zoom Registration 

This upcoming CoP session brings together two innovative approaches to teaching mathematics, highlighting the role of humour in engaging students and the effectiveness of standards-based grading as an assessment alternative.

Laughter: Mindedness Meets Meaning in Mathematics
Presenter: Kennedy Obina Idu, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Mathematics

This presentation explores the surprising effectiveness of humour as a tool to facilitate student understanding of mathematical concepts. By creating an engaging and enjoyable learning environment, humour helps break down different barriers and biases, making complex ideas more accessible. Drawing on practical examples from my classes, I will demonstrate how I have used verbal and physical humour to introduce concepts, resulting in higher student engagement and improved performance, including a perfect score from a second-year student. I will also briefly touch on relevant research, including Allen Paulos’ work on mathematics and humour, to contextualize these practices within the broader pedagogical theory.

Standards-Based Grading as an Alternative to Traditional Assessment
Presenter: Maye Cardenas Montoya, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Mathematics

I will provide an overview of the key principles underlying standards-based grading (SBG), an assessment method designed to align grading with mastery of learning outcomes while fostering persistence and a growth mindset in students. I will then discuss my experience implementing a variation of SBG as an alternative to traditional exams in MAT138: Introduction to Proofs, focusing on logistics, results, and student perspectives. The session will conclude with a curated set of resources to help those interested kickstart their journey into the world of alternative grading.

For upcoming programming, please see here.

Have questions? Reach out to us at teachinglearning.artsci@utoronto.ca.