Pierce College is the permanent home for two new faculty members in its math department.
Mitra Navab and Edouard Tchertchian are among some of the newest members joining the department.
Navab spent two semesters working at Los Angeles Valley College and four years at College of the Canyons before working part time for Pierce College in the past four semesters.
She taught subjects ranging from arithmetic up to calculus.
Currently she teaches a “combination of beginning and intermediate algebra classes”, as part of an accelerated program called ASAP.
The goal of ASAP is to help students finish their subject requirements in fewer semesters by combining two courses, Math 115 and Math 125, into a one semester course.
The method has been proven to be effective and with more teachers there are more openings for this program.
In the classroom, Navab believes that group work is an effective method for learning math.
“They can work with each other and help each other,” Navab said. “I am there to answer their questions,”
Sharing a similar idea is another new teacher with the math department, professor Edouard Tchertchian.
When asked to explain an effective way for students to learn, Tchertchian stated, “It is helpful to have direct interaction and participation,” to keep students involved in the subject matter.
Before arriving at Pierce, Tchertchian taught math at California State University, Northridge(CSUN) and College of the Canyons campuses for nearly five years.
Being a former student at Pierce, Tchertchian was eager to return as part of the faculty.
He specializes in “low division” math subjects such as beginning to advanced algebra, trigonometry, and calculus.
A surge of students attempting to add classes didn’t make for a pleasant first week, according to Navab.
“It was very hard since I couldn’t add everybody and a lot of students got disappointed,”Navab said.
Professor Tchertchian also reported having forty-two students wanting to add one class.
“For many years, the ratio of units taught by full time math faculty to that of part time math faculty at Pierce has been very low,” Math Department Chair, Robert Martinez said. “For continuity, student success and innovation, more full time faculty are needed.”
Professors Navab and Tchertchian look forward to teaching Pierce College students this semester and for many semesters to come.
Keep checking www.theroundupnews.com to learn more about the new faculty on campus.
