Thanks for the comment Jonathan! I really appreciate that. In fact, sometimes it feels like we need to acquire a lot of knowledge in order to have sufficient knowledge to help our students passionately pursue their interests towards knowledge. Thanks so much for your comment!

Thanks so much for your response Homero! I really appreciate your experiences. They are very helpful. Thanks so much for that. I like how you mentioned caring for students is key, and that it is important for respect, and all the great things. Thank you!

Also, about not teaching at a research institution– I really respect that, and believe in that. There is a far greater investment in students rather than research. I believe in the importance of both research and students. However, students come first! Thank you!

The last paragraph here is gold. It really makes a difference to have this attitude going in. Knowledge is like gold: you can have a never-ending supply, but it’s not worth something until you start to give it away.

This is really neat. what a great thing to bring back for this class. It was great to hear from the perspective of someone who is teaching for the first time. I wish you had kept a journal your following semesters!

That sounds like an incredible experience! I’d love to hear more about it!

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Hahaha! Scientific televangelists is a hilarious thought!

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I believe that we, as educators, have to spark the interest in children. There could be many ways of doing that. One that is particularly popular in literature is the use of problem-based learning activity before project works (for example, http://tinyurl.com/doingWithUnderstanding). I feel that without interest, learning may not be entirely fruitful. I do not remember, and certainly cannot make use of, the things that I had learnt in classes where I was not interested. Learning should help learners get a better sense of the world – either by providing learners with the opportunities to use their knowledge in a way they find meaningful or use it for future (further) learning. Both of these require learners to be interested in the topic/content.

As you might have felt reading the post, I actually do not have a practical answer to solving the problem that you mention. I do have an ideal situation in mind where we let students negotiate learning goals, content coverage, and assessment criteria with the instructor. This is an ideal case and may not be practical (revolution, anyone?). Altschool is a good example (https://www.altschool.com/education#our-approach) but I do not know how good the implementation is. Because of the idea of “these are topics that all science undergraduates should know in the four years”, we have created situations where students do not know even the few topics which they could have mastered. In the future, I do see the possibility of a personalized, adaptive learning experience for all students.

What Jyotsana said! I still get butterflies and I’ve been doing this for a LONG time. And yes, the classroom is a collaborative endeavor. Yours will definitely defy gravity!

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I find the concept of a recitation session fascinating. I had to go back and re-look what subject area you are in. I wonder, what is the intent of a recitation session in fluid mechanics? I also wonder if the name of such a session lends itself to a one way transfer of information or performance.

I think we have a similar teaching style and philosophy. I believe the single most important thing I can do as a teaching is inspire students to take ownership of their own learning and nurture their confidence to do so. I also do not like to just give students the correct information. I think its a far more valuable experience for them to discover something for themselves by working together and relying on me to help them formulate good questions when they get stuck.