2011 Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics
Dale Hoffman, Bellevue Community College
The 2011 PNW MAA Distinguished Teaching Award goes to Dale Hoffman, who has taught at Bellevue Community College (BCC) since 1983 and has an outstanding resumé as a mathematician, educator and professional.
Dale’s students commented on his ability to teach with enthusiasm, clarity and compassion. They also commented on his willingness and ability to go the extra mile &emdash; from using computer graphics to building physical models to providing hours of extra help outside the classroom. Perhaps most telling, several of Dale's student have become mathematics teachers and they noted how much Dale’s teaching and personality influenced their own teaching and professional lives.
Dale’s colleagues commented that he expects deep engagement from his students and gets it! Because of his commitment and talent as a teacher, Dale’s students perform at a high level in mathematics classes at BCC and in mathematics classes after BCC as well. This, coupled with Dale’s phenomenal success teaching advanced mathematics courses for the College in the High School program in the Bellevue school district, is strong testament to Dale’s teaching skills. A long-time veteran in Dale’s department summed it up quite well by commenting, “Dale is simply the best mathematics teacher I know.”
On the professional side Dale has succeeded as a writer, speaker, organizer and reviewer. Highlights of his professional activities include
- Author of Contemporary Calculus. This text, with its emphasis on the concepts and insights of calculus, is now available as part of the Gates-funded Open Course Library.
- Author of articles in The Physics Teacher, The Mathematics Teacher and the SIAM Journal of Applied Mathematics
- Author of The Use of Random Digits to Simulate Experiments (UMAP module #69)
- Author or co-author of several commercial software packages
- Editor for the College Math Journal
- Speaker at numerous regional and national conferences.
- National Science Foundation reviewer for calculus reform project grants
- Reviewer and workshop leader for the For All Practical Purposes project
- Co-founder and organizer of the popular Western Washington Community College Student Math Conference
- Co-founder and benefactor of two prestigious student mathematics awards at BCC
- Winner of the University of Washington College of Computer Science and Engineering Inspirational Teacher Award
- Winner of the 2010 Margin of Excellence Award – BCC’s highest faculty award.
Those who know Dale recognize that this list is just a small part of his contribution to mathematics and mathematics teaching.
Congratulations, Dale, on winning the 2011 Distinguished Teaching Award. The award is well deserved!