from the Faculty Center for Professional Development
October 6th, 2008
For math, engineering, and science faculty, here’s something to consider: “Problem Zero.”
Students usually do not read mathematics or other technical textbooks. They immediately jump into the assigned problems and only refer to the text to look up examples of the problems they are solving. A faculty member at James Madison University created Problem Zero to encourage reading and thinking.
Problem Zero: Read the section and make your own summary of the material.
That’s all. Read the section and summarize it for yourself. Problem Zero counts the same as the other problems. Some general rules apply:
• Students can’t just copy all the definitions and theorems
• Their writing must prove that they read the section
• The summary must make sense to them personally
• Problem Zero has to be done before the other problems are attempted
• Problem Zero has to fit on one page
Grading for Problem Zero is essentially full credit or no credit – is it done, or not? – so the extra time for the instructor is not too problematic. Students report that Problem Zero encourages them to read, makes the homework easier, makes studying for exams easier, and helps them to understand all of the material better. Good value for a Zero.
However, you might have to spend some time up front convincing students that it’s worth their time to do Problem Zero. They are used to cutting straight to the exercises and may see Problem Zero as an unpleasant waste of time. Don’t let them argue you out of it; Problem Zero tends to grow on people.
To read this instructor’s article, please go to:
Problem Zero: Getting Students to Read Mathematics (http://www.maa.org/t_and_l/exchange/ite3/TaalmanProblemzero.htm)
