by Gaurav Punj, IEOR Students usually think of discussion sessions as just problem-solving sessions where the GSI will work on some numerical problems that are relevant for their midterms and finals. I realized that they were more interested in the final answers rather than Physics.
by Kathryn Pearson, Political Science It became clear that students were not absorbing the readings or lectures outlining the process nor my repeated explanations of the differences between a budget resolution, an authorization bill, and an appropriations bill. The congressional budget process presented a greater challenge than did any other topic covered in the U.S. Congress class.
by Susan Schwab, Molecular and Cell Biology The professor asked me to give a section about the complement pathway (for killing bacteria)...to my horror, I found that the textbook had 20 pages of "C4bC2b cleaves C3, and then..." So I divided the section into three parts based on a play, each of was designed to reach different students and add another layer to the discussion.
by Natalia Ferretti, Political Science I was convinced that what we were doing in the class was precisely what my students thought it was missing: we were explaining the origins of the main political and socio-economic structures that characterize Latin American countries today. For us, the connection between these macro-processes and the reality of everyday life was straightforward, and therefore, we took for granted that students would be able to make the link as well. But my students’ complaints showed me that we were wrong.
by Eric Masanet, Mechanical Engineering This approach — called design-for-environment — has gained significant momentum worldwide and is an invaluable skill for UCB design engineering students to acquire...I was therefore surprised to learn...that design-for-environment was not being taught as part of UCBs undergraduate design curriculum, nor was it even introduced as an important concept to the design students. To address this problem, I initiated, developed and presented a comprehensive design-for-environment lecture that has since become a regular feature in the ME 110 course.
by Selby Schwartz, Comparative Literature The students were clearly struggling with the complexity of character motivations, and I could see them teetering on the verge of dismissing the whole play: mocking its archaisms, flattening its protagonists, ironizing its structure, and dispelling its magic for themselves. Their skepticism exhibited a passive kind of resistance.