Faculty Excellence at UMUC

Interviewer:

Please tell us about yourself—what made you decide to teach at UMUC? What kind of work do you do when you are not teaching at UMUC? Are there any life experiences that have influenced your teaching at UMUC? If so, please share one story.

Suzanne Sands

As a Ph.D. student in mathematics at the University of Maryland – College Park, I was aware of the existence of UMUC, but did not know much about the institution. After graduate school, I began my professorial career teaching mathematics and computer science at Goucher College, where I had earned my bachelor’s degree. Later, after the birth of my second child, I took a break to devote myself to my family, and we relocated, eventually settling in a small town in Northern Virginia.

I resumed my academic career as an associate professor and mathematics program chair at Trinity College in Washington, D.C. and gained experience teaching adult students as well as traditional students. My long rush-hour commute ultimately proved to be too difficult, and I looked for opportunities closer to home. As a principal in a small firm, I worked on an environmental management simulation tool, helped to analyze and implement an information system for the local town government, and created and maintained a distributed replicated database point-of-sale system.

Still, the desire to teach never abated. My husband, Nick Duchon, joined UMUC, teaching full-time in the CMIS and CMSC disciplines, and I began teaching too, on a part-time basis, and I eventually became a full-time Collegiate Professor in mathematics and statistics.

I appreciate that UMUC affords me the opportunity to teach in a variety of formats: online, face-to-face, and hybrid, and with the scheduling flexibility, I can work primarily from home, yet meet people located all around the world!

Since I am a full-time faculty member, my time is primarily filled by teaching and related activities. When not teaching, I am often focused on cultivating home-grown fruit and vegetables, ranging from figs and sour cherries to cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers. Also, my husband and I take care of my elderly mother, who lives with us.

Interviewer:

How would you describe your teaching style or philosophy? What experiences or person(s) have influenced your style or philosophy?

Suzanne Sands

The courses that I teach focus on problem solving, reasoning, and communication. I try to use a step-by-step intuitive approach. In a face-to-face classroom, this is often accomplished by presenting an example, taking suggestions from the class about how to proceed, and following the suggestions to their logical conclusions, which may be dead ends. (Dead ends are not necessarily bad. They can lead to alternative ways of thinking about a problem.) Then we can refine the analysis, anticipate the next step to take, learn from each other, and solve problems independently. In an online classroom, this step-by-step approach is not necessarily real-time, but the same basic principles apply.

My mantra is “Practice, practice, practice!” I use the piano as an analogy.  You can listen to a pianist for hours, but you cannot become a pianist by listening. Learning to play the piano requires practice. There is no magic bullet and no substitute. Likewise, learning math requires actively doing math, practicing. With practice comes confidence!

In my teaching, I also want to convey that mathematics is not drudgery! I strive to impart the rich history, international development, and creativity of mathematics. For instance, mathematics makes modern life possible, such as cryptography and number theory which enable secure e-commerce, to the mathematics and art of origami which play a role in car-bag design.

Naturally, my first teachers were family members, and I learned by doing. We often made all sorts of things, such as sewing clothes, knitting sweaters, constructing bird houses out of popsicle sticks, creating pictures with crushed and dyed eggshells. We played a lot of card games and board games. On the weekends, my father typically would give me some sort of logic puzzle or word problem to solve before I knew what algebra was! Looking back, I can see that many of the activities were open-ended and encouraged me to figure things out for myself.

When my children were young, I gained further insight into hands-on learning, as I devised and led many volunteer activities at the local elementary school, where students made kinetic geometric felt quilts, balancing clowns, and roll-back cans to name a few. It was great fun and exciting for all involved!

I try to translate some of the learning-by-doing ideas to mathematics classes, with the emphasis on practice and the development of critical thinking skills. There is a lot of material to cover, and I am continually thinking about how to add interest and relevance via applications and open-ended activities, while making sure students master all of the fundamental concepts and mathematical structures in the time allotted.

Interviewer:

Please explain if you do something special or unique in your teaching and what made you develop this.

Suzanne Sands

I am in the process of compiling a library of five-minute videos, each explaining a particular course concept. Although a video is not the same as the give-and-take interaction between students and instructor, a video is a good resource for a student who needs a quick introduction to a concept or an in-depth look at a particular kind of problem. A video also gives me a multimedia way to directly explain a concept in my own voice and present my step-by-step approach dynamically. My long-term goal is to foster guided online participation incorporating videos together with a series of leading questions which encourage discussion and more interaction among students.

Also, in my classes, I like to incorporate at least one project or activity tailored to a student’s personal interests. For instance, for face-to-face algebra classes, students make five-minute presentations on selected topics ranging from math word problems of centuries past, historical figures, mathematics and jobs, real-world applications, and mathematics in the news. Students in online classes have similar opportunities via participation in WebTycho conferences. In my finite mathematics classes, there are several projects. Each class member collects and analyzes his/her own data on topics ranging from bowling scores to car mileage, and each may research a real house of their dreams and prepare an introductory financial analysis for its purchase.

Interviewer:

What do you think it is about your teaching style that appeals to students?

Suzanne Sands

I try my best to provide useful resources and detailed feedback to students. For online participation, when a student posts a problem’s solution, I try to guide the student in the right direction and allow repeated revision if needed. I would like to think that my enthusiasm for my discipline is contagious, and helps to alleviate math anxiety.

Interviewer:

Do you teach face-to-face, online, or both? Do you have a preference between teaching face-to-face and online? If so, please explain.

Suzanne Sands

I have taught online, face-to-face, and in the hybrid format. I primarily teach online, since I am located more than fifty miles from College Park, but I do enjoy teaching face-to-face occasionally too.

Interviewer:

Please tell us about your chosen discipline-i.e., what made you interested in the area initially? What do you do to stay current in your discipline? What do you like best about teaching in your discipline?

Suzanne Sands

I like the inherent satisfaction of solving a puzzle or a problem. In junior high school, I particularly liked the rigor of geometry, and it fascinated me to see that by starting from a small set of postulates, one could prove a tremendous number of results. I think I was lucky too, because virtually all of my teachers and professors through the undergraduate level were female, and so it always seemed natural to me that girls do math. I belong to national and local mathematics organizations, and I attend conferences and lectures when possible, and keep up with the news. I like the “aha” moment when the light dawns and a student really grasps a mathematical concept!

Interviewer:

What is the most challenging to you in teaching in this area? What teaching strategy do you use when you encounter the challenge? Are there any special challenges in teaching this subject matter online?  If yes, please explain what could be done to meet the challenges.

Suzanne Sands

The greatest challenge is to help students overcome their anxieties so that they can succeed in mathematics. The anxiety can be crippling, almost paralyzing. It helps to talk about it and offer ways to get started with a math topic, just biting off a small piece at a time, so it isn’t so overwhelming. Practice builds confidence.

Reading technical material requires persistence and patience, and in the online setting, there is a bigger burden placed on reading than in a face-to-face classroom. I hope that my videos can help to make it easier.

Interviewer:

What suggestion would you give to students who are interested in majoring or working in your discipline?

Suzanne Sands

Knowing mathematics is valuable. Although UMUC does not have a math major, many disciplines rely on mathematical models and problem-solving skills, so the ability to design, apply, and interpret models is a definite asset when applying for a job. Mathematics often acts as a gate-keeper. Without requisite mathematics skills, you can be shut out of many job fields.

Interviewer:

In your opinion, what makes UMUC the college of choice for students?

Suzanne Sands

UMUC provides a flexible framework so that students can study anytime and anywhere.

Interviewer:

In your opinion, what makes UMUC the employer of choice for future faculty members?

Suzanne Sands

UMUC provides faculty members with the opportunity to teach in a variety of formats and work with students of diverse backgrounds in far-flung locations.

Interviewer:

What suggestion would you give to new faculty who are interested in teaching in your discipline at UMUC?

Suzanne Sands

Get to know the faculty teaching the same courses so that you can benefit from their experience and find out tips and resources.