March 27, 2009

Demonstrating the Power of Group Math

By PIPER FOGG

M. Vali Siadat Richard J. Daley College (Ill.)

The typical college student might balk at the idea of frequent quizzes that count toward his grade. But talk to students in the math professor M. Vali Siadat's classes, and you're likely to hear accolades.

"They helped me memorize more of the material for the tests," says Daniel M. Smith, a second-year statistics major who took an algebra class with Mr. Siadat last spring. "He was very specific, and if anybody needed help, he was