WATERLOO, Ont. -- Wanted: Internationally recognized math whiz to instruct university students in a fresh, innovative way.

Sure, many academics could fit the bill, but it was Richard Hoshino, a 22-year-old University of Waterloo undergraduate math student, who landed the job.

A passion for math teaching drove Hoshino to apply for a co-operative education term last spring as the instructor of Combinatorics and Optimization 380, a third-year math course. At first, co-op officials were a little reluctant to let an undergraduate student teach fellow undergrads in the course. But they were swayed by Hoshino's keen initiative and his extensive teaching experience.

As a Math/Teaching Option student, he's already received a bachelor of education degree from Queen's University and completed two co-op terms teaching math to high school students. He also coaches some of the top problem-solving students in the country through his work with the Esso National Mathematics Camp and the International Mathematical Olympiad.

He was a high school "mathlete" himself, representing Canada at the Olympiad in India just a few years back.

Still, he had never taught a university class before, let alone one full of his peers. But Hoshino was determined to rise to the challenge. "I knew if I got the ball I could run with it," he said. And run he did, with a class of enthusiastic students in tow.

"It didn't matter that Rich was a year younger than me at all. His mind is years ahead of everyone else," said student Annamae Lang. "The atmosphere was very informal in the classroom, and we could have fun and learn at the same time."

It was a non-intimidating environment, she added, "and a nice change from some of the other courses I've had."

Richard used an interactive, hands-on approach to problem solving, rather than the more traditional lecture-based approach to teaching math. In his class, students would always "begin with a math problem and then develop theories and concepts, rather than the other way around," he explained.

"Essentially, my method of teaching is called 'problems-based learning,' similar to the medical program at McMaster University," he said. It's a method that fosters "creativity, ingenuity and insight" among students -- qualities that add up to what he calls "the spirit of math."

One of his favourite quotations, "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire," helped fuel his resolve to create a classroom environment where students felt empowered, not overwhelmed by course material.

"I wanted to create a forum where students could discover, create and reinvent the mathematics for themselves," he said. To do this, Hoshino integrated interactive exercises like daily warm-up questions and collaborative group work into every class.

Hoshino describes himself as "a tour guide," who makes it possible for each of his students to embark on a personal learning pilgrimage. He even renamed his lectures tours and transformed the entire course into a journey, where the process of learning was emphasized over a final product or destination.

It wasn't long before students were referring to classes as tours as well. In fact, students not only accepted the course philosophy, but helped create and define it. Hoshino requested feedback from students whenever possible, and they felt comfortable making suggestions about which teaching methods worked and which ones could work better.

"I try to encourage my students to be risk-takers, and in many ways I'm a risk-taker too. Not everything I did worked," he admitted. "But 90 per cent of the methods I tried were really well-received." In fact, course evaluations suggest that nearly all of his students were extremely satisfied with the course.

For Hoshino, teaching the course was a journey as well, "a process of trying to get better day after day," he explained. His long-term goal is math education reform both at the high school and post-secondary levels.

He believes that the thrill of teaching lies in the quest to reach new heights and meet new challenges. "That's what makes teaching so appealing to me," said Hoshino, who plans to do a master's degree most likely at Dalhousie University in Halifax after graduating from UW in May.

"I'm a 22-year-old now and when I'm 30, I'll be much, much better than I am today," he said.

-30-

Release no. 22 -- February 6, 2001