Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Teaching Style and Letters from Students

Thank you for checking out this site.

First of all I really care about you and all my students.  I realize that the students at PCC have a lot going on.  Many of you are parents and are working.  Some of you are at home or on your own and you have many things to do besides school.  I care about all aspects of your life.

I like to teach and I really teach.  I do not just present material, nor do I give out handouts, nor do I put PowerPoint slides up and read them .  Everything is written on the board and students get to hear it, see it and write it.  All of these activities allow a student to use more senses and thus more information is retained.

When I took math, I was often frustrated because a teacher would say, “Do you see it?”  Many of us did not “see it” and the teacher would work more examples, and we still did not “see it.”  That approach works for some people, but many people require a direct approach.  I teach directly and give students all of the steps they need before working an example.  Students get a chance to work problems in class so I can see where they are having problems.

Again thank you for visiting this page and enjoy the comments from students at PCC.

• Mr. Diss is a legend. He has a good heart. He is an old-fashioned type of guy. We need more like him! It was a pleasure starting each week with Mr. Diss. I will miss him.
• I just want to thank you for all you have done for our Math 95 class. You are such a great teacher and I truly felt how much you care about math and all of the students.
• I just wanted to say thank you for all the extra help you gave me. I really appreciate it. Even after all these years of teaching, you still go above and beyond for your students, which shows what kind of teacher you are.
• I hope you are doing well and had a great summer time. As I continue my progress here at PCC Rock Creek I have to take some time and thank those who have been a part of my career achievements. You have by far been the instructor who taught me to be disciplined and confident in all my math and algebra skills. Until I met you I had no other instructor take the time to explain the process of how math and algebra results come to be, rather I felt that nowadays some college instructors focus more on the quantity than the quality of work from their students.
• Your dedication to make accommodations for helping your students in your time off work is beyond words!!! Lastly, THANK YOU, for the doughnuts and delicious snacks you bring to your classroom– this makes tummies happy:)
• I wanted to reach out and sincerely thank you for teaching me math the last 20 weeks. After not taking a math class for 10 years, I was worried. Thank you for giving me the tools to succeed and boosting my confidence in math. I am disappointed you won’t be the one to teach me math 95 next term, but you have done nothing but set me up for success and I head into next term very thankful.
• I am writing this letter in appreciation of my math teacher Mr. Diss. I had Mr. Diss for both Math 60 and 65 at Portland Community College. I was never a good math student in high school, I tried very hard but I just didn’t understand the material. I had to work extremely hard just to get a B-, and usually wound up with a C. About nine years later I re-enrolled in college with the goal of becoming a nurse. Math was still frightening to me however, and I was very apprehensive on the first day of my Math 60 course. I remember when class began Mr. Diss said that ANYONE can do math if they follow the steps and then he proceeded to write down the longest list of steps I had ever seen to complete a math problem. I copied them down diligently and wondered what I had gotten myself into. At home that night I started my homework and was amazed at how well I did. There was no confusion, Mr. Diss’s steps made the math simple. It was as though someone had flipped a switch. As the term progressed my homework and tests came back with A’s on them and for the first time in my life I wasn’t afraid of math, as a matter of fact I had come to enjoy it. Mr. Diss’s steps have turned me into an A math student, something I thought would never happen. Mr. Diss not only teaches math well, he is also very available to help his students. I have never seen a teacher so willing to give up his own time to tutor students in need of extra help. He is by far the best math teacher I have ever had and I extend to him my sincerest thanks and gratitude.
•  ___I took a math class taught by Mr. Bill Diss in fall of 2012 at Portland Community College and I must point out that I had never taken a class taught in such a unique style. It had been several years since I had taken a math class and I was very nervous going into my first term back in college because I was afraid that my math skills were behind. The way Mr. Diss teaches a class however, soon made my anxiety disappear. I am the kind of student who needs to be taught math step by step without skipping any material and Mr. Diss’s style was perfect for me. He teaches by writing out a list of step by step instructions explaining how to work each topic. Instead of handing out notes or showing a powerpoint he writes each step himself on the board and expects his students to do the same so they can really retain the information.
  ___Not only does Mr. Diss teach in a very impactful way, he is also an extremely fair grader. I feel that a lot of teachers try to trick students on tests and take away points for extremely unfair reasons but Mr. Diss truly does want the best for his students. He made it very clear that any student could go to him for help and even gave out his personal phone number and held study sessions on the weekends for students to take advantage of. I have NEVER seen this from a teacher before.
  ___I highly recommend taking a class taught by Mr. Diss, he is not only a great teacher but an extremely nice and caring person as well.
•  I just write to you to say thanks for your efforts for all of us. You’re the best teacher i have ever had, you’re the first teacher who so cared about his students. I liked the way when you brought snacks to us. I like the way how you like the math and how you like your job as teacher, and i could see that about your caring and how you came in weekend to help students. I’ve never had teacher do that. You’re a capable best teacher, i wish to take another class with you but unfortunately i will finish my math requirements after spring term. Please excuse my grammer in this email, i still working on my English language. However I wish you all the best. And i wish the students who have problem with math to start your class because I’m sure they will see the difference. Finally I’m so proud that you are my teacher. I will never forget to w.o.p in any first step in my life.
• Mr. Diss has taught me so very much, not only about mathematics, but how to study better, and pay more attention to detail in all my academic pursuits’. I have taken the skills gained in his classes’ home and have been able to teach my own children better study and mathematical habits. In turn, I have seen my own children’s grades rise with their enthusiasm for mathematics in general, due in no small part to knowledge gained from Mr. Diss.
•  I wanted to thank you again, from the bottom of my heart for your kind words last night. You are a good man and you gave me the confidence that I needed to keep going (and asking as many questions that I need to). I find today working on my homework that I am not having to check my notes on every question to make sure I’m doing it right and I think its in part because of the talk we had last night and I just really appreciate it.
•  I just wanted to say Thank you for being an awesome teacher for the last three terms. I am somewhat apprehensive about going into the next math class without Mr. Diss by my side but I guess I can’t have you as my teacher forever 🙁 I wondered if we might be able to keep in touch? Send you a Christmas card (obviously next year.) Thank you again for everything and never change 🙂
•  I was so happy to receive my promising,and surprising results. Thank you for creating the positive and participatory learning environment to all of us, which helped us to learn many useful and new things . Thank you again for always aiming at building our bright future and always being very organized. I appreciate all your constant encouragement, support, and hard work.
• You are one of the best Math Instructors I have had and I would recommend you to anyone , especially, if math isn’t their best subject.
• Math has always been a struggle for me and college math has proven to me more difficult. However, when I was able to take a class taught by Mr. Diss that all changed for me. He was not a teacher who strictly lectured. He taught the concepts then allowed us a student’s to practice and ask questions in class. I found that this approach afforded me the opportunity to have actual hands on practice in class before going home to do homework.
• In addition he was very clear about what he expected from us as students and exactly what was required on homework and tests. This was very helpful. Most importantly however, was his willingness to help. I did struggle at times and he was willing to go out of his way to meet before or after class, answer question through email and even via the telephone which was really helpful.
• Just wanted to let you know how helpful you were in this term. I always have troubles with factoring but you really helped me with it. Am going to miss your helpful notes.
  Thanks for your help this term!
• I have taken many math classes, most times I didn’t get much out of them. However, this class has taught me so much more than I have ever learned in other math/algebra classes. I love his teaching style and I hope to get him for MTH65.
• Thank you for a great math experience. you truly set your students up for success. I particularly appreciated how we went over problems that were difficult for us in class, and that you didn’t just say, “Figure it out” and move on before we grasped a concept.
• Thank you Mr. Diss, your way of teaching gave me an entirely new, confident understanding of math and I really appreciate all of your help during. Also for the willingness to work with me and my lack of knowledge on some of the techniques. I thank you and appreciate you.