Some people call me Andres. But I have tried multiple ways, and this one is working out well! haha Now, for the papers I am thinking how to do it, Guerra, MA!

I think nervousness in itself makes people nervous when talking about it. It just isn’t a very comfortable topic. It requires vulnerability to tell someone else what makes you nervous, what happens when you are nervous, and what you have to do in order to rid yourself of some of this nervousness (Fowler article). Ok I’ll start… haha! I always get nervous before teaching or giving a presentation, sometimes more than others. When I get nervous, my heart starts to beat quickly and my mouth gets dry. I have to take deep breaths both before and while I’m in front of a crowd. I also try to have a water bottle on hand so that my dry mouth doesn’t lead to a coughing fit. There you go… I did it! However uncomfortable it may be, I do think the physical aspects of teaching should be talked about openly. I believe that the more we talk about it, the more we’re able to solve the issues associated with them rather than to hide them.

Nice post. I like the analogy. We need to develop our secret sauce, but also need to adjust the toppings a bit for each class, as every student’s taste is a bit different. The problem is developing this sauce is easier said than done. I wonder how much of a brilliant teacher’s brilliance is developed, and how much is raw talent. Did VT’s most famous prof, Dr. Boyer, train to be the teacher he is, or is it natural? At any rate, your post is evidence that you’re on the right track. And now I want pizza…

Heh. There are a lot of things in American culture that you could apply that formula to: American XXX = original XXX + Sugar^2

Thanks man, I am wondering though, why together? I mean why not simply Miguel Andres? I guess to completely remove the possibility of someone calling you just Miguel or just Andres?… there could be a setback and people think that is altogether… Does anyone call you Andres?

Excellent points. It should work wonderfully for motivated students at top universities and graduate students. I wonder however, how it would work for undergraduates. You say “students are expected to be equally prepared and respectful”, but I have heard from friends teaching freshmen courses that many of the students are nothing close to it. It seems to be a recent phenomenon, because I do not remember disrespectful students when I was a freshman. Nevertheless, my friends claim they have even been yelled at by undergraduates upset by their grades. I’d love to know how to deal with these students, because the ones who are eager to learn are easy to teach.

Thanks for your post. Its been a thought-provoking read.

In your consideration of pairing students up to study and work together, have you considered the free rider problem (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-rider_problem) in how you assess them / assign grades?

I’ve found that when students are asked to work in groups, the work typically falls unfairly on the student who has a higher attachment to their grade.

So, when are we having some homemade pizza? It is kind of interesting how some of us went to the analogy, relationship with something different to describe what teaching is/needs… and I am sure there are plenty of other examples… Seconding Ethan, the lab GTA experience is definitely valuable, and although it might not come with all the responsibilities of teaching a “lecture” section, the nervousness, the respect, the engagement, the passion, all plays a role there as well

Thanks for your response. I think “proven”teaching techniques are only effective with particular messenger (instructor) and particular audiences. I don’t think the same teaching techniques (effective) can apply for all instructors and all audiences.

Thank you for your response! I think that every person has a natural way of communicating, and particular ways to interact with different groups (1on1 student, to 10 students, to 50 students, to authorities, to friends, to in-laws, etc). So yes, I think ti is about adapting you natural ways of interacting with the personality of the class or audience you are interacting with. And in this part is when it gets very useful all those strategies for effective teaching! ?