Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
At the same time, I had worked with the talented students of the UCI Math Circle, where I developed
and presented the material Anti engineer, the tunnels specialist as a first part to the topological
classification of surfaces, May 2, 2016. Samples of the booklet can be found on my personal web page
and in the figure (1) below, where I exhibit a flow chart for the classification. This material can be
easily adapted for undergraduate and graduate courses as well (and is highly visual).
Figure 1: A sample of the material Anti engineer, the tunnels specialist about classification of
surfaces. The flow chart was inspired by computer programming flow charts.
During my graduate studies I was awarded a Doctoral fellowship by the University of California
Institute for Mexico and the United States (UC MEXUS) from were I have mentor graduate students
coming from Mexico for the first time in the UC system. I also have participated in the program
Club de Ciencias Mexico as a curricular designer, instructor, mentor, and volunteer evaluator of
students applications. This program is oriented to high school and freshman undergraduate students.
It promotes the interaction and collaboration between students in Mexico and the US. When leading
each club, I covered ideas in geometry (motivated by Benoit Mandelbrot, M.C Eschers work) to reinforce
M. C. Franco de Leon. www.mcfrancodeleon.com 2/3
material from regular school (calculus, algebra, logic and recursion). Additionally, I implemented
hands-on activities such as painting and computer programming (fractals) to explain concepts about
topology, astrophysics, dynamical systems, and chaos theory.
As one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century George I. Gurdjieff remarks on his
teaching,
there is a difference between knowing and understanding.
Teaching those concepts requires actually understanding, not just of ideas but about human interactions
and our ways of learning. In my experience as an international student, I found that the various cultural
and educational approaches (teaching styles) generate a huge impact on the students learning process.
For this reason, I am committed to incorporate active learning techniques, with visualization, physical
applications, discussions, and art in my classes and workshops. I love to be surprised by the fact that
after years of teaching, the challenges of mathematical language and the practice of communication
has improved my own understanding of mathematics and its activities. .