Teaching
Philosophy
Dr. Bob, Mechanical Engineering
My teaching philosophy is a balance of challenging students, motivating them to learn for themselves, providing personal contact and accessibility, and presenting real-world engineering experiences.
· In all of my required courses there are weekly homework assignments, weekly quizzes, a capstone term project, midterm exam and final exam. This is to motivate students to work hard throughout the quarter.
· In all of my elective courses there are no exams or quizzes. Instead, the entire grade is based on weekly mini-projects and a final capstone project. In addition to the weekly mini-project, there is always a special mini-project assignment involving a specific skill or exploring the literature.
· In all of my courses I prepare course notes and make them available to students via the Internet. This is a lot of work, but well worth it to my students and me. Students are freed to think and interact in class instead of focusing on scribbling notes. The notes lack key figures, equations, and concepts, as an attendance incentive.
· In all of my courses written and oral technical communication is required. A one-page memo is required as the cover sheet for each written assignment (homework and capstone project). Oral presentation to the class is required for the capstone term project.
· The capstone term projects are crucial to synthesize all material presented in class. Teams of two students choose their own engineering system from the real world for the term project. All student teams perform the same analyses and designs for their specific system, based on the course. Working models are required to demonstrate their results. A significant written technical report is required. Students are encouraged to be the teacher, presenting orally to the class to emphasize a wide variety of real-world engineering systems not presented in lecture.
· I provide timely feedback for all student assignments. All quizzes and homeworks are graded and returned after the weekend; all exams and mini-projects are graded, returned, and presented in class within two days. There is a box outside my office door for each class, giving keys to all assignments and quizzes.
· I include real-world examples and active learning strategies in all courses.
· I learn each student’s name and use it in and outside of class. In response, my students all call me ‘Dr. Bob’. I take an active interest in my students’ lives, welfare, and activities.
· I am dedicated to advising students since it is so important to their progress and life after college. I provide student recommendations every quarter for jobs, grad school, scholarships, etc.
· I am available to all students in office hours and beyond. I make it clear to all of my students that I have an open-door policy.
· I challenge students to want to learn, striving to make it fun and pertinent to the real world. I try to emphasize the need for life-long learning beyond their college experience.
· Industry-standard computer software simulation assignments are given to augment class lectures, homework, mini-projects, and capstone term projects in all courses.
· I strive to be fair, honest, and open in all matters relating to my courses and students. I believe in clear and open communication.
· I attempt to strike a balance between being too demanding and too easy. I believe in hard, daily regular work for learning, but I acknowledge that my students have other courses and commitments that require their time.
· I encourage questions at all times. As all of my students know, my mantra at the beginning, middle, and end of every class period is “Any Questions?”. I answer all questions ASAP, immediately if possible, or by the next class period if I have to go find the answer. I love it when students challenge me so that I have to keep learning. I also love it when students can teach the class new information from their co-op or other experiences.
