When he reached his mid-life crisis, research mathematician John Wolfe didn’t follow a stereotypic path. “I got interested in education,” he says. Initiative. The commercials aired in several Muslim countries throughout the Middle East and Asia for two months, but the campaign was discontinued prematurely, Fullerton says. “The campaign was stopped before research could show it had actually achieved its goal to create an international dialogue,” she says. “The results of my research have verified that the commercials, in fact, were effective.” In studies performed in London and Singapore, participants were asked for their attitudes toward the U.S. government and its people before and after the commercials. The results revealed a significant attitude shift post viewing. Currently, a Hong Kong study is being planned. “These findings are really exciting because I feel this kind of research could impact public diplomacy by opening the lines of international communication,” Fullerton says. “I think the evidence suggests advertising can and should be one of many tools America uses in a longrange plan to build friendships and alliances.” Alanna Bradley Although Wolfe, a recipient of the Regents Distinguished Teaching Award, says there are no easy answers as to what makes a good teacher, he does believe the teacher’s attitude is critical. “Teaching becomes more and more mysterious and magical the more I teach,” he says. “It’s hard to put my finger on what and how it is, but teachers have a powerful influence on students, both positively and negatively. “I love math. It’s a beautiful, exciting and engaging subject. If kids are to have a positive attitude about math, a sense of adventure, it sure helps if the teacher has it,” he says. “I believe as a teacher I need to model and stimulate in my students the art of staying in touch with our sense of curiosity.” Weekly Reader magazine surveys show mathematics, such as counting and shapes, to be the favorite subject in the first few grades, but something happens to kill that interest, Wolfe says. The geometric structures course is designed to help teachers rekindle their own sense of adventure and teach them how to nurture their students’ curiosity. “This course is an expression of my teaching philosophy based on assuming people, by nature, have a desire to learn and to make sense of the world,” he says. “As a teacher I want to spark that fascination as well as give imaginative presentations of material.” Wolfe, who says he teaches “all flavors of math,” is the math department’s undergraduate director and adviser to the math club. During the summers he has often worked with high school students attending summer of television commercials in improving international viewer attitudes toward America. The research attracted national attention last fall when it became part of the Senate Sub-Committee hearing on Public Diplomacy and was published in the prestigious Journal of Advertising Research. She is testing a series of commercials that were developed in 2002 by the U.S. Department of State as part of an unprecedented public diplomacy campaign known as the Shared Values For the past six years, funded by National Science Foundation grants, the 31-year veteran of the OSU math department has channeled his interest in education into the development of a geometry course for prospective kindergarten through eighth grade teachers. Wolfe and colleague Doug Aichele will submit the final manuscript for the text in 2006, but the course is already attracting the attention of their peers. The course, which is taught at OSU, is being used in preliminary form at seven other universities. The math department has also extended the instruction to summer workshops attended by teachers from across the country. “We’ve been using the course in various formats for several years for students who are working on a teaching degree,” he says. “The feedback we receive is generally good.” academies at OSU. This spring, nominated by his colleagues in the professional organization of college math teachers, the Oklahoma-Arkansas Section of the Mathematical Association of America named Wolfe Distinguished Teacher of 2005. Eileen Mustain Reclaiming the Math Adventure pJohn Wolfe, professor of mathematics and recipient of multiple teaching awards, says, “At the heart of it, teaching and learning are still as much mystery as science.” Erika Contreras Oklahoma State University
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjAxMjk=