{"693667":{"#nid":"693667","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Teaching Spotlight: John Etnyre","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EOriginally published by CoS with the title \u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EOctober Teaching Spotlight: John Etnyre.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cem\u003Eby \u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sites.gatech.edu\/teachingcos\/author\/cshepler3\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECarrie Shepler, Assistant Dean for Teaching and Learning\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EOriginally Published \u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sites.gatech.edu\/teachingcos\/2026\/10\/26\/october-teaching-spotlight-john-etnyre\/\u0022 rel=\u0022bookmark\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EOctober 26, 2026\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ESummary\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHighlights of John\u0027s pedagogical approach:\u003Cbr\u003E1) Very thoughtful design of lecture content that leads students where they need to go\u003Cbr\u003E2) Modeling thought processes necessary to succeed in the class and future\u003Cbr\u003E3) Sharing the joy he finds in math\u003Cbr\u003E4) Making time for students\u003Cbr\u003E5) Providing rapid feedback on assessment\u003Cbr\u003E6) Just-in-time review in place of \u0022front-loaded\u0022 review\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOur October spotlight is on \u003Cstrong\u003EJohn Etnyre\u003C\/strong\u003E, a Professor in the School of Mathematics who has taught at Georgia Tech for over 20 years. While teaching a range of mathematics courses, he usually teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in geometry and topology. In the past, he has won the\u202fStudent Recognition of Excellence in Teaching: Class of 1934 Award and the College of Sciences Faculty Mentor Award.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EExcellence In Design\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen I first took on the assistant dean for teaching and learning role, School of Mathematics chair Michael Wolf suggested that I sit in on classes taught by math faculty members to get a better feel for what mathematics education entails. I still recall how much I enjoyed sitting in on John\u2019s class a few years ago, and how excited I was to be able to follow along in a graduate level math course.\u0026nbsp; This was due solely to John\u2019s excellent design and organization of the lecture. Our conversation after class highlighted how intentional he is in structuring his course, and I am thrilled to pass along his insights in our latest Spotlight\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EPaying It Forward\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI asked John about the impact he hopes his teaching has on students, both during his course and after they leave Georgia Tech.\u0026nbsp; His response began with recognition of the many great professors he has had and particular emphasis on those who most influenced his approach to teaching, Professors Reed and Gordon.\u0026nbsp; Reed, John noted, \u201chad an infectious joy for math and life\u201d while Gordon \u201cgave carefully planned lectures that really prepared [him] for [his] career beyond classes\u201d.\u0026nbsp; John wrote that he aspires to both approaches to teaching, and I attest that he has achieved them.\u0026nbsp;John continued:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EI hope students in my course learn (at least) two things that should help them in their future courses and future careers: the course content and the joy of mathematical thinking. Most undergraduate classes are really focused on material needed for future classes in math, science, and engineering. So the most critical thing is making sure that they know the course content when they leave the class and are able to use it in their future classes and careers. The second thing is mathematical thinking, which is also sometimes called mathematical maturity. This can take many forms, but the key is really understanding a problem and understanding whether you have a rigorous solution, an approximate solution, or an intuition about a solution. It is really important that one does not confuse those! To sum it up, I aim to inspire students with the joy of math and the technical skills needed to succeed in their careers.\u202f\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003ETo sum it up, I aim to inspire students with the joy of math and the technical skills needed to succeed in their careers.\u202f\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ESocratic Monologues and Thoughtful Lecture Design\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJohn\u2019s approach to teaching supports student success in many ways.\u0026nbsp; He noted, \u201cI care a lot about my students and try to develop practices that set them up to succeed, not only in the class, but beyond.\u201d He indicated that there are several very important aspects to student success.\u0026nbsp; Based on my observation from several years ago, I was unsurprised when John pointed to \u201ccarefully prepared lectures to make the material as accessible as possible\u201d as the first of these.\u0026nbsp; John noted:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EI would love to have a Socratic dialogue in the classroom, but due to the constraints of our system, that is usually not possible. \u003Cstrong\u003ESo I like to think of my lectures as a \u201cSocratic monologue.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u201d I spend a lot of time trying to think about the issues a student might have with the material and build that into my lectures. So while I encourage questions and dialogue in my classes, I prepare the lectures so that many of the issues that might come up are dealt with in a natural way. This keeps students engaged and allows the class to cover a good amount of material.\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EMaking Time for Students and Providing Timely Feedback\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJohn also highlighted the importance of ensuring that students can ask questions and to get timely feedback.\u0026nbsp; \u201cSo I try to make myself available whenever a student needs my help, whether it be through email, office hours, or scheduled meetings,\u201d John wrote.\u0026nbsp;\u201cMore generally, making time for students and finding out what their goals in the class and the future are allows me to support them on their journey.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJohn also tries to grade all his own exams (even for very large courses) so that he can give feedback to students within a day or two while they still recall what they were thinking during the exam.\u0026nbsp; John shared that he has had many students tell him how much this helped them, and he also uses the approach as a means of understanding what the class is \u201cgetting\u201d and what they are struggling with.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EMore generally, making time for students and finding out what their goals in the class and the future are allows me to support them on their journey.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJust-in-time review\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI asked John how he supports students arriving in his classes with different levels of preparation, and he noted that students in Georgia Tech math classes are much more diverse than those at other universities and their backgrounds can be \u201cwildly different.\u201d\u0026nbsp; Rather than spending weeks at the start of the term reviewing material from past courses, he builds 15-20 minute mini-reviews into lectures when they are needed in a lecture.\u0026nbsp; This helps John balance providing review to students who really need it exactly when they can apply the information with keeping students who already are familiar with the content from getting bored.\u0026nbsp; He notes that he has found that even students with really good backgrounds for the course appreciate the reviews to get focused immediately before application of the content.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJohn also writes up some of the background material and posts it to Canvas, noting, \u201cThis helps get all the students ready for the material in the class and can help students understand if they are ready for the course, since if the background material is really foreign to a student, then it is clear they should take another class to prepare so that they can succeed.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EOn Soliciting Student Feedback\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI asked John what feedback from students has most influenced his teaching.\u0026nbsp; He responded:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThere is a huge variety of students taking advanced math courses at Georgia Tech; much more so than at most universities. This is due to the incredible engineering and science programs we have. While I find this really improves the classroom experience for everyone, it can sometimes be challenging to keep everyone engaged with the material. Given this, I have started to use carefully structured term papers instead of final exams.\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENoting that this approach is not appropriate for every class, John described how \u201cthrough a lot of trial and error and student feedback,\u201d he arrived at the current assignment structure, the most important aspect of which, he feels, is a draft turned in a month or so before the final paper that is evaluated by others in the class.\u0026nbsp; Not only do students receive good feedback on their work, but he also asks them to reflect on their own papers after reading a couple of their classmates\u2019.\u0026nbsp; \u201cWhether the papers were great or needed improvement, this approach actively engages students and makes them think about their own work in new ways.\u201d\u0026nbsp; John stated that the papers help students truly engage with the course material and apply it to areas that impact their future success.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201c\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EI am always happy to get student feedback, and this is just one of the ways it has influenced my approach in the classroom\u003C\/strong\u003E.\u201d\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThank you, John!\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Etnyre has taught geometry and topology in the school for over 20 years, and he was a recipient of the\u202fStudent Recognition of Excellence in Teaching: Class of 1934 Award as well as the College of Sciences Faculty Mentor Award.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"John Etnyre has taught geometry and topology in the school for over 20 years, and he was a recipient of the\u202fStudent Recognition of Excellence in Teaching: Class of 1934 Award as well as the College of Sciences Faculty Mentor Award. 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