Being an Ambassador for Mathematics and Science

Higher education faculty often teaches in isolation with very little collegial interaction guiding their practice even though the higher education climate today embraces the ideas of interdisciplinary thinking and collaboration. The author was invited as a guest lecturer to four history, three economics, and two chemistry classes at a regional university. This article examines students\u27 experiences and perceptions of the guest lecturer who presented the historical development of mathematical and scientific concepts by emphasizing various civilizations and individual contributions in conjunction with real-world applications. Data for this study was collected through anonymous class evaluations from 210 student responses. The paper examines students\u27 experiences in an effort to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the guest-teaching approach from the students\u27 perspective. The findings in this study suggest that guest-teaching can facilitate student learning through the generation of interest and exposure to mathematical and scientific concepts in a stress free environment. Demonstrating how people historically learned, made mistakes and made progress helped students to understand the process of scientific thinking and what it takes to be a scientist. Students were also happy to find some answers to the frequently asked question: “When am I ever going to use mathematics or science?” The most important outcome of this study was to see several students’ kindled curiosity about science, mathematics, and technology along with their desire to pursue a career in STEM