Questions tagged [teaching]
This tag is related to the role and duties of a teacher, an academic instructor, tutor or a teaching assistant.
1,065
questions
0
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4answers
258 views
How does the teaching of biology differ from teaching physics? [closed]
Respected teachers, I have this question for quite some time and I need your ideas.
When we teach physics we can have a lot of brainstorming sessions and adopt the "scientific method" ( ...
0
votes
1answer
50 views
What designation should be assigned to a teacher's trainer who is also teaching in the same school? [closed]
I joined as a teacher's trainer in school for a short cntractual period. But gradually I started getting involved in the following:
1- Helping teachers in developing lesson plans
2- Providing ...
50
votes
11answers
7k views
How do professors and lecturers learn to teach?
I am a PhD student in the field of education and I enjoy reading SE questions to stimulate my mind when I need a break. I find academia to be one of my most frequently visited sites.
When reading ...
2
votes
2answers
152 views
How can I encourage good note-taking?
Often, college students do not always know what kinds of notes they should be taking.
How can I encourage students to take notes more efficiently and more effectively?
In one of my lecture-style ...
-1
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1answer
110 views
Teaching stream faculty postion
I recently applied for a tenure track teaching stream position which requires to teach standard math courses but also math courses for non-science, non-math majors. It's been one month since I applied ...
1
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4answers
358 views
How bad is making mistakes in the lecture slides?
I am giving a lecture in IT (for the first time) to more than 100 students. I refused to use the slides of the previous lecturer and I wanted to make my owns. They take me a lot of effort and I ...
1
vote
1answer
103 views
Web service to subdivide projects among students [closed]
For a course I teach, I would like to assign projects to students, so that each student chooses a different project among a list of alternatives.
It seems to me that one of the simplest ways to ...
43
votes
2answers
10k views
My professor changed a take-home test to an in-class test with no notice. Can I fight the grade?
I’m a college student. For a recent test, the professor originally said that the test was extremely difficult and long and therefore they were going to send us a picture of the exam an hour and a half ...
8
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1answer
1k views
What's a realistic workload per blackboard hour for teachers during the semester?
There is this excellent thread about teaching workloads across the world on Academia SE: Is 100 hours per year of teaching a heavy load for a lecturer?
I would now like to continue this discussion ...
3
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2answers
249 views
How is student feedback dealt with for poorly teaching faculty?
I teach at a teaching university. Research is not a priority. I'm new to the university and am teaching full-time. I believe I've developed a rapport with the current cohort of senior students.
...
7
votes
1answer
483 views
Is it typical to not list class instructors during undergraduate enrollment?
Enrollment for undergraduate students has just started at my university. Perusing the classes for my department though, only a couple of the dozens of classes being offered have an instructor ...
0
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3answers
105 views
New overlapping courses [closed]
As departments grow, they tend to hire people in the same area of research. And different people from different communities call things differently. For example, people in Statistics may call it "...
1
vote
1answer
176 views
How to learn about a department's culture?
I recently interviewed for a teaching position, but I have concerns about the department's culture. First, I learned that the department adopted a different hiring process for me. They made me jump ...
1
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1answer
129 views
Is it disadvantageous to have recommendation letters from postdoctoral fellows rather than professors? [duplicate]
I am a math PhD student in a US university and also a teaching assistant. This fall I’m expecting to apply for jobs. I’m looking for math lecturer/instructor jobs.
However, when I worked as a ...
4
votes
1answer
183 views
Is it common to have peer teaching evaluation for tenured/tenure-track faculty every year?
Is it common for US public universities to enforce peer teaching evaluations (have professors sit in each others' classes) for tenured faculty member every year? What about requiring evaluation twice ...
10
votes
2answers
375 views
My department promised graduate students a particular teaching load, but has found a loophole to increase it
I am a second year STEM PhD student at a large R1 public university in the United States. When I chose to come to this program, the department told me that I would have a teaching load of 3 classes ...
2
votes
2answers
129 views
Should I mention teaching experience in my cover letter?
I am applying for tenure-track positions in R1 (say, top 50) universities in Computer Science in the US.
When writing the cover letter, should I mention teaching experience and competence?
Or should ...
-3
votes
1answer
146 views
What are good methods for clarifying student uncertainty? [closed]
A primary task of professors is communication with their students.
Communicating typically involves lecturing, clarifying uncertainties, and receiving feedback. Lecturing happens at fixed times, but ...
3
votes
1answer
158 views
Will American high schools recognize a foreign MA? [closed]
I'm an American who's getting a Master's degree abroad. It's my understanding that an MA leads to an automatic pay raise in public schools, but I'm not sure if my two-year foreign MA would count. To ...
6
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4answers
1k views
What are typical examples of “scholarly work”?
I am looking into applying to a teaching position at a liberal-arts institution. The application page asks for an example of scholarly work. What are good examples of scholarly work? For the sciences, ...
4
votes
2answers
223 views
How important is teaching experience?
I am a PhD student in economics in the UK. Recently, I have been hearing how important teaching experience is to find a job in academia as a lecturer. One needs to submit teaching statements and may ...
3
votes
2answers
64 views
Re-entering teaching after working in the industry (in Europe)
I have finished my PhD a while ago and have since worked at the university as lecturer. Now the contract is coming to an end and I am weighing two options: (1) Teach at the university (I am much more ...
3
votes
1answer
505 views
Professor doesn't respond to notice of inability to take a test in his class
I currently have a concussion that has hindered my ability to do work or study. I went to the doctor and got it diagnosed (got a medical note and all that). I have a midterm tomorrow, and I emailed my ...
3
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4answers
345 views
Teaching advanced courses in a specialized area of math [closed]
Today mathematics (and probably also other sciences) became very specialized: every researcher works in their own narrow field which usually hardly interacts with fields of other colleagues, even on ...
3
votes
2answers
97 views
Self studied courses during my PhD. How to fill the relevant courses section in the CV?
My PhD thesis is on numerical modeling using finite element methods and non-linear continuum mechanics. My university did not offer these courses during the first two years of my PhD. So, I had to ...
23
votes
5answers
7k views
What should I consider when deciding whether to delay an exam?
I believe I may have scheduled an exam too early, and I am considering delaying it by a day or two. The material that I would cover fits in fairly well with the earlier material, and not as well with ...
1
vote
1answer
258 views
Studying recreational math professionally?
Are there professors who specialize in recreational types of math problems, or is my best bet to be a high school teacher and do recreational math in my free time?
3
votes
4answers
266 views
Taking vacations days in the middle of a semester [closed]
Context: I am an assistant professor at a small institution in the US.
Question: My significant other has the opportunity through work to travel to an exotic location over a long weekend in February, ...
33
votes
6answers
8k views
Is it safe for a student to give negative feedback in student evaluations? [closed]
It's common for students to be asked for their evaluations of a teacher/course at the end of the semester. Is it safe for the student to give negative feedback? After all, even if the lecturer will ...
4
votes
5answers
382 views
Should I admit students who are waitlisted for my class?
As an instructor at a large university, you will sooner or later have a waitlist for your class. Is it better (for you) to admit those students into your class or do you better keep the enrollment ...
0
votes
1answer
82 views
Infusing Graduate Studies with High Quality video content [closed]
Recently there has been a revolution in graphics technologies, which can aid in explaining (math and other) concepts visually to people (for example, the high quality content produced by 3Blue1Brown ...
72
votes
5answers
8k views
Handling Disruptive Student on the Autism Spectrum
I have a student who's on the autistic spectrum. He exhibits several disruptive behaviors in class, such as
Inability to moderate his volume/interjections: he will shout out questions and comments ...
6
votes
3answers
293 views
I had performed mediocre in my core subjects during my PhD, is it justified for me to think about a future in academia?
I am a final year PhD in mechanical engineering. I did average/below average in my core courses, during my undergraduate, and PhD coursework. My research area involves using finite element and volume ...
1
vote
2answers
253 views
Teaching Fellow vs. Postdoc
I would like to continue with my academic path but, the last year, I've been conducting mainly research activity with no teaching assignments. I would like to build up my portfolio to gain some ...
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1answer
184 views
Reasonable sanction [closed]
A lecturer with more than 10 years of experience and proven record of excellence in both teaching and academic service failed to complete his teaching self-assessment. In general, the teaching ...
3
votes
4answers
182 views
Coming up with an activity to replace a quiz
I will be teaching my first Calculus I class this fall (USA) and 5 percent of the grading is discretionary. Other sections are doing three quizzes over the course of the semester, with each taking ...
33
votes
8answers
8k views
Is TA-ing worth the opportunity cost?
If you already have funding, is TA-ing (i.e. being a teaching assistant) worth the opportunity cost of doing more research?
What are the relevant considerations?
I've always heard that focusing on ...
2
votes
1answer
109 views
UK Higher Education Academic Teaching Qualification
I have come across a few questions similar to the following during academic job application process at UK HEIs. I think I understand and I am aware of the choices from 2 to 10. However, option 1 ...
5
votes
2answers
690 views
Fired from TA position without cause/notice, what to do next? [closed]
I am a post-doc in the USA and was a teaching assistant in the same university. During my TA appointment, I attended a one-week course outside the city. Prior to leaving, I got permission from the ...
6
votes
1answer
248 views
Is it better to lecture with a board or a document camera?
I will be teaching my first class this fall. The course will be an undergraduate engineering course, so there will be some derivations and other math.
I am trying to decide if I should present with a ...
58
votes
7answers
18k views
What do I do when a student working in my lab “ghosts” me?
I am in my first PhD year and have some teaching duties -- assisting my supervisor with his lectures and also advising students. At the beginning of the semester, a student started working on his ...
2
votes
2answers
114 views
Transition from university teaching career to curricular assessment type jobs?
I'm curious if anybody here has ever transitioned from a teaching-strong academic career to a curriculum assessment type job (in calculus, for example)? If so, what would you be able to say about that?...
8
votes
2answers
1k views
Conducting exams in which a computer (but no internet) is available
In my institution, we have various lab exams in which part of the exam is completing a programming task, and a computer is available to each student for this purpose.
There are there various ways to ...
1
vote
0answers
62 views
Attributing Teaching Material Under GPL
I teach a course where my teaching materials are a combination of 1: original material, 2: material from colleagues, and 3: material provided by the textbook. My colleagues have given me permission to ...
4
votes
2answers
355 views
What “soft-skills” does one need to succeed as a mathematician?
My question is about "soft-skills", i.e. knowing how to handle Latex, giving a speech or giving a lecture, or other knowledge that could be useful for a career in mathematics.
Skills that (all) ...
1
vote
1answer
125 views
Semi-academic job: techniques to apply
I am soon to complete a PhD and am quite interested in teaching roles. I have been doing some ad hoc teaching as a lecturer in my university, and quite enjoyed it. I apparently have done a pretty ...
30
votes
13answers
18k views
Why do some professors with PhDs leave their professorships to teach high school?
I can surmise that some of them mightn't have gotten tenure and needed to find another job, but wouldn't these former professors be bored teaching the same (relatively basal) material yearly?
Let me ...
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votes
5answers
325 views
Ethics of trying to trick/sabotage students into failure [closed]
Once in a while, I will hear stories (usually of the "friend of a friend" type) about some bold instructor who took some specific action in order to entrap or trick their students into poor academic (...
asked Jun 17 at 22:40
Columbia says Reinstate Monica
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2
votes
3answers
363 views
Can one acquire “tenure” through teaching or being something like a Research Associate at a university lab?
This question is specific to the United States.
Can one acquire something like "tenure" if either
(1) their primary / only responsibility is teaching undergraduate courses
and / or
(2) they work ...
12
votes
3answers
684 views
How can I make sure I (a white male teaching math) am sensitive to “underprivileged” students in my class?
I teach math classes and I was speaking with the assistant chair of my department about a student who claimed that I was rude and put my students down when lecturing. (I'm a Ph.D. student.) This ...
