by Michael Song, Integrative Biology Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2021 The coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing changes to campus life have posed severe challenges for undergraduate instructors. Adapting to remote instruction was especially difficult for classes traditionally taught using in-person laboratories, which focus on the hands-on investigation of objects of Continue Reading >>
by Skyler Wang, Sociology Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2021 In a 2020 midterm evaluation form I sent to my students, I included the question: “What makes writing a course paper challenging for you?” Aside from the usual suspects such as work overload, lack of motivation, procrastination, etc., I noticed a Continue Reading >>
by Panagiotis Zarkos, Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2021 There is a palpable excitement in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences 16A classroom as undergraduate freshmen set out to begin their journey in electrical engineering with a rather demanding course that introduces them to modern information Continue Reading >>
by Andrew Estrada Phuong, Education Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2021 A key national and campuswide issue is low persistence and retention rates for underrepresented students in STEM disciplines. Serving as Head Graduate Student Instructor for Computer Science (CS) 370 and 375 pedagogy courses with faculty members Christopher Hunn and Dan Continue Reading >>
by Ashwin Mandakolathur Balu, Public Policy Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2021 Using experimental methods to establish causal relationships has been the holy grail of research in social sciences. However, it is a challenge to teach these concepts since it requires knowledge about sampling methods, statistics, and probability, as well as Continue Reading >>
by Victor Reyes-Umana, Plant and Microbial Biology Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2019 A game of hot potato, borrowing a book from the library, and how a crowd of people enters a room may not sound like relevant topics to bring up during a Biology 1A discussion—but for my students, these Continue Reading >>
by Rachael Olliff Yang, Integrative Biology Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2019 At the beginning of every class, instructors are faced with the challenge of encouraging participation. I was able to successfully increase class participation using phenomena-based inquiry. In Fall 2018 I co-taught the field section and lab of General Biology Continue Reading >>
by Nitin Kohli, School of Information Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2019 Behind the Data: Humans and Values (Info 188) deals with the social, political, and ethical considerations of data science. Data science solutions are actively being deployed in diverse settings, implicating values such as privacy, fairness, and freedom of expression. Continue Reading >>
by Nicholaus Gutierrez, Rhetoric Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2019 Students in R1B classes are asked to engage in research that involves acquiring relevant information through reliable sources, and to use those sources to produce new knowledge on a given topic. This can be a challenge in the age of Google, Continue Reading >>
by Mariel Goddu, Psychology Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2019 PSYCH 140 (Developmental Psychology) attracts a variety of students. Some students have psychology research experience and interests. However, many are interested in applied fields like education, social work, and social policy, and these students may be less inclined to delve into Continue Reading >>