Nataliya Latushkina, the department's expert who keeps faculty and lab assistants up to date in software literacy also assists area high schools and middle schools on teaching calculus with Mathematica.Nataliya Latushkina, the department's expert who keeps faculty and lab assistants up to date in software literacy also assists area high schools and middle schools on teaching calculus with Mathematica.On a typical day, Nataliya Latushkina arrives at work to find numerous messages and calls for help: A student has lost his lab work. Another has submitted lab homework to the wrong course and needs help in retrieving it. Someone else can't get into an account. All are desperate and hope that Latushkina can save the day. She can.
"I can solve 85 percent of the problems myself," she says. "The rest go to the supercluster at Information and Access Technology Service."
In her position as technology aid coordinator, Latushkina solves problems while supervising four computer labs with 120 Silicon Graphics machines and a computerized overhead. Since 1995, she's been the expert in charge who serves one of the nation's most intensive computer-math programs for undergraduates. It's not an easy job.
Latushkina teaches software literacy to new faculty and trains and supervises the lab assistants who tutor students in the Mathematica and calculus labs. She prepares the lab curricula and Mathematica notebooks, gives presentations outside the University and teaches three calculus courses. In addition, she coordinates the common exams. When all the early problems are solved, she can concentrate on teaching her own calculus courses, one section each of Math 80, Math 175, and Math 201.
The teaching gives Latushkina a first-hand look at the effectiveness of the materials and syllabi that she prepares for all calculus courses with Mathematica. She has written 43 notebooks for teaching calculus and has prepared six sets of four labs each for the calculus sequence. Use of the notebooks has become an integral part of the teaching process.
In 1984, Latushkina received her PhD in mathematics at Odessa University, USSR, focusing on boundary value problems for analytical functions. She has a strong background in education.
Her labs consist of challenging and comprehensive problems that often simulate real-life applications. It takes a lot of people to keep this system running smoothly. "I receive a lot of help from faculty, graduate students and Computer Services," Latushkina says.
The math department created the position of technology aid coordinator in 1995 to complement technology-related activities in the undergraduate teaching of calculus and other subjects in math.
Computer technology in math involves numerous students at MU. Three courses in the main calculus sequence are based on computers through the software Mathematica, affecting about 1,000 students each semester. Numerous other courses such as differential equations, numerical analysis and matrix theory also use Mathematica.
"Mathematica helps students understand the material better by illustrating the concepts." Latushkina says. "It also eases the transition from high school mathematics to the college-level calculus." She would like to see Mathematica used even more, especially in differential equations.
In the evenings, she conducts introductory Mathematica sessions for new and transfer students, and review sessions for students who have had previous experience in Mathematica.
"The first and last three weeks of the semester are very difficult for me," Latushkina says. "I literally work around the clock. And of course, it is time for me to proctor the night exams just at the end of the three-week mark."
Serving her profession outside the University, Latushkina organizes presentations for high school and middle school teachers on teaching calculus with Mathematica.
She holds the title of Docent from Odessa University, an honor that certifies distinguished teaching qualifications. She is the recipient of a 1998 A&S Purple Chalk Award for teaching and a 1999 Outstanding Teacher Award from MU's Wolpers Men of Engineering.
Latushkina brings a flair and love of teaching to a demanding job. "I really like teaching and the students," she says. "I enjoy being around and helping young people. Also, I have a teenage son, and I believe this helps me better understand our students and the problems they face."
