Better than Blackboard
Teaching mathematics to human students by a human professor
Every mathematics teacher I know has experienced it. Students stop coming to lectures. They are afraid of proofs. They arrive in advanced courses without the background we expect. And now AI is changing the way they learn—and tempting them to avoid learning altogether.
As mathematicians, we are trained to question assumptions, define concepts precisely, and distrust intuition until it has been tested. In this series, I try to apply the same way of thinking to university mathematics education. I ask what the real problems are, challenge common assumptions, and look for practical solutions.
The series of articles was published between September 2023 and September 2026 in Nieuw Archief voor Wiskunde, the quarterly magazine of the Royal Dutch Mathematical Society.
Illustrations: Mara Chelărescu (most articles), Eline van Hove (the first two articles).
We shouldn't give classroom lectures anymore
Why traditional one-hour-plus lectures are not effective and what we can do instead.
Do We Teach What We Preach?
Do we succeed in teaching the art of mathematical argument? And can we do better?
What's Our Goal in Teaching Math to Non-Math Students?
How to make math relevant to non-math students? And what do they need to learn?
How Students Learn
The four things every student needs for learning. And what it means for our teaching.
The prior knowledge problem
Four reasons why students struggle with pre-knowledge. And how we can help them.
Competency-based grading
What is alternative grading? It might be our way forward with assessment.
Digital testing: The chemistry experiment
Students taking exams anytime in an on-campus facility. Here is how it's done.
My innovation blunders. And why they didn’t stop me.
When trying something new, things may go wrong. But at least you can avoid my mistakes!
What are we selling?
The four products we sell to our students. And which one could be better.
ChatGPT: Great Promise for Teaching or Global Pedagogical Tragedy?
A lot is written about AI in education. But my article has a fairy tale in it.
The dream course
This was my most innovative course ever. And the highest student evaluations I've ever received.
A teacher should focus only on teaching
I would feel like a star if someone took over the course administration. Is it even possible?