by Alexander Kauffman, Integrative Biology
As the semester progressed, a larger and more general issue became clear to me: different students learn in different ways. This idea applies not just to students with learning disabilities, but to all students…Presenting the same information in different ways…allows for better teaching…[and] allows students with diverse learning abilities to access and understand what you are trying to teach.
Students learn best when actively engaged in learning tasks, and there are many ways to incorporate active learning techniques into your class.
By Kirsten Landsiedel, Biostatistics Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2024 If you have ever taken a math class before, you likely have a readily available answer to the question: “Do you consider yourself a math person”? Perhaps someone answered this question for you, you labeled yourself one way or another, or Continue Reading >>
By Yicheng Zhu, Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2024 How can we enhance student engagement and cultivate genuine interest? I asked myself this question before serving as a Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) for EE 113/213A: Power Electronics, an upper-division/graduate-level course centered around circuit analysis and design. Continue Reading >>
By Nicolette Puskar, Chemistry Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2024 The reality that humans can only see the world at the milliscale level is an unfortunate tragedy for chemists who long to witness the nanoscale building blocks of matter they aim to study. Relegated to using theoretical models and molecule building Continue Reading >>
For continuing GSIs, fundamentals about good teaching such as active learning, student inclusion, and providing timely and productive feedback on learning are in place. We now point you to a checklist and resources you can use as you prepare for translating those skills to the online environment.
by Jade Fostvedt, Chemistry Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2020 “Does anyone know the d-electron count for this iron complex?” My question was met with nervous stares and silence from the 30 students in the lecture hall. “Anyone?” No response. “Anyone?” After a painful few minutes, I answered my own question Continue Reading >>
by Kevin Lin, Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2019 Students learn computer science (CS) by doing. In CS 61A, a highly-rated introductory CS course at UC Berkeley, students are introduced to new concepts in lecture, go hands-on to learn the solution process in lab and discussion Continue Reading >>
by Varsha Desai, Chemistry Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2018 Experiments in chemistry laboratories often have complex protocols where students perform several steps sequentially to obtain a “correct” product. Seemingly small mistakes can result in a domino effect that leads to inconclusive end results. For example, students forget to “mix” a Continue Reading >>
Professor Martin V. Covington, cherished mentor, teacher, colleague, and friend, passed away on January 29, 2018, just five months after publishing his most recent work, Life Beyond Grades: Designing College Courses to Promote Intrinsic Motivation. To show the breadth and depth of Marty’s impact and to honor his memory, we Continue Reading >>