by Louis-Benoit Desroches, Astronomy
My semester as a GSI for Astronomy 7A…reminded me of my time as an undergraduate taking the same type of course, eager to learn all I could about the wonders of astronomy. And indeed, students walk out of that course and the Berkeley astronomy undergraduate program in general with an excellent astronomy education. But just as I did when I was an undergrad, students here are asking for more.
by Ana Villa-Lobos, Sociology
“Showing” students how sociology is done, letting them witness the process of the sociological analysis of raw data, live and uncensored, is almost universally absent from the classroom. This leaves a shroud of mystery over the process, with many students intimidated and confused when it comes to their own research projects. I decided to try to incorporate this missing component into my own teaching.
by J. Peter Coppinger, Plant and Microbial Biology
As a GSI for Biology 1B, my goal seemed simple in principle: get students to enjoy biology because biology is fascinating in and of itself. I wanted my students to appreciate biology simply because biology is worth marveling at — barnacles, slimemolds, and all. Unfortunately, many students often brush aside an interesting topic if it is not explicitly intended for an exam.
by Tania Martin, Architecture
I determined that students unfamiliar with primary source research need models for conducting such research and hands-on practice. This became clear from my students’ paper abstracts, preliminary object analysis exercises, and from class discussions. It was not enough to lecture about paintings, photographs, buildings, and forests — the students needed to engage with the materials themselves, and to learn to read various kinds of sources against one another.
by John Johnson, Astronomy
As the Head GSI for Astronomy 10 last fall, I was challenged with administering effective, individualized assistance to the students who needed it most. The solution I developed is The Astronomy Learning Center (TALC). TALC uses collaborative learning as an alternative to traditional office hours…[and] uses the philosophy that students learn better by doing than just by hearing or seeing.
by William Hayes, Sociology
While sociology of culture courses regularly assign selections from his text, Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste, US students usually encounter these readings without the necessary theoretical knowledge (symbolic capital) or cultural knowledge (cultural capital) for understanding the main arguments or referents in his survey analysis of 1960s Paris. Hence, the teaching problem emerges of how to “materialize” these Parisian abstractions within our Berkeley students.