How six outstanding math professors view teaching and learning: The importance of caring

Abstract

Six exemplary professors, all trained as mathematicians, were interviewed regarding their views about university teaching and learning. Nine themes emerged; seven related to teaching and two related to learning. Among the teaching themes, the most prominent was the importance placed on caring and concern for students. In addition the professors were concerned with all essential aspects of course design (content, learning outcomes, strategies and evaluation), passion for their discipline and their teaching, and the tension between research and teaching in the university context. In terms of their views of learning, these professors believed that students learn through active engagement which serves as a means for learners to personally construct knowledge. The relationship is explored between these results and findings from the literature in math education and higher education. We conclude that caring about students is not only a characteristic of math professors but likely to be typical of professors across disciplines, and may also be an indicator of advanced levels of teaching development. Implications for faculty development are proposed.

Constructing the caring higher education teacher: A theoretical framework

“…Such a vision of teaching is articulated by Rendón (2009) as 'sentipensante pedagogy' that involves the ability to see the connections between seeming opposites, such as thinking and feeling. Within these studies, it appears that caring teachers appear to be motivated to do all that is possible to maximize a student's chance of success and the literature attests to the means by which individual teachers carefully articulate and precisely fashion their caring philosophies and practices (Larson, 2006;Noddings, 1999;O'Connor, 2008;Weston and McAlpine, 1998;Zembylas, Bozalek and Shefer, 2014). However, there are limitations within the current research, and these lead to an imperfect understanding of the nature of pedagogic care, the distinctions between care in practice and the rationales and motivations of teachers who care, particularly in higher education.…”

Faculty Perceptions of Mattering in Teaching and Learning: A Qualitative Examination of the Views, Values, and Teaching Practices of Award-Winning Professors

“…Yet despite this apparent reluctance to speak of love, the centrality of care and love is evident in past educational research. For example, Weston & McAlpine (1998) found that the category of caring they identified through their interviews of mathematics professors included a combined theme summarized as "care for, respect, love students." And, similarly, our interviewees frequently spoke about loving their time with students or how they loved getting to know them.…”

“…Our results are also very much in keeping with findings from an interview study of six exemplary mathematics professors. In this case, Weston & McAlpine (1998) found that nine categories emerged from their interview study with the most salient category that emerged being the importance placed on caring and concern for students.…”