Stephen McKean teaches "The Art of Proof" - Bass Instructional Fellowship

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Duke Math graduate student Stephen McKean was awarded a Bass Instructional Fellowship this year, for which he designed the course "The Art of Proof." 

The Bass Instructional Fellowship provides funded, semester-long teaching opportunities for PhD students. Applicants design a prospective course, and Bass Instructional Fellowships are awarded competitively based on the pedagogical preparation of the applicant, as well as the likelihood of strong undergraduate interest in the proposed course.

The Art of Proof is a course with similar material as Math 245, but with a different goal and target audience. The Art of Proof is designed specifically for students that would not normally take Math 245, such as arts, humanities, life sciences majors.  It is an introduction to proofs as a creative endeavor.

According to Stephen:

Many people view math as little more than computation and formula memorization. However, math is really the practice of problem solving in its purest form. In order to show students a different side of math, the course material will all be presented with an emphasis on the creative process used to find and express solutions to complex problems. Students will also cover various topics that are often skipped in math courses: proofs, set theory, combinatorics, number theory, and group theory. This will help broaden students’ perspectives on what math entails.

Congratulation Stephen!