Teaching Philosophy

These remarks are aimed at physics courses but may apply to other areas of science, as well as general education.

Traditional expository lectures are efficient means to convey information, but not necessarily insure reception and comprehension by the student. [1] In addition, traditional lectures do not prepare the student for the practice of science after graduation, in either academic or industrial environments, which is about creativity, exploration, analysis, and execution, as well as about identifying the importance of a subject, capturing the essence of a problem, and persevering in the pursuit of a goal. A successful teaching approach should incorporate methodologies to overcome these limitations.

Of foremost importance in any teaching methodology should be to promote student involvement and participation in the teaching and learning process. The student should be an active partner in the education enterprise to obtain maximum benefit from it.

The approach that I favor consists in incorporating a significant experimental component, to the course, as an integrated, complementary part of a single cohesive unit. The correlated lecture and experiment sessions should be carefully structured in order to:

a) Guide the students through an inquiry and discovery path, as teaching strategy.

b) Help the students discover basic concepts, through experimental observation.

c) Help the students develop critical and independent thinking skills

d) Enhance student involvement in the entire educational process.

Instead of exposing every new idea in lecture format, the course should be designed to lead the students to discover, by themselves, the meaning of some of the concepts, through experimentation and analysis. In doing so, the students will become actively engaged in the learning experience, increasing their capability to master the material, while simultaneously, acquiring direct experience about the scientific endeavor.

Other specific goals of this type of course, specific to the education of a physicist, are:

a) Teach the students basic experimental and analytical skills

b) Provide the students hands-on experience with state of the art equipment.

c) Give the students experience on teamwork

d) Provide the student practical knowledge about real life applications of the topics discussed in class.

Another important observation, in my opinion, is that learning does not end in the classroom, it only starts there. The learning process should be viewed as a combination of structured, instructor driven, in-class activities, and student driven out-of-class activities. The lecture, or classroom activity, only serves to introduce the subject, or to clarify misunderstandings. Most of the learning is achieved by the student while studying, or doing homework, or completing projects, either individually or in groups. Students should be helped to seize ownership of their education, and to take full advantage of the out-of-class learning period.

I do not reject traditional teaching methods. A diversification of teaching approaches may be necessary in a comprehensive educational framework. There is so much knowledge, and there are so many skills, that students need to acquire nowadays, that one single format may not be appropriate for the task. Traditional lectures are sometimes necessary along with activity-based programs, individual work, or cooperative group approaches, [2] media (computer, video, internet) assisted teaching along with in-class demonstrations, [3] undergraduate research initiatives, or co-op programs, all are valid, useful approaches that, when properly combined, may lead to effective science education.

This teaching philosophy is particularly reflected in the courses: Ion-Solid Interactions, and Methods of Experimental Physics, that I have developed or revised, here at UCF.

Finally, instructors should continuously strive to improve their teaching skills, and explore new teaching methods. It is not enough to be an expert on the subject, it is necessary for the students to acquire the knowledge.

[1] A. Van Heuvelen, Learning to think like a physicist: A review of research-based instructional strategies, Am. J. Phys., 59 (1991) 891.

[2] D. W. Johnson, R. T. Johnson, and K. A. Smith, Active Learning: Cooperation in the College Classroom, 2^nd E. (Interaction Book Co., Edina MN, 1998).

[3] D. R. Sokoloff and R. K. Thornton, Using interactive lecture demonstrations to create an active learning environment, The Physics Teacher, 35 (1997) 340.