Four questions with Dorin Dumitrascu, Associate Professor of Mathematics at Adrian College

• What is special about your GeT course? In 2-3 sentences, describe your GeT course.

My course is an axiomatic exploration of two-dimensional Euclidean geometry. I try to keep a balance between mathematical precision in exposition and allowing students to discover and share their study of shapes with their peers. This balancing act happens because I know that the students need to see in class concrete examples of how to approach, solve, explain, and write solutions to problems, but I am also an inquiry-based practitioner. I believe that they should work on their own understanding of the subject. The focus of my course is on communication, both written and oral. I also like GeoGebra very much, and I use technology in the exploration process.

• Who are your students?

At Adrian College, Geometry is one of the core courses for secondary and elementary teacher education math majors and is an elective for the pure mathematics major and minor. Consequently, about two thirds of the students are pre-service teachers, with occasional physics and chemistry students taking it out of intellectual curiosity. One of the goals of the course is to train the students in becoming better writers and readers of mathematical proofs.

• What are you most interested in learning/achieving through participating with the GeT: A Pencil community?

I initially joined the group because I wanted to share my experience teaching the course and learn the approaches of other people across the country. I am grateful for everything that people presented and discussed in the working groups and during other meetings that we had since that first 2018 conference in Ann Arbor.

• What is your favorite book you have read in the last few years?

The most interesting book that I read recently is Joe Dispenza’s Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself. As I try to deepen my understanding of quantum physics, I find fascinating the attempt to connect spirituality, neuroscience, and the quantum aspect of the universe.