Classes Taught
College courses and content I have taught
Okanagan College
Lecture sections
Laboratory and Seminar Sections (Lab sections independent from lecture sections)
Introduction to Physics I
Physics for Electronics Engineering Technology
Introduction to Physics II
Relativity and Modern Physics Seminar
East Mississippi Community College
Lectures (all lectures had built-in laboratory sections)
Lecture sections
- Introduction to Physics I
- Algebra-based; Newtonian mechanics through simple harmonic motion
- Physics for Electronics Engineering Technology
- Algebra-based with calculus referenced; Newtonian mechanics, fluid dynamics, thermal physics, solid-state physics, and optics
- Relativity and Modern Physics
- Special relativity with Lorentz transformations through introduction to Schrodinger equation
Laboratory and Seminar Sections (Lab sections independent from lecture sections)
Introduction to Physics I
Physics for Electronics Engineering Technology
Introduction to Physics II
Relativity and Modern Physics Seminar
East Mississippi Community College
Lectures (all lectures had built-in laboratory sections)
- General Physics I
- Algebra-based. Standard curriculum.
- General Physics II
- Algebra-based. Standard curriculum.
- General Physics I-A
- Calculus-based. Standard curriculum.
- General Physics II-A
- Calculus-based. Standard curriculum.
The upper-level classes I would like to teach at some point:
- Undergraduate Quantum Mechanics
- Undergraduate Electrodynamics
- Mathematical Methods of Physics
- Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics
- Introductory Nuclear Physics
High school classes I have taught
- Physics
- Robotics
- Pre-Calculus Algebra
- Chemistry
- Algebra I
My Teaching Philosophy
There is no one ‘right way’ to teach physics. I have had very engaging instructors who fill the boards with lecture notes and said very little, and I have had very effective instructors who write a few words while speaking at great length, though to strong effect. I have had unprepared instructors and I have had instructors who have gotten the job done but otherwise were largely forgettable.
I have given a great deal of thought as to what I want to accomplish as an instructor of physics, and the one thing that it comes back to is whether or not, at the end of the semester, the student has learned more than just physics. What I look to accomplish is helping the student discover new ways to look at physics itself, perhaps learn more than just the topic of physics, and maybe even learn a bit about how their own minds process information.
That Magic Moment
When I am discussing a topic in a physics lecture, I look out to the sea of students and see a variety of facial expressions. Many are keeping up and taking notes with keen focus. Many write but their eyebrows begin to meet as they try to work out what they are writing. Some, however, seem to be paused and stuck a bit as they decide how to record the notes I have written on the board.
As a graduate student, I had an instructor who would write something on the board and then stand back quietly to allow the students to write their notes before he began discussing the material only after the students had returned their attention to him. I realized what an effective teaching strategy this was. How often have we found ourselves in a lecture where the instructor begins speaking and developing the material while the students were still writing? As a student, I found this to be an ineffective strategy because I was forced to choose between thinking and listening. Indeed, I have incorporated the technique of quiet patience into my teaching style. The temptation to fill the silence can be overwhelming, but the wait is absolutely necessary in order to allow the students to maximize their ability to digest new and, often, complex information.
By approaching teaching in this way, it becomes easier to identify the students who ‘get it’ immediately versus the students who need some extra discussion in order to connect with the material. As they record my thoughts in their notebooks, I can see on their faces how the information is coming across to them. I can pose questions which allows many students to test their understanding to explain the answer, and similarly I can frame questions for those students who are relying on the discussion to ‘bring it all together’ for them. One thing that arises from these techniques is that magic moment when you see comprehension rise in the students’ expressions, often succeeded by slow head nods and supplementary explanations quickly written into their notebooks. Whether the student who gets it immediately or the student who needs further discussion, that same magic moment brings about excitement and confidence. Once you help students discover their confidence in physics, there is no telling how successful they can be by the end of the semester.
Getting to Know You
Getting to know the students, individually, can be very difficult but can also be very fruitful, for the student. Each student arrives to their physics classroom with some kind of background, with some personal experiences, and with some direction for their future. Each of these factors can be tools to help the student connect with the instructor and with the general topic of physics.
One of the techniques I try to engage in the course of the class is to familiarize myself with the general (and in some cases very specific) major study areas for each student. This is helpful for me as an educator and for the student as a learner. For me, I can connect something about a given lesson to an application of that concept in their chosen discipline. For the learner, it allows me to connect with them in such a way as to help bring the material closer to them as well as help them feel noticed and understood. This helps them to feel personally connected to physics and allows them to see why physics is important and relevant. It stops seeming abstract and becomes more relatable to them.
Learn How You Learn
All too often we as educators of physics hear students complain “why do I have to take physics?” I tackle that as part of my syllabus. By explaining to students that physics plays a role beyond the topic as an BCMP (Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics) pillar, the students generally understand that they are learning more than just physics and can then turn their focus on developing critical thinking skills. They find that they are learning how to be successful in a broad range of disciplines, and seek to develop their systematic processing skills. This helps them to respect physics and to accept the challenges which come with physics, and allows them to move beyond the impulse to approach this topic and material in the same way they would for any other class.
Each student has their own method of learning, and these methods tend to be centered on a set of learning styles which include visual, audio, and kinesthetic methods. While there are many variations on this, each of these methods accentuate various senses as primary pathways to understanding things that are presented to them. As part of my syllabus, I give guidance to the students in order to help them capitalize on their primary learning style. For visual learners, I emphasize making notes ahead of time and watching the lecture. For audio learners, I emphasize reading the upcoming sections out loud and listening to my discussion in order to try to engage that aspect of their involvement in lessons and activities. For the kinesthetic learners, I emphasize the note-taking as well as the laboratory aspects of the course. I have been working to develop my own skill to identify students’ key learning styles by using clues in their own ways of speaking. Visual learners speak the fastest, while kinesthetic learners speak the slowest and are more meticulous in their enunciation. Audio learners tend to connect what they hear to how they feel about things, visual learners will use language which highlights how things look or appear, while kinesthetic learners describe things in terms of numbers and dimensions. By paying attention to students’ cue language and other indicators, as well as their own sense of how they learn, I can identify an explanation of a topic which makes them feel that physics is more accessible to them. This sense of ownership and accessibility often leads to students developing mastery of physics.
Communication
It is my belief that very few things can be successful without effective communication. As a result, I try to employ as thorough communication as I can with students. In my syllabus, I lay out the expectations that they should have from me, and to some extent, themselves. During the course of the term, I try to make sure that my own communication in the lessons and lectures is not only sufficient, but ultimately effective for the student.
When everyone has confidence in the lines of communication, it stops being the avenue which inhibits learning, and becomes the conduit of success for many students. They find they can trust the instructor, the system, and ultimately and most importantly, they find they can trust physics.
“The mark of higher education isn’t the knowledge you accumulate in your head. It’s the skills you gain about how to learn.” – Adam Grant
Students actively taking physics are not the only students we should be working with. Through outreach programs, it is possible to inspire young students and introduce them to physics. This can be as critical to broadening STEM as guiding the students already in the physics classroom to success.
I have given a great deal of thought as to what I want to accomplish as an instructor of physics, and the one thing that it comes back to is whether or not, at the end of the semester, the student has learned more than just physics. What I look to accomplish is helping the student discover new ways to look at physics itself, perhaps learn more than just the topic of physics, and maybe even learn a bit about how their own minds process information.
That Magic Moment
When I am discussing a topic in a physics lecture, I look out to the sea of students and see a variety of facial expressions. Many are keeping up and taking notes with keen focus. Many write but their eyebrows begin to meet as they try to work out what they are writing. Some, however, seem to be paused and stuck a bit as they decide how to record the notes I have written on the board.
As a graduate student, I had an instructor who would write something on the board and then stand back quietly to allow the students to write their notes before he began discussing the material only after the students had returned their attention to him. I realized what an effective teaching strategy this was. How often have we found ourselves in a lecture where the instructor begins speaking and developing the material while the students were still writing? As a student, I found this to be an ineffective strategy because I was forced to choose between thinking and listening. Indeed, I have incorporated the technique of quiet patience into my teaching style. The temptation to fill the silence can be overwhelming, but the wait is absolutely necessary in order to allow the students to maximize their ability to digest new and, often, complex information.
By approaching teaching in this way, it becomes easier to identify the students who ‘get it’ immediately versus the students who need some extra discussion in order to connect with the material. As they record my thoughts in their notebooks, I can see on their faces how the information is coming across to them. I can pose questions which allows many students to test their understanding to explain the answer, and similarly I can frame questions for those students who are relying on the discussion to ‘bring it all together’ for them. One thing that arises from these techniques is that magic moment when you see comprehension rise in the students’ expressions, often succeeded by slow head nods and supplementary explanations quickly written into their notebooks. Whether the student who gets it immediately or the student who needs further discussion, that same magic moment brings about excitement and confidence. Once you help students discover their confidence in physics, there is no telling how successful they can be by the end of the semester.
Getting to Know You
Getting to know the students, individually, can be very difficult but can also be very fruitful, for the student. Each student arrives to their physics classroom with some kind of background, with some personal experiences, and with some direction for their future. Each of these factors can be tools to help the student connect with the instructor and with the general topic of physics.
One of the techniques I try to engage in the course of the class is to familiarize myself with the general (and in some cases very specific) major study areas for each student. This is helpful for me as an educator and for the student as a learner. For me, I can connect something about a given lesson to an application of that concept in their chosen discipline. For the learner, it allows me to connect with them in such a way as to help bring the material closer to them as well as help them feel noticed and understood. This helps them to feel personally connected to physics and allows them to see why physics is important and relevant. It stops seeming abstract and becomes more relatable to them.
Learn How You Learn
All too often we as educators of physics hear students complain “why do I have to take physics?” I tackle that as part of my syllabus. By explaining to students that physics plays a role beyond the topic as an BCMP (Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics) pillar, the students generally understand that they are learning more than just physics and can then turn their focus on developing critical thinking skills. They find that they are learning how to be successful in a broad range of disciplines, and seek to develop their systematic processing skills. This helps them to respect physics and to accept the challenges which come with physics, and allows them to move beyond the impulse to approach this topic and material in the same way they would for any other class.
Each student has their own method of learning, and these methods tend to be centered on a set of learning styles which include visual, audio, and kinesthetic methods. While there are many variations on this, each of these methods accentuate various senses as primary pathways to understanding things that are presented to them. As part of my syllabus, I give guidance to the students in order to help them capitalize on their primary learning style. For visual learners, I emphasize making notes ahead of time and watching the lecture. For audio learners, I emphasize reading the upcoming sections out loud and listening to my discussion in order to try to engage that aspect of their involvement in lessons and activities. For the kinesthetic learners, I emphasize the note-taking as well as the laboratory aspects of the course. I have been working to develop my own skill to identify students’ key learning styles by using clues in their own ways of speaking. Visual learners speak the fastest, while kinesthetic learners speak the slowest and are more meticulous in their enunciation. Audio learners tend to connect what they hear to how they feel about things, visual learners will use language which highlights how things look or appear, while kinesthetic learners describe things in terms of numbers and dimensions. By paying attention to students’ cue language and other indicators, as well as their own sense of how they learn, I can identify an explanation of a topic which makes them feel that physics is more accessible to them. This sense of ownership and accessibility often leads to students developing mastery of physics.
Communication
It is my belief that very few things can be successful without effective communication. As a result, I try to employ as thorough communication as I can with students. In my syllabus, I lay out the expectations that they should have from me, and to some extent, themselves. During the course of the term, I try to make sure that my own communication in the lessons and lectures is not only sufficient, but ultimately effective for the student.
When everyone has confidence in the lines of communication, it stops being the avenue which inhibits learning, and becomes the conduit of success for many students. They find they can trust the instructor, the system, and ultimately and most importantly, they find they can trust physics.
“The mark of higher education isn’t the knowledge you accumulate in your head. It’s the skills you gain about how to learn.” – Adam Grant
Students actively taking physics are not the only students we should be working with. Through outreach programs, it is possible to inspire young students and introduce them to physics. This can be as critical to broadening STEM as guiding the students already in the physics classroom to success.
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Outreach |
![Picture](/uploads/9/4/8/0/9480401/published/8321633.jpg?250)
In the past several years, I have been involved in several outreach activities.
- As president of the Physics Graduate Student Association (PGSA), I oversaw the development of the PGSA's Outreach program. We visited local schools, especially those that lacked the resources to provide their students with proper physics experiments.