3. Postdoctoral Program - MSRI

Evaluation #1
1. What were the benefits of attending this type of institute?
This has been an extraordinary experience, with a lecture followed by small groups
was crucially important. Learning was reinforced and the collaborative spirit of the group
was very encouraging. I am much more cognizant of my mathematical shortcomings, but
also fairly confident that with time, patience and a lot of hard work on my part, I can
expand my knowledge and convey that to my students successfully. Other benefits of the
institute are just related to broadening my circle of “math friends” and having people to
work with, share ideas, and continue to pursue math learning opportunities. The good
and bad of the program is that so much material is crammed into 3 weeks and I can not
predict how that will impact my retention.
2. What improvements do you suggest? Please be specific.
I suggest finding more group leaders who are mathematicians or grad students in
mathematics. That is not to say that we can not all learn from one another. The fertile
exchange of ideas, techniques etc, in the small groups attest to that. At the same time,
I believe there was a significant difference in the value/learning that took place in the
afternoon when Sunil was at the helm. He was able to give guide us and challenge us in
ways that Winnie and Stephanie could not. (See more on back page)
3. What would you like to see happen during the Saturday sessions? How
would you like them organized? Please be specific. Consider format, topics,
etc.
I would like to ask folks to discuss specifically how they’ve implemented what they
learned and what did and didn’t work. Perhaps specific topics could be predetermined
for particular sessions. I would also like the opportunity to learn more and reinforce the
concepts that are more complex.
4. What are you going to implement/change in your classroom because of
what have you learned in this institute?
I foresee using significant parts of Ch. 1 and 2 and I plan to use the number line as a
core tool. I plan to use the exercises in Ch. 4 (with transparencies) and think they will
be very powerful, especially for students who are very intimidated by mathematics. They
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