Student Reference

Learning differential equations with Phil was a one of a kind experience that improved my ability to approach and solve mathematical problems immeasurably. Phil has mastered the philosophy of teaching undergraduates and knows how to motivate. He taught our weekly three-hour problem solving tutorial, where we tackled Phil's worksheet, dozens of pages of problems and explanation that brought a more applied approach to the material from lecture. Though tutorial was not mandatory, everyone came every week and stayed for the full three hours.

For myself, tutorial meant ignoring academic and social commitments to lose myself for a while in applied math with Phil and the other students. Phil's expertly prepared worksheets bridged the gap between the beauty of the mathematical concepts and the challenge of applying them to real problems. Without these sessions, I am not sure that I would be able to see how to work with the abstract constructions that we had seen in lecture. I am sure that I would not have enjoyed trying to do so as much as I did while learning from Phil's worksheets.

Having finished my course with Phil I can appreciate more the effort that he put in. His attitude, always light and friendly, hid the meticulous preparation that must have gone into the worksheets and the structure of the sessions. Later in the course, Phil began to let us see how much he thought about and worked toward our learning when he motivated us to teach each other. At this point he put us in his shoes and showed us how to guide a student without compromising his sense of discovery. We saw how much he cared about making sure that each student walked away feeling confident with the material. For me, this sense of competency was my first step in developing a passion for mathematics, and Phil was an essential contributor to this process.

It is a rare and valuable experience to find a teacher at the university level so invested in his students, especially one concerned with both how well they learn and the appreciation for mathematics that they take away.

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