By Ishani Chesire, Astronomy Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2025 It was a situation many GSIs are familiar with: following the first midterm in Astron 7B, a student approached me looking nervous and asked to talk about her grade. She had not done well in the midterm, but even…
By Gregory Arena, Integrative Biology Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2024 Amidst a gauntlet of Berkeley bureaucracy and impersonal undergraduate prerequisite courses, students often tell me they feel that they must fend for themselves. This was my experience as an undergrad at Berkeley. In my first two years, I never once…
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…
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…
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…
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.
by Ashton Wesner, Materials Science and Engineering (Home Department: Environmental Science, Policy, and Management) Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2018 E157AC: Engineering, The Environment, and Society is the only American Cultures course offered in the College of Engineering. I was thrilled to teach students pursuing rigorous scientific training with an interest…
by Sonia Travaglini, College of Engineering (Home Department: Mechanical Engineering) Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2018 Working to support the Masters of Engineering capstone projects, my hardest challenge was teaching students to communicate the value and significance of their highly technical work. Students had to learn science writing; how to use…
by Tiffany Perumpail, Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2018 Academic Interns (AIs) are former CS61A students who help current students in office hours and labs. Any student who passed CS61A can go through training and volunteer as an AI. In Spring 2017, our students’ Final Survey…
by Julia Lewandoski, History Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2018 After several semesters as a GSI and Reader for history classes, it has become clear to me that a concise, clear, and specific thesis statement is essential to a successful student paper. Developing a strong thesis statement enables students to frame…