by Douglas Epps, Social Welfare Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2021 With a global pandemic, an international racial justice movement, and ongoing threats to US democratic institutions, 2020 was a year of many sobering first-time experiences. It also marked my first and second time in the role of acting instructor, teaching…
by Christopher Jelen, Classics Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2021 After teaching Latin 1, the first semester of Latin, and Greek 15, the intensive Greek workshop, I noticed a recurring problem that arose early in these courses. Many students were deeply uncomfortable making mistakes in class and would avoid situations where…
by Anna Mikkelborg, Political Science Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2021 When I learned that the first course I would teach at Berkeley would be offered not only remotely, but asynchronously, I was a bit disappointed. I’d been looking forward to leading a classroom of Introduction to American Politics students in…
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…
by Jessica Katz, Energy and Resources Group Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2021 One of the most challenging aspects of adjusting to a remote classroom has been losing the nonverbal cues that allow teachers and students to communicate efficiently in real time. As a GSI for an interdisciplinary data science course…
by Adam Uliana, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2019 “I studied, like, forever on everything we learned except what was on the exam. And I just got unlucky with dumb math mistakes.” Such overly simplified explanations echoed the room as I passed out graded midterm exams in…
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 Audrey Haynes, Integrative Biology Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2019 “It’s nice to know someone actually cares.” A student in Biology 1B said that to me at the end of a meeting. She had not passed the first exam and we were brainstorming about how to improve. For a variety…
by Ravit Dotan, Philosophy Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2019 One of the most common problems GSIs encounter is low student participation in sections. Too often, only a handful of students ask questions, interact with the instructor, or interact with one another. This situation is unfortunate. First, active participation is crucial…