Faculty Feature: Professor Levitt on Making Math Meaningful

Many students arrive with strong feelings about math, often seeing it as a subject to memorize rather than explore. How do you approach changing that perception, and what do you hope students take away from your classes beyond the mathematical concepts themselves?

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I'm a strong advocate of Minerva's core competencies - effective communication, collaboration, creative problem solving, and critical thinking. My wish for students is for them to see that all four of these are relevant to learning and applying mathematics and my courses are designed to give students guidance and practice in them.

By having students actively solve non trivial problems in a wide variety of contexts, both theoretical and applied, stressing how the topics all interrelate, and being supportive of students of many different backgrounds and abilities, I try to instill just how creative and stimulating an endeavor 'doing' mathematics really is. Despite my background as a theoretician, I strive to relate mathematics to a wide variety of applied topics that intersect with student interests and to topics they perhaps have never considered relevant.

Moreover, the constant collaboration and my insistence on succinct, clear writing lead to improvement in general skills they will use the rest of their lives. It's a great source of pride for me when I hear back from former students about how they found what they learned extremely useful in their jobs or further education, or have changed their perspective in some way.

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In your co-authored Minerva Voices article on teaching STEM subjects online, you describe using class time for collaborative problem-solving instead of traditional lectures. Could you walk us through what a typical class session looks like from a student's perspective?

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Most of my classes follow a similar format that is designed to maximize the amount of time each student is actually actively working on mathematics. Typically after some brief introductory comments, students answer a number of poll questions that serve as both review of previous sessions and of the material that they are responsible for in this session.

I'm a big proponent of spaced repetition and try to incorporate that as much as possible into the course. After those are completed and answers are reviewed, there will be a long problem solving breakout where students are paired up at random to try to complete a workbook that often incorporates programming in Sagemath.

There are also additional, more involved enrichment problems that groups who finish early may attempt. Afterwards, there is a brief discussion of the material where I question students on their solutions, and answer questions. Time permitting, we finish class with more polls to solidify some of the day's concepts.

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You are known among students for bringing personal touches into the classroom, despite being virtual, including chatting with students before and after classes and introducing your chickens. What role do moments like these play in creating a classroom environment?

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I want students to want to come to class. In addition to curating interesting and relevant course materials, it is part of my strategy to develop a good rapport with my students. I think this is especially important in a virtual teaching environment, where we only see each other on screen. Sharing aspects of my life- family, pets, hobbies, eccentricities, personal challenges- makes me a real person, not just an avatar on their computer.

Furthermore, being a Minerva student is challenging - navigating life in cities across the globe while engaging in a rigorous academic curriculum with peers from wildly different backgrounds. I'd like to think that having a friendly, supportive teacher adds a layer of psychological safety for them both in the classroom and out.

Teaching often comes with rewarding moments that happen behind the scenes. What keeps you excited about teaching after all these years?

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Honestly, it's the students. It's a great pleasure to get to know such a varied group of interesting, motivated, and all-together wonderful people and to watch them grow during their time with us and after. To have even a small impact on their lives continually amazes me and is a constant source of pride. They push me to want to keep improving at what I do even after decades of teaching.

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Throughout your time at Minerva, how have your students influenced the way you teach?

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Probably in too many ways to list. The incredible variety of backgrounds of students, from cultural to economic to educational and more, has pushed me to be inclusive in ways I never imagined before teaching at Minerva. I want everyone to know they have a seat in my classroom and will be challenged, but supported.

Yet, at the same time, I've come to appreciate how similar everyone is despite a long list of differences.  

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Is there anything else you would like to share with prospective students who may be considering applying to Minerva?

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Attending Minerva is a challenge and not for everyone. However, for those ready to take it on, you'll have the adventure of a lifetime. How you see the world, how you interact with people, how you think will be changed in ways you can't possibly imagine. There really isn't anything else like it.

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What does it mean to truly “do” mathematics? Discover how Minerva’s active learning approach helps students move beyond memorization to solve complex problems, collaborate effectively, and apply mathematical thinking throughout their lives.