Jupiter, FL (March 1, 2010) – In 1991 the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) instituted Awards for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics.
This series of awards recognizes college or university teachers who have been widely acknowledged as extraordinarily successful and whose teaching effectiveness has been shown to have had influence beyond their own institutions.
This year, Dr. Terje Hõim, associate professor of mathematics at the Wilkes Honors College, received the Mathematical Association of America Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics for the State of Florida. She was honored at the MAA Florida Section meeting in Gainesville, FL, Feb.19-20, 2010 and was presented with a certificate and a plaque. Dr. Hõim will be next year’s official Florida nominee for the national MAA Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics.
“One of my goals in teaching is to strive continually to make mathematics more meaningful to students, provide them with intellectual challenges, provoke their curiosity and, most of all, motivate them to want to learn. In addition to more traditional mathematics approaches, I teach mathematics as a liberal art by linking it to relevant historical and cultural topics, as well as developing students’ writing skills,” said Dr. Hõim.
Her engagement in innovative curriculum development has resulted in designing three extremely innovative, team-taught, interdisciplinary courses – Honors Ethnomathematics, Honors Econometrics, and Honors Mathematical Economics.
Working together with Dr. Jacqueline Fewkes, assistant professor of anthropology, Dr. Hõim received two nationally competitive grants for the development of course materials for their course Honors Ethnomathematics. As a result, the professors believe that this course has improved each time it has been offered in content it addresses and the activities it offers. In recognition of this achievement, the course is currently featured on the American Council of Learned Societies’ curriculum initiative website.
In 2007, Dr. Hõim won the FAU Excellence in Undergraduate Advising Award. She believes in developing a warm and caring relationship between a student and a faculty advisor; this gives her the opportunity to understand her students better, and it offers her students a scholarly mentor and role model. Dr. Hõim currently has 10 students writing their honors theses under her direction. Several of those theses are interdisciplinary, involving applications of mathematics and statistics to biology, political science, economics, and psychology.
Dr. Hõim’s students have presented their thesis research at state-level conferences as well as at national mathematics conferences. Most of the mathematics concentrators from the Wilkes Honors College continue their studies at prestigious graduate programs. “My students know that I really care about their success and that I am always there to help them,” said Dr. Hõim.
In addition to her regular duties, Dr. Hõim frequently directs independent studies so that students can take a greater variety of advanced courses that truly spark their interests. “I hope to continue to improve as an educator and as a teacher. One of the benefits of teaching at the Honors College is the chance to teach motivated, scholarly students who want to learn. I feel that I have grown as a teacher here, and look forward to new challenges and opportunities in this regard.”
This latest recognition brings renewed attention to Florida Atlantic University and its Honors College for its deep commitment to innovative teaching. As Jeffrey L. Buller, dean of the Wilkes Honors College puts it, “The Florida Section of the Mathematical Association of America has confirmed what all of Dr. Hõim’s colleagues and students know: She’s an absolute star in everything she teaches. I’m so proud that some of the best students from Florida and around the world daily have access to professors of this caliber at Florida Atlantic University. FAU is THE university today for high ability students who want to be challenged by a creative and dedicated faculty.”
byline: Tamara Howard |
