Provost’s Lecture Series

Thoughts on Effective Teaching 

Teaching is a complex undertaking that draws not only upon subject matter expertise, but one's capacity to communicate, organize and empathize. I have come to believe that what is most important, however, is providing students with ample room to actively engage with material, make discoveries and make mistakes. I will discuss my teaching philosophy and how it has evolved, describing concrete strategies that I have used in a variety of settings, from first-year courses to upper-level seminars to enrichment programs that take place beyond the borders of the university.

Jan Cannizzo
Teaching Associate Professor; Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies, Department of Mathematical Sciences, School of Engineering and Science; Inaugural Distinguished Teacher-Mentor Award, 2023

Dr. Jan Cannizzo is a Teaching Associate Professor and the Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Mathematical Sciences. He has been teaching mathematics at Stevens for close to a decade, during which he has been involved in numerous educational initiatives, including a multi-year effort to overhaul the teaching of calculus, developing flipped-classroom models for both online and in-person classes and the NSF-funded Stevens Math Circle Initiative. Originally from Germany, he lives in Brooklyn with his wife and daughter.