A Newark, N.J., physics professor who believes in a lot of homework, an emphasis on “common sense” thinking skills, and less dependence on textbooks, has been named the 1984 professor of the year by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.
Charles Pine, professor of physics at the Newark College of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University and chairman of the Mathematics Advisory Committee of the New Jersey Basic Skills Council, was selected from 122 nominees for his university teaching and his service to the community. This summer he instructed more than 50 mathematics teachers and administrators from 16 New Jersey school districts in his teaching methods.
Those methods emphasize a lot of homework and a belief that all students can learn, according to Mr. Pine.
He argues that teachers can help their students learn mathematics “immediately” by avoiding jargon as long as possible and by “presenting things in a very concrete way first and building up gradually to abstractions.”
Mr. Pine will also receive a $5,000 check from the council, an organization representing development and public-affairs officials at 2,450 colleges, universities, and independent schools across the nation.
