Some students may not think the words “math” and “fun” belong in the same sentence, but those students have never taken a math class from professor Richard Koch.
“He is always asking questions aloud like, ‘OK, Richard, what does that mean, repeat it again,’” said Gulden Karakok, graduate teaching fellow for Koch. “Sometimes, he hits his head and call himself stupid, he runs from one part of the blackboard to the other. He is really full of energy.”
Karakok added that students appreciate Koch’s enthusiasm.
“He can easily see places where students are struggling,” he said. “They like to be in his class no matter what grade they are getting.”
Koch joined the University staff in 1966, after teaching two years at the University of Pennsylvania. Currently, he’s teaching Math 231 and 411. His research specialty is geometry.
“A colleague of mine had come to Oregon and told me that there were jobs,” he said. “It was almost a fluke that I came, but I am so glad I did.”
Koch’s happiness with Oregon has also been revealed in his dreams.
“I keep having a recurring nightmare where I have just received my degree and the only job openings are in the Midwest,” he said.
Koch originally planned to go into the field of physics, but ended up taking a math class with an inspirational teacher at Harvard, who made him decide to study math. Koch went on to graduate from Princeton with a Ph.D. in mathematics.
According to Koch, people go into teaching because it is a challenge, and the next step for people who are fascinated with math is to teach it.
“I don’t dance or sing, well, sometimes sing,” Koch said. “I just tell the mathematics and it’s history and the math speaks for itself. Mathematics is far more interesting than people imagine.”
It is this enthusiasm which students like Peter Dolan say keeps them interested in math.
“He is very interactive and always cuts to the essentials,” he said. “He will also offer you money if you can prove something — and he gives it to you if you do.”
And Andrey Jackson, who is currently taking a class from Koch, said it’s his enthusiasm that sets him apart.
“He is really energetic in class — not boring,” he said. “He explains things thoroughly, and is just a good teacher.”
But it’s not just Koch’s students that have noticed his positive attitude but many of his colleagues are also impressed. Stuart Thomas, assistant department head of mathematics, even has a special nickname for his fellow teacher.
“I refer to him as a ‘saint in residence,’” he said. “He is one of the most positive people I have ever been around.”
According to math professor Brad Shelton, math is a lot more interesting if you understand it, and Koch knows how to relate math to what students already know.
“He has a good sense of how to communicate with students and keep them interested,” he said.
Koch’s teaching style has also been noted by his students, who said his method of teaching math like it has a plot helps them grasp the concepts.
“At the start of the term, you meet the characters,” Koch said. “And as time goes on you discover that they aren’t as inconsequential as you first thought. They are significant, and by the last week, the ideas come together.”
Thomas said Koch is so popular, the math department doesn’t want to lose him.
“Students love him,” he said. “He is going to retire in a year or two and we are wondering how we are going to replace him.”
Koch said he plans to retire at the end of next year, but that the math department has had some truly dynamic young people join the department, so they won’t be at a loss. But some students who have come to depend on Koch for lively classes said they would miss him when he retires.
Roxanne Cole, a freshman computer science major, is among them.
“I heard that he is one of the best teachers on the West Coast,” she said.