Teaching

Although we have been spending most of out time here in the lab doing scientific research, I have been continuing to learn about teaching.  As we interact during our research Nicole and I have shared our tricks of the trade and had conversations about our own teaching methods.  We have also had some conversations with Chileans in the lab about their teaching philosophies and the reasons why they decided to go into teaching and research.  At one point I was using "train tracks" for dimensional analysis and Eduardo asked me to explain this method I use for teaching.  He thought he might try it with his own students.  It has also been wonderful to watch others interact while working in the lab.  While I don't understand what is being said the lab seems to be a very cooperative learning environment.

On Monday we took the opportunity to sit in on a class Eduardo was teaching.  This may seem a bit odd in that the class was taught entirely in Spanish.  However, it was interesting to me how much I could pick up about the teaching methods used.  There were lots of things I saw that I liked.  The class only had 6 students: 3 male and 3 female.  Although Eduardo taught by writing on the white board he was very good at spending most of the time facing the students.  He did most of his lecture without notes.  He asked questions and gave adequate wait time for answers.

After class Brant, Nicole, and I were commenting to each other on the lack of technology used in the teaching of the class.  I mentioned that some of my colleagues prefer writing on the board as it tends to better engage the students.  Later Eduardo mentioned this same topic.  He said that during his first year of teaching he used PowerPoint for his lectures but has now gone back to using the white board.  It was interesting to see how teachers in classrooms so far removed from our own grapple with the same issues.

I was very thankful that Eduardo was willing to open his classroom to us.  We all know there can be a bit of anxiety about others stepping into our worlds.  It was a meaningful experience for me.