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<div>Dear Colleagues -</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>This resonated with me because I'm only a year short of 40 years
of teaching and recognize many of my own past practices among Prof.
Hummel's points. So, I am sure, will many of my senior Yale
colleagues.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Some more specific comments from my own teaching follow at the
end of the piece.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>All best, --PJK</div>
<div><br></div>
<div><br></div>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>X-Original-To:
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Date: Thu, 16 Feb 2006 16:04:34 -0800<br>
To: tomorrows-professor@lists.Stanford.EDU<br>
From: Rick Reis <reis@stanford.edu><br>
Subject: TP Msg. #699 CONTEMPLATIONS AFTER FORTY YEARS OF TEACHING<br>
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<blockquote type="cite" cite>"Dave felt that I surely had a few
words to say about my past<br>
experiences that would be of help to new professors. Further, he<br>
suggested that I could possibly comment on some of the new
teaching<br>
methods that are currently discussed and occasionally even<br>
implemented. I am glad to comply with his request even though I
have<br>
to admit that I practice no spectacular new techniques. But my<br>
students like what I have been doing as expressed in numerous<br>
enthusiastic teacher evaluations. What I do is simply the
following:"<br>
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Folks:<br>
<br>
The posting below give some simple and important suggestions for
all<br>
of us to keep in mind when giving a class lecture. It is by<br>
Professor Rolf E. Hummel at the University of Florida,
Gainesville,<br>
and is now required reading for all new professors at the
University<br>
of Florida. The article first appeared in the University of
Florida,<br>
"Pedagogator," Vol. 3, Issue 13, July/Aug 2005.
Reprinted with<br>
permission. Further suggestions for effective teaching can be
found<br>
at the Pedagogator website:<br>
http://www.ucet.ufl.edu/newsletters/pedagogator.shtml<br>
<br>
Regards,<br>
<br>
Rick Reis<br>
reis@stanford.edu<br>
UP NEXT: Is There a Global Warming Toward Women in Academia?<br>
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-----------------------------<br>
<br>
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</x-tab>CONTEMPLATIONS AFTER FORTY YEARS OF TEACHING<br>
<br>
By Professor Rolf E. Hummel<br>
University of Florida - College of Engineering (Dept. of Material<br>
Science & Engineering)<br>
<br>
The other day I ran into my good old friend David Bloomquist. He
told<br>
me during our curb-side chat that is now the director of the<br>
"University Center for Excellence in Teaching". Eventually,
after<br>
having shown me his spacious office, he handed me a coffee mug and
an<br>
executive ballpoint pen, both with the insignia of the Center.
Then,<br>
after having "bribed" me this way, Dave asked me to please
write a<br>
contribution for his newsletter "The Pedagogator" because he
knew<br>
that I had been graced so far with 12 teaching awards (among them
the<br>
university-wide teacher of the year, the Florida Blue Key teaching<br>
award, several college of engineering awards, and the TIP<br>
award-twice). Dave felt that I surely had a few words to say about
my<br>
past experiences that would be of help to new professors. Further,
he</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>suggested that I could possibly comment
on some of the new teaching<br>
methods that are currently discussed and occasionally even<br>
implemented. I am glad to comply with his request even though I
have<br>
to admit that I practice no spectacular new techniques. But my<br>
students like what I have been doing as expressed in numerous<br>
enthusiastic teacher evaluations. What I do is simply the
following:</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><br>
1) I prepare at least one hour per period for classes which I have<br>
given before and about 5-7 hours for each new class. This
preparation<br>
allows me to teach without reading from or referring to notes.<br>
<br>
2) I arrive in the classroom at the right time, or even a few
minutes<br>
earlier to have the chance to chat with my students or answer any<br>
questions they may have.<br>
<br>
3) I start my class with a one or two minute review of the previous
lecture.<br>
<br>
4) I am a great supporter of the old fashioned blackboard. The
larger<br>
it is, the better. I write as much as possible on this board, and<br>
highlight important parts with colored chalk and/or put a box
around<br>
important equations. (I do not like so much the new whiteboards<br>
because one has to always remember to cap the markers before they
dry<br>
out. And those markers available in the lecture room often do not<br>
work anyway, so you have to bring your own.<br>
<br>
5) I start at the upper, left-hand corner of the blackboard. I do
not<br>
erase anything during the entire hour. At the end of the lecture I<br>
have reached the lower, right-hand corner of the blackboard.<br>
Admittedly, this takes some advanced planning and practice, but
can<br>
be eventually accomplished by everybody.<br>
<br>
6) I attempt to write large and legibly enough so that my<br>
"hieroglyphics" can be read from the last row. After class I
often<br>
walk to the back of the lecture room to see if I succeeded in
doing<br>
so.<br>
<br>
7) During the last three minutes of the lecture I repeat briefly
what<br>
was discussed that day by showing with a pointer the relevant
graphs<br>
or equations on the board and mention how they were arrived at.
This<br>
lets the students see the larger context in which the individual<br>
steps have been developed.<br>
<br>
8) I attempt not to block the blackboard with my body so that<br>
virtually everybody can see what is written on the board; at least<br>
most of the time. This is accomplished by stepping aside after<br>
writing.<br>
<br>
9) When drawing a graph on the board, I carefully label the axes
by<br>
saying what they represent and describe a curve while drawing it.
If<br>
there is more than one curve in a given graph, I distinguish them<br>
with different colors and write on each curve what parameters they<br>
represent.<br>
<br>
10) To each class I bring a bunch of "show-and-tell" items,
such as a<br>
transformer, a computer chip, a computer hard drive, a laser tube,
a<br>
silicon crystal, several magnets, a transistor, a shape memory
alloy<br>
etc., so that students have hands-on experience of the subjects I
am<br>
talking about. Occasionally, I show movies that depict
manufacturing<br>
processes of what was explained before in theory.<br>
<br>
11) I encourage questions during class and answer them in a<br>
respectful manner (even the supposedly 'stupid questions'). If I
do<br>
not know the answer immediately, I admit so (which makes a student<br>
feel good) and promise to answer it next time.<br>
<br>
12) I feel that overloading the students with information during<br>
class does not serve them properly. Often less information, but
that<br>
in more depth, is pedagogically better. After all, the students
can<br>
learn supplemental information from their textbooks.<br>
<br>
13) I am a supporter of the Monday/Wednesday/Friday rhythm rather<br>
than the two or three hour-long lecture on one day. Students need<br>
digestion between lectures and catching up with their homework.<br>
<br>
14) I try to speak loud and distinctly so that everybody should be<br>
able to hear and understand me. I aim my voice toward the last<br>
student row. Foreign students particularly appreciate this.<br>
<br>
15) I address my students by looking at them during the lecture,
that<br>
is, I keep eye contact. This way I can see if some students drift<br>
away, requiring me to change the pace.<br>
<br>
16) I take a class picture during one of the first lectures and
ask</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>the students to write their names next to
their image. This gives me<br>
the chance to memorize their names and to address them with their<br>
names during lectures and in my office. (I admit memorizing names<br>
becomes increasingly difficult with age).<br>
<br>
17) Student like my "war stories," that is, practical
examples in<br>
which the subjects just taught have been used (or not been used
with</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>negative consequences). This loosens up
the flow of information and<br>
demonstrates the relevance of the often theoretical-appearing<br>
subjects. In other words, a proper balance between theory and<br>
practical aspects needs to be maintained.<br>
<br>
18) I am not a friend of projected transparencies because they are<br>
frequently removed before the students are capable of fully<br>
comprehending what they want to teach. Still, occasionally even I
use<br>
overhead projectors when putting the respective information on the<br>
board would require too much time or when the students have the
same<br>
graph in their textbook and I need to point out certain details on<br>
the image. Flashing slides in five second intervals on a screen
turns<br>
students quickly away from paying attention. In other words, each<br>
transparency needs to stay on the screen long enough so that all<br>
details they contain can be fully explained and understood. On the<br>
same line, I am not a friend of PowerPoint presentations in the<br>
classroom. They have their merit in seminars and conferences where
a<br>
substantial amount of information needs to be transmitted in a<br>
relatively short time.<br>
<br>
19) Before an exam, I hand out tests from previous years, whose<br>
answers we discuss in the class immediately before the upcoming<br>
midterm or final.<br>
<br>
20) I allow my students to prepare for the test a one-page,<br>
hand-written, personal "crib sheet" on which they may write
all the<br>
equations and graphs they consider to be important. They have to<br>
turn-in this sheet along with their tests. This promotes academic<br>
honesty and gives those students some confidence who otherwise
"draw<br>
a complete blank" during tests. Interestingly enough, most
students<br>
admit that once they have written a crib sheet they don't need it
any<br>
more during the test since they are now well prepared for the exam<br>
and they feel confident that they can turn to their sheet when
need<br>
arises. Needless to say, my tests do not allow mere regurgitation
of<br>
crammed information, but usually require some thinking. For this<br>
reason, my exams are often labeled as "difficult,"
("because asking a<br>
student to think is unfair").<br>
<br>
21) Most of all, however, I consider my students to be my friends.
I<br>
am kind to them and am available most of the time for questions
and<br>
for airing concerns. My door is virtually always open. I teach all<br>
classes myself, I write the tests and grade them myself and use<br>
teaching assistants only for looking over the homework, which I<br>
assign, (because one can only learn by "doing" and not so
much by<br>
just listening). As a former student once wrote in retrospect:
"Dr.<br>
Hummel does not only teach class, he adopts it."<br>
<br>
In summary, I love teaching and showing my enthusiasm about the<br>
subject matter. This spark flies over to my students and makes
them<br>
enthusiastic too.<br>
<br>
These points may sound, for some readers, old-fashioned. So be it.<br>
But why should we abandon techniques that have been proven to be<br>
successful over many decades? I feel that we should use whatever<br>
produces the best educational results. For some instructors, the<br>
impersonal PowerPoint presentation, etc., works. For others it is
the<br>
personally addressed, spoken word that reaches the minds and souls
of<br>
the students.<br>
<br>
Most importantly however: It is often said that classroom teaching
at<br>
university does not help a professor in obtaining tenure and<br>
promotion. What really counts is research money and publications.<br>
Those colleagues and administrators who think like this should
keep<br>
in mind that the future of or nation depends strongly on what and
how<br>
we are educating the younger generation.<br>
<br>
Having this in mind, I strongly feel that proper, compassionate
and<br>
enthusiastic teaching (in the classroom and the research lab) is
the<br>
most important mission of a university.</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><br>
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<div><br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>A few more comments from me, referencing Prof. Hummel's item
numbers:</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>(4)-(6) I feel much the same way. By having lots of board
space and minimizing erasing, I can immediately go back to an earlier
point as needed when a student has a question. And if I haven't
covered the board too densely, I can even make the argument a
different way right next to the earlier writing and avoid saying the
same thing again, which itself is a kind of confrontation to
avoid.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>(7) I sometimes give a one-minute quizz, asking the students to
write down (anonymously) the most memorable point I made, and the most
obscure or impenetrable. The statistics of both are interesting, and
provide an good start to the next lecture in the spirit of (3).</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>(11) This is important even in the genteel situation
described by Prof. Hummel, but crucial if you "screw up."
Students quickly develop contempt -- here I draw on my student
meetings as Director of Undergraduate Studies -- for instructors who
make mistakes, get confused, and then do _not_ remediate next time.
Once when I was really in trouble at the board, I mumbled, while still
looking to see where I had gone wrong "This must happen to some
of your other instructors." and an unknown student's voice
replied "yes, but they cover it up better." Embarrassed
though I felt, it had never occurred to me to cover it up. Next time,
I gave them a written handout by way of clarification. This saves
time, especially since equations or schematics are likely to be at
issue.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>(16) The picture gallery available though our <classes>
server avoids the need for taking your own picture. Students
appreciate it if one shows interest in them personally by learning
their names quickly, fairly easy in our generally small classes. And
some "shoppers" are more likely to stay. More importantly,
this personal approach does not make it strange when I then send email
to a student whom I don't see in a given lecture and ask why. They
then know that I care, I notice and subsequently they generally give
me advance notice if illness or an interview keep them away. This way
I have had nearly perfect attendance most of the time. Nationally,
class attendance is often not much better than 60-70% these days, and
often much less when lecture notes/slides are posted on the Web. This
personal approach doesn't scale readily, but certainly works for Yale
Engineering classes.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>(17) In this regard I have of course been particularly
fortunate and well equipped by my consulting as an adjunct. There is
hardly a circuit or instrument that I have taught about with which I
have not had first-hand experience in an industrial setting. Sometimes
major problems involved simple circuit issues. And it's nice to be
able to describe a feedback loop stabilization involving a 400kW
inverter where, when the loop went unstable, I could feel the
vibrations of the filter inductors two stories below me in a heavy
concrete building. One doesn't have to say things that could embarrass
a consulting client. Being able to speak from direct experience is
obvious pretty quickly.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>(21) I do not spend time in my office so consistently that I can
follow Prof. Hummel's open door approach. My "open door" has
been email, fairly promptly responded to.</div>
<div>I should also mention that more than occasionally I sent the
entire class emails (also easy to do via the <classes> server)
when I felt a given lecture just didn't "connect," or when I
wanted to make points that I needed more time to think through.</div>
<div>If you've got the time, a couple of such emails follow below,
from an EENG226b "Introduction to Electrical Engineering"
version I taught in Spring 2005. During a given semester I might send
200 emails, both to individual students or to the whole class, of
which maybe 5-10% are as 'weighty' as the ones that follow
below.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>-----------------------------------------------------------</div>
<div>Two samples of emails to my EENG226b class:</div>
<div><tt><font
color="#000000">--------------------------------------<br>
Date: 1/27/05 10:46 PM</font></tt></div>
<div><tt><font color="#000000">To: EENG226b Class</font></tt></div>
<div><tt><font color="#000000">From: pjk<br>
Subject: Problem set thinking<br>
<br>
Dear Class -<br>
<br>
While I still have this week's lectures and homework discussion<br>
sessions freshly in mind, and while you are finishing the current<br>
HW#2, I would like to engage your thinking about the next
homework,<br>
and homeworks to come.<br>
<br>
Many of you have expressed your dismay about how the present<br>
homework was much more difficult than #1. In part this is because<br>
the HW#2 problems are closer to being engineering problems, rather<br>
than "plug and play" template matching problems all too
typical of<br>
text books.<br>
<br>
E.g. take a problem like S&W P3.7 about measuring the internal<br>
resistance of the meter. This is a real miniature engineering<br>
problem. You need to devise a method, not just plug values into an<br>
equation you find in the chapter. The chapters do contain material<br>
to work with, but not the template for the solution itself.<br>
<br>
This is hard, but it is what engineering is about. As freshmen you<br>
may never have had a course that emphasizes such thinking. It
takes<br>
time that you will have only if you start on such problems early,<br>
with a "first pass," days before they are due, so that you
can mull<br>
them over in your mind for a while.<br>
<br>
The most important take-away from an "Introduction to
Electrical<br>
Engineering" is an introduction to engineering _thinking_,
not<br>
formula "crank turning." In fact, I believe it is the<br>
_responsibility_ of an introductory course in any subject to give<br>
you an initial exposure to how the practitioners of that subject<br>
think, how they pose problems, how they approach solutions, what<br>
they consider their most valuable tools.<br>
<br>
That is why I don't give you problems like E3.4(h) because they
have<br>
little redeeming "engineering thinking" value. I have a
written-out<br>
solution of which I can give you a copy. It it mostly just<br>
complicated, does not teach you any new way to think. In 50 years
of<br>
working with electronics I have never had to solve this problem in<br>
any working context.<br>
<br>
That's why problems like P3.7 are so much more valuable. And why
S&W<br>
is a better introduction to EE than a lot of more recent texts.<br>
<br>
The next assignment will contain some more "thinking"
problems. I<br>
firmly believe you have a "thinking" mind capable of doing
them.<br>
You're just startled and discomfited by the different demands of<br>
this type of problem. You are not used to being initially
"stopped<br>
in your tracks."<br>
<br>
Mindful of the difficulty they pose you, I will have fewer
problems<br>
in the next assignment (which I expect to post sometime tomorrow
on</font></tt></div>
<div><tt><font color="#000000">the usual
<http://www.eng.yale.edu/ee-labs/morse/courses/ee226/>).<br>
<br>
I will be happy to work with you _at length_, in individual
meetings<br>
and in the Tuesday eve. and Wednesday pm review sessions. But you<br>
must give these engineering problems enough of your own time also.<br>
Speculate, experiment, try different approaches. Above all, accept<br>
the need to approach these problems differently from looking for
the<br>
right formula, and, failing to find it, panic. It is not that you<br>
can't do the problem, it is that you are not using the right part
of<br>
your mind.<br>
<br>
I am always happy to have your feedback on all these issues.<br>
<br>
All best, --pjk<br>
<br>
--------------------------------------<br>
Date: 1/30/05 5:08 PM</font></tt></div>
<div><tt><font color="#000000">To: EENG226b Class<br>
From: pjk<br>
Subject: Working Knowledge<br>
<br>
Dear Class -<br>
<br>
Let me share with you comments I made in recent correspondence
with<br>
one of your class mates, about being in a quandary about Senturia<br>
and Wedlock (S&W) material and home work problems. I wrote
(here<br>
mildly edited):<br>
<br>
> I believe there are at least two "layers," with both of
which I will<br>
> do my best to help. The first is the "style" (for lack
of a better<br>
> word) with which you approach problems. The second is the
standard<br>
> for "understanding" you set yourself. We should talk a
little about<br>
> both.<br>
><br>
> Regarding the first, you can tell me about courses that work
well<br>
> for you, and the kind of problems you solve there. Regarding
the</font></tt></div>
<div><tt><font color="#000000">> second, I am not going to justify
expediency, but want to suggest<br>
> how even after one does a given problem, it may take going
further<br>
> along in the material before, in retrospect, one feels more<br>
> confident that one understands it. I.e. the issue is how<br>
> (un)comfortable does one feel with one's command of a topic in
the<br>
> initial instance, as opposed to later when it has had a chance
to<br>
> sink in a little more.<br>
><br>
> Engineers, I think, are good at being "temporarily
expedient" in<br>
> getting a problem solved, often being under time pressure to do
so.<br>
> For the honest engineer the realization of intellectual
honesty<br>
> comes, as it should, with some delay, as the solution "sinks
in"<br>
> deeper into their working awareness. Another way some authors put
it<br>
> is that we are talking about the acquisition of "working
knowledge"<br>
> as opposed to theoretical knowledge. The problems in S&W tend
to<br>
> lean towards working knowledge. The implications of that are
that<br>
> their problems can be challenging in unexpected ways, very
different<br>
> from other text books. I would in fact go so far as to say
that<br>
> current text books aim more at short-term gratification,
complex<br>
> though it may be, while older books like S&W are challenging
their<br>
> readers to acquire working knowledge, by using problems that
look<br>
> simple but can be surprisingly difficult.<br>
><br>
> One of my proudest moments as a consultant was years ago, when
one<br>
> of my clients had paid a lot of money to McKinsey, the famous<br>
> management consultants, to "x-ray" their company's
problems and<br>
> write them a report. But my client couldn't figure out on the
basis<br>
> of that report how best to implement solutions, to solve
their<br>
> problems. They hired me and I helped them with the slower<br>
> accumulation of 'working knowledge' that helped make things
happen<br>
> more constructively. That was some 20 years ago, and I'm sure<br>
> McKinsey has gotten much better at helping with implementation,
but<br>
> it is a dichotomy still very much with us in one form or
another,<br>
> including the approach to courses and textbooks.<br>
><br>
> In an engineering curriculum one can have courses that you do
well<br>
> in, and then get totally stumped with situations in a later
course<br>
> taught from a different viewpoint. The acquisition of knowledge
in a<br>
> working form usually proves the better investment in learning
for<br>
> the future, though it may be a little more stressful at the
time.<br>
><br>
> I am not trying to plot a course in psychoanalysis, but am trying
to<br>
> enlarge your view of the situation so that perhaps you feel
less<br>
> boxed in. And these are, of course, issues we can always talk
about,<br>
> individually and in our group meetings.<br>
<br>
All best, --pjk<br>
<br>
P.S.: I will be posting meeting slots at my Web scheduler by late<br>
tonight.</font></tt><br>
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