MSU math professor Ted Hodgson

In between bites of homemade pizza, Montana State University math professor Ted Hodgson has his students thinking about math.

Hodgson uses pizza and the likelihood of particular pieces to be selected, to illustrate the concept of probability to his class of soon-to-be high school math teachers.

"I like to have fun as a teacher," he said. "I try to model what I want them to be like in their classrooms. The classroom is a fun place. A wonderful place. I let them (the students) know you can teach and have fun in the classroom."

Hodgson loves to teach. "I've always had a passion for teaching. I started tutoring in math when I was 12. I also had some true role models as math teachers. I had one who used to tell stories and talk about how he used math in real life. I remembered the stories and the mathematics." Hodgson's teaching excellence was recognized with the MSU 2002 President's Distinguished Teacher Award.

The genial Hodgson says he's always enjoyed interacting with students. "There are certain things you try on and they fit," he said. "You focus on the needs of kids and everything else disappears."

He trained as a math educator at Indiana University. "But I didn't want to teach right away," Hodgson said. "It's a big responsibility and I didn't feel I was mature enough. You're a role model as a teacher."

So Hodgson went on to get his master's degree from the University of California at San Diego. It was during his time as a teaching assistant there that he decided he truly enjoyed getting up in front of a class and teaching. He taught high school several years at a small school in San Diego. "I really enjoyed it." But Hodgson had promised himself that he would pursue his doctorate, so he went back to Indiana University. He came to MSU as a professor in 1992 with his wife Paris and son Tristan because he had fallen in love with the mountains.

As a math educator he believes it's important to stay in touch with the classroom. "You need to maintain that credibility." So every two to three years Hodgson volunteers in local schools as a teacher's aide. He often ends up in classrooms of teachers he has taught.

"I work with kids in small groups, teach an occasional class and help out where I can," he said. "I don't try to run the show. Then when I come back to the(university)classroom, I can talk with some validity about what the classroom is like."

Hodgson focuses his classroom teaching on what his students really need to know -about mathematics and teaching- as teachers. Students also spend a lot of time teaching each other.

"Students are not allowed to be passive learners in my classroom," he said. "I'm not afraid to take risks in how I teach my classes. You can't be afraid to fail." If something doesn't work one semester he'll make it better the next time he teaches the class.

Former student Roger Blake says that Hodgson makes students feel included. "He values your opinion." Blake says that he has taken Hodgson's practice of having students work in groups and applies that to his community college classroom. "I actually hear laughter from my students as they teach each other," he said. "Students learn more by teaching each other."

What Hodgson tries to get his students to understand is that teaching mathematics is much more than simply checking homework and delivering a lecture.

"Teaching occurs in a context of relationships," he said. "I teach them to be conscious of that. They should seek to develop relationships of trust, respect and cooperation. Without that, students won't respond."

On the flip side, Hodgson and the Math Department are developing relationships with those future educators.

"I tell my undergraduates that their degree is just the first step in their preparation as teachers," he said. "We want to support them as they enter their own classrooms. We hope to build a relationship that lasts throughout their career."

Hodgson teaches not only undergraduate students in the classroom, he also teaches on-line mathematics education courses as well as veteran teachers in MSU's master's of science in mathematics education program.

He teaches all his students that math is exciting. "It's fun to explore mathematics and to learn to think mathematically. You want students to relish the chance to think about and solve challenging problems."

By Brenda McDonald bmcdonal@montana.edu Posted for Jan. 15, 2003