Hailing from Yakima and wearing a well-loved Mariners cap, Dr. Andrew Loveless might seem like your average Washingtonian. However, the principal lecturer in the Department of Mathematics has set himself apart in a field that is notoriously difficult to teach.
In his classes, Loveless utilizes a strategy of gamification that emphasizes student engagement to mitigate math's intimidating reputation as a challenging academic roadblock. "People like solving puzzles," he explains. "If you can make the math just a puzzle, a game, problem solving, usually it goes better."
Flipping the classroom so that students feel intrigued by the problems and involved in puzzling them to solutions, Loveless encourages students to talk through mathematical equations...