MATH 2063 - An academically enriching honors experience
When I first walked into the class of MATH 2063 (also called the class of multi-variable calculus or calculus III), little did I know that I was about to learn so much more than just calculus.
In the fall of 2014, I took the class of multi-variable calculus as an honors seminar. This class consisted of about twenty UHP students and was conducted in 60, West Charlton at 10.10 a.m, four days a week. Studying calculus III from Professor Robert Buckingham was an interesting experience. On the first day, Professor Buckingham explained the objectives of our honors section which were to induce conceptual learning of calculus III and to build communication skills while having interactive learning. On Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, we had lecture classes in which we were given homework problems from the textbook to solve. On Fridays, we would discuss the homework problems with a student explaining the solution of a homework problem on the whiteboard. Doing this accomplished two things- one, students made sure to complete the given homework questions in order to answer if asked in class and two, explaining the solution to a question on whiteboard forced a student to not only practice better communication and interactive skills but also realize if he/she really knew the concept well enough to explain it to the class like a professor would.
I chose to engage in this experience because I wanted to experience learning with other UHP students who I believed would be bright, zealous and shared a similar mindset with me. Taking this class definitely helped me meet those expectations. I feel honored for having studied calculus with such strikingly intelligent students. Each day in class was filled with challenging questions and answers. It was never just a lecture by Professor Buckingham; but more like an interactive session of new ideas and mind-tickling questions by my peers and Professor. Professor Buckingham's teaching style is exceptional, in that he does not focus on academic scoring for better learning but he thrives for gaining in-depth knowledge about a concept which would lead to acing in the field naturally. This is one of the many things I learned in class- it is important to focus at excellence instead of success, because once you've excelled in a field, success is just round the corner to follow it.
To hone my mathematical skills, I religiously watched conceptual videos on www.khanacademy.org. This website had short videos of calculus III topics such as integrals of conservative vector field -
(www.khanacademy.org/math/multivariable-calculus/line_integrals_topic/line_integrals_vectors/v/closed-curve-line-integrals-of-conservative-vector-fields)
and
line integrals and vector fields (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3cJYNdQLYg). These videos helped me gain a better understanding of concepts and I learned how to learn using resources outside classroom.
Taking this class of MATH 2063 was definitely a meaningful experience. I learned challenging concepts of calculus with smart peers who taught me how to tackle difficult questions. I can now stand in front of a crowd and practice public speaking confidently. I have begun to prioritize excellence in a task, rather than focusing on the outcome of it. More than anything else, I have started stepping out of my comfort zone and believing in my ability to learn by gaining new experiences. These are lessons I have learned from taking an honors section of multi-variable calculus class in UC. I cannot but imagine what more am I going to learn from my other honors experiences.
When I first walked into the class of MATH 2063 (also called the class of multi-variable calculus or calculus III), little did I know that I was about to learn so much more than just calculus.
In the fall of 2014, I took the class of multi-variable calculus as an honors seminar. This class consisted of about twenty UHP students and was conducted in 60, West Charlton at 10.10 a.m, four days a week. Studying calculus III from Professor Robert Buckingham was an interesting experience. On the first day, Professor Buckingham explained the objectives of our honors section which were to induce conceptual learning of calculus III and to build communication skills while having interactive learning. On Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, we had lecture classes in which we were given homework problems from the textbook to solve. On Fridays, we would discuss the homework problems with a student explaining the solution of a homework problem on the whiteboard. Doing this accomplished two things- one, students made sure to complete the given homework questions in order to answer if asked in class and two, explaining the solution to a question on whiteboard forced a student to not only practice better communication and interactive skills but also realize if he/she really knew the concept well enough to explain it to the class like a professor would.
I chose to engage in this experience because I wanted to experience learning with other UHP students who I believed would be bright, zealous and shared a similar mindset with me. Taking this class definitely helped me meet those expectations. I feel honored for having studied calculus with such strikingly intelligent students. Each day in class was filled with challenging questions and answers. It was never just a lecture by Professor Buckingham; but more like an interactive session of new ideas and mind-tickling questions by my peers and Professor. Professor Buckingham's teaching style is exceptional, in that he does not focus on academic scoring for better learning but he thrives for gaining in-depth knowledge about a concept which would lead to acing in the field naturally. This is one of the many things I learned in class- it is important to focus at excellence instead of success, because once you've excelled in a field, success is just round the corner to follow it.
To hone my mathematical skills, I religiously watched conceptual videos on www.khanacademy.org. This website had short videos of calculus III topics such as integrals of conservative vector field -
(www.khanacademy.org/math/multivariable-calculus/line_integrals_topic/line_integrals_vectors/v/closed-curve-line-integrals-of-conservative-vector-fields)
and
line integrals and vector fields (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3cJYNdQLYg). These videos helped me gain a better understanding of concepts and I learned how to learn using resources outside classroom.
Taking this class of MATH 2063 was definitely a meaningful experience. I learned challenging concepts of calculus with smart peers who taught me how to tackle difficult questions. I can now stand in front of a crowd and practice public speaking confidently. I have begun to prioritize excellence in a task, rather than focusing on the outcome of it. More than anything else, I have started stepping out of my comfort zone and believing in my ability to learn by gaining new experiences. These are lessons I have learned from taking an honors section of multi-variable calculus class in UC. I cannot but imagine what more am I going to learn from my other honors experiences.