Center for Mathematics Education

Taking Academic Success to the Next Level

stuxbury — Thu, 22 Jul 2021 23:52:48 +0000

Taking Academic Success to the Next Level stuxbury Thu, 07/22/2021 - 19:52

Graphic showing the variety of resources available in the Office of Academic Success

When it comes to scientific concepts, like a plant’s life cycle, Harry Rahn draws sketches for students to see. For vocabulary terms, Rahn teaches them the meaning of the root word.

“I love science,” said Rahn, a ��-Dearborn graduate student. “When you can visualize something as it exists in the world around us or understand the root of a word — like knowing bio means life and -ology is Greek for ‘the study of’ — it helps you understand and retain what you’re learning.”

Rahn is a long-time ��-Dearborn tutor and Supplemental Instruction (SI) leader. And he’s one of the many people available to help students excel in their courses through the newly formed Office of Academic Success.

The Office of Academic Success, which launched on July 1, brings together the academic resources around campus and coordinates them under one ��-Dearborn office.

For students, there’s Tutoring Services, Supplemental Instruction, the Science Learning Center, the Math Learning Center, and the Writing Center. For faculty and staff, the office will closely work with the Hub for Teaching and Learning, the Office of Digital Education, and other areas of Faculty and Institutional Support.

“The Office of the Provost and all four colleges saw an opportunity to bring areas together to allow for greater support, more coordinated resources and a stronger focus on academic success,” said Office of Academic Success Director Jessica LaGrange.“This change also gathers resources in one office and makes them easier to find rather than navigating among services across campus.”

In addition to the work already happening on campus, the office is developing new collaborative programming geared towards both students and faculty for the coming academic year. Plans in development include microgrants for faculty and coordinating programming with peer mentoring groups, and professional development training sessions for the office’s nearly 100 student employees.

“Sessions will cover topics like professionalism, learning strategies, difficult situations, and facilitating sessions or interacting with students in a peer-learning environment,” LaGrange said. “All students can learn and benefit from these skills, no matter which area they are working in within Academic Success.”

Senior Ben Bartley said he’s benefited from the campus' Math Learning Center, SI sessions and tutoring services. Bartley said he’s a good student, but was struggling in a few math and science courses.

“My high school didn’t cover the material that we were learning in class, so I didn’t have the foundation I needed. I felt like I was fighting to keep up with the material. Then I heard about the different ways you can get help on campus,” said Bartley, who had Rahn as a tutor and SI leader. “I could have struggled through and gotten Cs or Bs on my own. But Harry pushed me to the next level and I got all As.”

LaGrange knows the importance of the academic campus services through hearing about experiences like Bartley’s and seeing the numbers. Last year, the learning centers and tutoring held more than 4,300 virtual appointments and engaged with more than 1,200 students. And Supplemental Instruction supported 30-plus courses, many with multiple sections.

She also knows offering different styles of support — from group sessions tied to specific courses, to one-on-one meetings, to asynchronous support — is important in accommodating different types of learners. To meet students wherever they are, the Office of Academic Success also will offer both in-person and virtual options this fall.

Bartley said the free services are a must-use. He said it will help boost grades and your social network.

“The people you meet are students too — they just happen to be really good at a particular class or subject. It’s nice to have someone to learn with and I’ve even made study groups with other students from my SI sessions,” he said. “It helps to know you have someone there when it’s crunch time for a test or when you are just trying to make sense of something you’ve read in a textbook. Tutors like Harry want to help. They’ll reduce your stress and increase your G.P.A.”

Want to learn more about the Office of Academic Success? You can visit their website or reach out to them.

Article by Sarah Tuxbury.

Student Success

Teaching Resource

Center for Mathematics Education

Writing Center

Success Programming

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Sun, 07/25/2021 - 23:50

The Office of Academic Success, which launched on July 1, brings together student-focused academic resources and coordinates them under one ��-Dearborn office.

��-Dearborn’s Yunus Zeytuncu, Mathematics associate professor, named Michigan Distinguished Professor of the Year

stuxbury — Tue, 15 Jun 2021 13:46:33 +0000

��-Dearborn’s Yunus Zeytuncu, Mathematics associate professor, named Michigan Distinguished Professor of the Year stuxbury Tue, 06/15/2021 - 09:46

Associate Professor teaching mathematics to a Maize and Blue Math Circle participant.

Mathematics Associate Professor Yunus Zeytuncu speaks about complex math problems in a way that captivates listeners. When helping students understand foundational math concepts, he uses games. To explain differential equations, he talks about pouring creamer into the coffee. When teaching students about spectrum, he plays a 3D-printed drum. And if there are still questions on the material, Zeytuncu exhibits both patience and persistence.

“Making connections and using metaphors help you learn something new; it becomes relatable,” said Zeytuncu, who is also the director for campus’ Center for Mathematics Education. “Academics learn through research — but it’s also important to share that gained knowledge through teaching and training. To me, research and teaching are together under one umbrella of scholarship. As a scholar, it’s important to me to produce new knowledge and to find new ways to share knowledge. ”

At ��-Dearborn, Zeytuncu is known for his dedication to teaching mathematics. And thanks to a recently announced award, he’s getting recognized for it across the state too.

Zeytuncu received the 2021 Michigan Association of State Universities’ (MASU) Michigan Distinguished Professor of the Year Award, which recognizes the outstanding contributions to undergraduate education exhibited by faculty at Michigan’s 15 public universities.

“Professor Zeytuncu is a tireless and innovative educator who has dedicated much of his career to creating transformative opportunities for undergraduate students at ��-Dearborn, as well as the broader southeast Michigan community of all ages,” said Susan E. Alcock, ��-Dearborn provost and executive vice chancellor for Academic Affairs.

Zeytuncu brings top math students from across the nation to ��-Dearborn during the summer and leads a Research Experiences for Undergraduates site focusing on mathematics analysis and applications. Zeytuncu teaches hundreds of ��-Dearborn students in up to six courses each year and mentors others. And because he wants to help prepare the next generation of learners, he developed the Maize and Blue Math Circle tutoring program for middle and high school-aged kids.

For the Maize and Blue Math Circle program, Zeytuncu secured multiple grants to travel to Detroit-area schools after speaking with one of his young students. “He was a 14-year-old who was taking two buses to get here [��-Dearborn campus] — to do math after school,” Zeytuncu said. “That’s when I had the idea to go out to the urban schools and offer the program there too.”

Zeytuncu said he’s honored by the MASU award. He credits his Mathematics and Statistics Department colleagues, professional mentors, past teachers, and his parents for his success.

The ��-Dearborn professor grew up in a household centered around education — both his parents were teachers in Turkey — and at a young age he emulated what he learned from that supportive environment.

“At school, we had before- and after-school study sessions. I was doing well in mathematics. Other students would come up to me and ask for help. Even if I knew how to solve a problem, it was still a challenge because I needed to explain it in a way that makes sense to others. If one way didn’t work, I’d try another until I could see that the person understood it. I found satisfaction in explaining complicated ideas to others.”

Reflecting on his career, Zeytuncu said his students motivate him to find new and innovative ways to share his love of problem-solving. And the MASU Distinguished Professor of the Year Award lets him know that he’s on the right track.

“This award is a signal to me that what we are doing at ��-Dearborn is working,” he said. “My name is on the award, but I couldn’t do this alone. I’m proud to be a part of a team that does amazing work because our priority is making sure our students have everything they need to be successful. There are many caring, dedicated people at ��-Dearborn, and I’m happy to represent what we do.”

Associate Professor Zeytuncu earned his Ph.D. from the Ohio State University in 2010 and his B.S. in mathematics from Bilkent University in Turkey in 2004. He was a visiting assistant professor at Texas A&M University before joining the University of Michigan-Dearborn faculty in 2013. In 2019, he received the Mathematical Association of America Michigan Section’s Distinguished Teaching Award.

Academic Excellence

Awards

Faculty and Staff

College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters

Center for Mathematics Education

Mathematics and Statistics

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Tue, 06/15/2021 - 13:40

The statewide award recognizes the outstanding contributions to undergraduate education exhibited by faculty at Michigan’s public universities.

Center for Mathematics Education

Taking Academic Success to the Next Level

������-Dearborn’s Yunus Zeytuncu, Mathematics associate professor, named Michigan Distinguished Professor of the Year

��-Dearborn’s Yunus Zeytuncu, Mathematics associate professor, named Michigan Distinguished Professor of the Year