“Friday Specials!”: another great idea from one of the most creative math professors in the business.
Professor Jack Weiner from the University of Guelph is renowned for his energy, creativity, and an effervescent style second to none.
This Webinar will present one of his most effective and popular learning tactics – the infamous “Friday Special”. On Fridays, five minutes before the end of class, Professor Weiner would pronounce, “Pens down, books closed, it’s `Friday Special’ time!”. Then he would show on screen an article or cartoon or letter or... something that has to do with math, the “real world” and has absolutely nothing to do with class, assignments, or tests. It is math for fun. He has learned that a few very simple, yet enjoyable and appropriate diversions from the same old routine can make a big difference in the motivation and achievement among students.
During the Webinar, Professor Weiner will provide an entertaining and engaging demonstrations of some of his best “specials”.
View the .pdf from Dr. Weiner’s presentation.
View Dr. Weiner’s Friday Special columns from the Ontario Mathematics Gazette (OMG) quarterly journal – containing explanations of how to use his Friday Specials.
Speaker Biography
Jack Weiner is a celebrated professor of mathematics and the author of both the print and electronic (Maple) versions of the Mathematics Survival Kit -- a popular resource for students and instructors in fundamental collegiate mathematics. As a full professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Guelph, one of Canada’s premier institutions, Professor Weiner has blazed many trails for enriching and enlivening the mathematics classroom. He has over 30 years of experience teaching mathematics and has won both the University of Guelph's Professorial Teaching Award and the prestigious Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations Teaching Award.
