Leslie Lyum, an assistant professor at the Employment Training Center (ETC), believes that students will learn if given appropriate instructor support and materials. She uses hands-on exercises to teach mathematics to at-risk adults who have been unsuccessful in traditional academic settings. Students amortize their dream cars and home mortgages using electronic aids on the Internet in addition to paper-and-pencil tasks. They master time management by keeping a record of their daily activities. They visit supermarkets to learn unit pricing and collaborative learning. The activities help students understand the daily impact of mathematics in their lives.

Lyum is also productive behind the scenes at ETC. She served on the accreditation self-study leadership team and co-chaired the curriculum and instruction accreditation self-study committee—helping earn a 6-year accreditation for ETC. She helped revise curriculum for the essential skills program and is a team member in ETC’s Learning Center.

Lyum models lifelong learning. She attended a two-week summer symposium at Harvard University, traveled to a conference on assessment and statistics and continues to look for new and innovative ways to teach mathematics. She focuses on what each student wants, needs and can do.