I'm teaching my own class (any suggestions?)

Perrin Aybara · 12-28-2007, 10:11 AM

In the spring semester, I'm going to be the instructor for a junior level course in my department. The class involves teaching computer programming and numerical methods to engineers in our field with the focus on applications in biological and environmental systems.

So, for all of the undergraduate college students on VGF...any tips, pointers or suggestions? What do you like to see and hate to see in your college classes?

Since I'm scared as hell.-jay

Sir Bolt the Dragoon · 12-28-2007, 10:35 AM

Be approachable and accessible. I hate it when professors (or TAs, or whoever) seem to hate one-on-one contact and don't have regular office hours for questions.

Perrin Aybara · 12-28-2007, 11:04 AM

Holy crap, it's Bolt.

Anyway, yeah, I'm thinking that being approachable with office hours and everything will be the easiest thing for me to do. I already have no problems with other grad students coming to me at random hours with some question I can help with. And I have some experience over the past few years being a TA and helping kids with homework. I enjoy helping people out when they have a question.

One-on-one help I should be pretty good at. It's the "standing in front of people for 50 minutes at a time and lecturing" that I have the least experience with.-jay

***The Doctor*** · 12-28-2007, 01:54 PM

Teach them how to ROCK!!! \m/r

Try not to standing in front of people for 50 minutes at a time and just lecturing. Try to get them involved somehow.

Sir Bolt the Dragoon · 12-28-2007, 02:12 PM

Right. Make sure you lectures contain time for answering questions and have some level of interactivity. Also, don't just recite the textbook! Make sure lectures enrich their experience in a unique way.

***CaptHayfever*** · 12-28-2007, 02:33 PM

Also, be assertive from moment one. True, college students are better behaved than K-12 since a greater percentage of them chose to be there, but still make sure you have control. Oh, and make sure you explain assignments clearly so you don't get 20-50 office visits all asking the same question about the same instructions.

Also also, could you give me some tips once you're done?

I'm probably gonna have to do something like this next year.

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

Kargath · 12-28-2007, 04:10 PM

Start off with the basic abstract stuff - you can't be sure how many of them are used to thinking in "sequence of instructions mode".
It's a bit of an interesting combination to be squeezing programming and numerical methods into the same subject.

12-28-2007, 10:11 AM	#1
Perrin Aybara Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 1999 Location: Alone....so terribly alone... Some... where... out... there... dies Gender: Posts: 12,760 Thanks: 194 Thanked 504 Times in 235 Posts	I'm teaching my own class (any suggestions?) In the spring semester, I'm going to be the instructor for a junior level course in my department. The class involves teaching computer programming and numerical methods to engineers in our field with the focus on applications in biological and environmental systems. So, for all of the undergraduate college students on VGF...any tips, pointers or suggestions? What do you like to see and hate to see in your college classes? Since I'm scared as hell.-jay

12-28-2007, 10:35 AM	#2
Sir Bolt the Dragoon Defender of Chrono Cross Join Date: Feb 2000 Gender: Posts: 12,543 Thanks: 0 Thanked 9 Times in 7 Posts	Be approachable and accessible. I hate it when professors (or TAs, or whoever) seem to hate one-on-one contact and don't have regular office hours for questions.

12-28-2007, 11:04 AM	#3
Perrin Aybara Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 1999 Location: Alone....so terribly alone... Some... where... out... there... dies Gender: Posts: 12,760 Thanks: 194 Thanked 504 Times in 235 Posts	Holy crap, it's Bolt. Anyway, yeah, I'm thinking that being approachable with office hours and everything will be the easiest thing for me to do. I already have no problems with other grad students coming to me at random hours with some question I can help with. And I have some experience over the past few years being a TA and helping kids with homework. I enjoy helping people out when they have a question. One-on-one help I should be pretty good at. It's the "standing in front of people for 50 minutes at a time and lecturing" that I have the least experience with.-jay

12-28-2007, 01:54 PM	#4
*The Doctor* The Last Timelord. Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: In the TARDIS Gender: Posts: 13,880 Thanks: 915 Thanked 656 Times in 426 Posts Blog Entries: 1	Teach them how to ROCK!!! \m/r Try not to standing in front of people for 50 minutes at a time and just lecturing. Try to get them involved somehow.

12-28-2007, 02:12 PM	#5
Sir Bolt the Dragoon Defender of Chrono Cross Join Date: Feb 2000 Gender: Posts: 12,543 Thanks: 0 Thanked 9 Times in 7 Posts	Right. Make sure you lectures contain time for answering questions and have some level of interactivity. Also, don't just recite the textbook! Make sure lectures enrich their experience in a unique way.

12-28-2007, 02:33 PM	#6
*CaptHayfever* Smash SuperMod Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: (n) - the place where I am Gender: Posts: 27,661 Thanks: 1,991 Thanked 2,486 Times in 1,513 Posts	Also, be assertive from moment one. True, college students are better behaved than K-12 since a greater percentage of them chose to be there, but still make sure you have control. Oh, and make sure you explain assignments clearly so you don't get 20-50 office visits all asking the same question about the same instructions. Also also, could you give me some tips once you're done? I'm probably gonna have to do something like this next year. And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

12-28-2007, 04:10 PM	#7
Kargath et in Arcadia ego Join Date: Jul 2001 Gender: Posts: 8,334 Thanks: 1,226 Thanked 780 Times in 488 Posts	Start off with the basic abstract stuff - you can't be sure how many of them are used to thinking in "sequence of instructions mode". It's a bit of an interesting combination to be squeezing programming and numerical methods into the same subject.