Teaching With a Mission: Using Mission Statements in the Classroom
Abstract
This paper introduces a method that instructors can use to create a mission statement for a course by asking them to consider the course in terms of desired processes and outcomes. The mission statement process works not only as a means by which instructors and students can work toward the same goals in a given course, but also as a reflective tool for instructors to evaluate the effectiveness of particular pedagogies and content for achieving those goals. Finally, the paper provides a case study of one professor whose use of the mission statement radically changed her method of teaching mathematics.
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