Teaching Journal

What if my student already knows what to do?

2012-02-10T15:04:00.000-08:00

We are discussing the physics labs that we have worked on, and that I started for the department nearly a year ago. One topic brought up was what to do with people who have already seen the material, know what to do, and are getting bored because they have to sit through it again. One professor here suggested delegating these students to help out with tutoring or mentoring the new students. Not only would this keep them from getting bored, but it would also help them review and solidify the topic in their own minds.

So, if your students know the material, utilize them!

Tips on presenting complicated material

2011-10-06T22:12:00.000-07:00

Today, Shane Larson from the USU Physics department spoke on presenting complicated material. Here are a few point that I got from it:

Imagery: helps the peers feel like part of the group – makesthe topic approachable. It also acts asa pathway to the topic. Use lots of images that are applicable to the topic
Inserting your email on the title page indicates that you are willing to answer questions
Practice: Ask others to listen to the presentation and giveadvice
Listen to others speak!

Ted.com has lots of speeches - consider listening to one or two occasionally

Only add the equations (or part of equations) if you’regoing to use it and it is essential to the discussion

Where am I going?

2010-12-08T20:08:00.000-08:00

I have recently begun to do extra tutoring on the website Tutor.com. I have learned a number of simple things, but mostly just getting the ropes on basics in online tutoring.

Tonight I had a session that really helped me. I was in a really good session. The question was on momentum, and for the first time in a couple of weeks, I was dead sure of where to go. Unfortunately, the student was rather unresponsive. Every 10 minutes or so, he would say "So, what do I do?" First, this in annoying to me since it really comes down to mean "So, tell me the answer!" Besides that, I was in the middle of showing him what to do. Ok, venting done...

After the session, I began thinking about why he didn't understand what I was doing. Then I realized that I had an advantage he didn't: I knew where I was going and how to get there. So, perhaps in our teaching, it would be wise to say:

1. Here's the problem...

2. Here's what we have and what we need...

3. HERE'S HOW WE'RE GOING TO GET THERE...

If the student has a basic outline of the procedure, then he'll be able to follow along 100 times better than before.

No iPods? Why?

2010-09-02T09:02:00.000-07:00

I began thinking about students getting lost in their electronic gadgets in the middle of class. Is it annoying to you, the teacher? Absolutely. But why is it annoying? Is it because they're not paying attention to the material, or because they're not paying attention to you? The first thing we should think of when asking them to pay attention is say, "Why?"

For example, if I were teaching a physics class, and I say "Put away the iPod," the students would usually do it grudgingly. But if I make it clear in the first place, saying "iPods are not allowed, because if you pay attention in this class instead, you will begin to see how physics is all around you in the world and how spectacular it is, and possibly you'll even learn how your iPod works," then it gives them more of a motivation--more of something to look forward to in my class.

Spiritual Preaparation for Teaching

2009-10-11T14:25:00.001-07:00

In the LDS Church handbook Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, there was a paragraph on how Joseph Smith began his conference talks. Since they were often outdoors, it was often difficult for everyone to hear. Thus, the following paragraph, found on page 493 of the said manual:

"When the Prophet spoke outdoors, he often began his talks by asking the Saints to pray for the wind or rain to be calmed until he got through speaking. At a conference held in Nauvoo on April 8, 1843, the Prophet began an address by saying: 'I have three requests to make of the congregation: The first is, that all who have faith will exercise it and pray the Lord to calm the wind; for as it blows now, I cannot speak long without seriously injuring my health; the next is that I may have your prayers that the Lord will strengthen my lungs, so that I may be able to make you all hear; and the third is, that you will pray for the Holy Ghost to rest upon me, so as to enable me to declare those things that are true.' ” (History of the Church, 5:339; from a discourse given by Joseph Smith on Apr. 8, 1843, in Nauvoo, Illinois; reported by Willard Richards and William Clayton.)

For us, I would summarize as follows:

1. Pray for the proper teaching environment.

2. Make sure that everyone can hear you clearly. If this means you have to yell, then pray for the strength to yell.

3. Only teach the truth as manifest by the Holy Ghost.

Look Professional (Dress and Presentation)

2009-04-17T14:35:00.000-07:00

I am reviewing some more student feedback for another candidate for the Physics Education Research position in the USU Physics department. I have only made it half way through the class looking at the first question. There are two really great points that I have seen so far:

1. Dress professionally. A student likes to learn from someone who looks professional. If I go to class in jeans and a t-shirt, the class seems to act as if they are jeans and a t-shirt. In other words, they don't feel that you take your work as seriously, so they don't take the material as seriously. Now, professional is different for each person. The candidate happens to wear good jeans, a nice shirt, and a blazer. I know my own father wears a shirt and tie. I have another professor, Dr. Schunk, who wears a sweater every day. Each person has a different way of looking professional. Find yours, and stick with it.

2. Present professionally. By this I mean make your PowerPoint Presentation (if you're using one) simple, straight-forward, and informative. We happened to have this same candidate speak to us in a colloquium last semester about presentations. He showed us that we really don't need to have our talk written in the presentation. If we keep a simple background and key words, then they don't get muddled in the confusion on the screen. They can see the concepts, and then follow what the speaker says. Whereas, if the slides are used too much, then it turns the class into a disaster. Going through the feedback of students, I saw many students on these lecturers who felt that the slides were too distracting, or that they were ineffective. I have only made it half way through the class with this lecture, but more than half of those students commented on his great use of PowerPoint. Simpler really is better.

"The Buffer"

2009-04-17T14:05:00.000-07:00

I remember who was perhaps my best math teacher in my undergraduate schooling. It was his first semester at BYU, teaching ODEs. He had a very good method of teaching, including emphasizing that it really doesn't matter what the variable is called. He had some variables called ":D", or "sassy," or something random like that. This way, he helped us look a little more at what we were actually doing. His teaching was effective enough that once in a while, we would talk about the subject for 20 min, and he would tell stories for the other 30 min. Some could argue that this was a waste of time, but we found it effective. To this day, ODEs is still one of my favorite topics in mathematics.

But the thing I learned from Dr. Humpherys was the use of "the buffer." When we came to a part of a problem where we needed to calculate something, he wouldn't clutter up the board. Rather, he would go to the extra board on the side of the room (which he called a buffer, after the idea in computer programming where you store some temporarily important information and then delete it when you're finished). Then when he finished, he would go back and put what we calculated into the equations.

I am currently helping the USU Physics faculty as they interview candidates for the Physics Education Research position. Last week, as I was summarizing some student feedback, I read a lot of comments on how they liked how he put the important equations on the side. Or, in Dr. Humphery's terms, he used "the buffer." So, it's not just me. There's extra space on that board--use it!

Usefulness of Blogs

2009-04-14T15:48:00.000-07:00

I just finished having a colloquium with Kim Obbink from Montana State University, working with Distance Education in the said university. She gave a lot of good information about connecting with students using technology. It was a very wonderful presentation. But there was one thing in particular that hit me.

A couple of nights ago, I began thinking about where I am in my education and what other great professionals have done. I realized that almost all great professionals have kept a journal as they study their field. So I thought that perhaps I should do that as well. But today, Kim gave me an idea that I thought would be great. After all, what good is the stuff I learn if it doesn't help somebody else?

One technology that I realized in today's presentation as useful for classes is a blog. I need to look into using a blog for the next class I teach. I figured that in the meantime, this idea is a great first entry for a Teaching Journal. I hope that this idea as well as those to follow become useful to some who browse through this blog.