Professor Vestal Coufal
Professor Vesta Coufal has been awarded the Pacific Northwest Mathematical Association of America’s Teaching Award. This prestigious award is given once a year to those “whose teaching has been extraordinarily successful and whose effectiveness in teaching undergraduate mathematics is shown to have influence beyond their own classrooms.” Coufal is the third female recipient in the history of the award.
It’s easy to understand why Gonzaga’s Mathematics Department first nominated Coufal for this honor, as her innovative teaching philosophy centers on the student. “It boils down to getting students engaged with the material,” she says. “I want the students to do math, so I lecture as little as possible. It’s a lot more work to create worksheets for every class than it would be to just stand there and talk, but in the end it’s worth it. You can really see them start to understand.”
Through her instruction, Coufal hopes to get students to participate in the collaborative process of math. She has them work on problems in teams, before one student from each group presents their findings to the whole class.
“I feel terrible,” she laughs. “I would have been so scared to do that kind of thing as a student. But honestly, I do it because it helps them learn those real-world skills of talking to others and presenting their ideas.”
Coufal’s mathematical speciality is the field of topology, the study of shapes as they are stretched, squished and otherwise tortured while keeping their near points together.
Ultimately, her own story is one of resilience and passion. She was educated in a one-room elementary schoolhouse two hours north of Spokane, always happiest when she was set loose in the world of mathematics.
“I took my math book home for spring break when I was in third grade, and I finished the whole thing. They didn’t know what to do with me,” she says.
The education system in Coufal’s hometown couldn’t keep up with her personal drive, and by the beginning of high school she was teaching herself calculus. Thus, her personal learning journey mirrors her teaching philosophy, as she now seeks to help students teach themselves.
“Students need to understand for themselves what’s going on, so I try to help them understand it through experience,” she says. “And as an unintended consequence, students are learning to actually read math. That’s so cool to see and so important for their future.”
The Mathematics Department didn’t tell Coufal they were nominating her for this prestigious award, and when it was announced that she had won, they decided to surprise her with a faculty party. She was stunned. Later, when asked what the award meant to her, she was almost at a loss for words.
“Sometimes you feel like you work really hard, but you never see the results. This award is so special because my department validated my teaching. It meant a lot, to be told in such a real way.”
Learn more about Gonzaga’s Mathematics Department and its world-class faculty at
www.gonzaga.edu/math