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Sep. 2nd, 2006 10:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
scottahillI'm now in the full swing of the fall semester. I'm teaching two courses, one at SMU and one at Eastfield.
The class at SMU is junior-level electrodynamics, and it meets Tuesday and Thursday morning. I have five students, and we meet in this little seminar room, which is cozy, but is completely lacking in blackboard space: maybe you humanities-types don't need much board space, but it is hard to do physics in such a tiny space. I've actually taken the audacious step of requesting they give me another blackboard; I won't be surprised if they turn me down, but then again, maybe no one's ever tried before, eh?
The class is fun to teach, the students being more advanced, and closer to me both in skill and in interests. That being said, I do frequently catch them off-guard, by asking them a question and getting painful blank stares back. It can be a little frustrating; I'm probably so excited to be teaching actual physics majors that I could be overcompensating. :) We've had five classes so far, and surprise surprise, I've actually been able to plan my lectures a week or so ahead of time. For this class, I take sloppy notes on each chapter of the textbook, and then write clean notes from the sloppy notes. I think I can get a little scatter-brained by sitting in front of the computer for too long, so it's nice to have something work-related that doesn't involve the computer.
The other interesting thing about SMU is that they let me join their Faculty Club, which not only gives me reciprocal rights in other faculty clubs around the country (I'm not sure exactly what that means, but I might have to try that out next time I'm in Williamstown), but it lets me eat in their nice new all-you-can-eat dining hall for $5. If I gain weight by the end of the semester I will know the precise reason for it, but meanwhile it is fun to have the option again. (Bonus: the dining hall has wireless internet.)
Part 2:
My other class is at Eastfield, and its teaching astronomy; I just finished my first week. I've never taught astronomy, and haven't even taken the subject since 8th grade, so I have trepidations about the class. The class is amazingly small-- only 9 students-- for an Eastfield class (20 is more the norm). Teaching it seems rather fun, as I get to show lots of pretty pictures and explain things, and I actually do have some students who are generally interested in the subject (and one student who is particularly bright and engaging in class; having that one student who reacts to what you say really helps!) The big problem I have with the class is picturing it as a course with grades, rather than as a nice little lecture/discussion series. It's different from my typical physics classes, where it's obvious what to give them for homework, etc. I decided to not give them homework, but to give them weekly quizzes instead, along with a pair of midterms and a final. I have had difficulty keeping my preparations ahead of schedule for this class, mostly because I don't know what to expect with it, so I was up Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday night frantically putting together the next week's class. I didn't cover nearly as much as I expected on Friday, however, so I am already half prepared for Wednesday, and I'm going to try to finish that up this weekend.
Eastfield, as a community college, is very anal and rule-bound; there's a lot of talk about state and federal regulations that one doesn't hear anywhere else. I actually give my students two syllabi: the "official" syllabus which runs to 6 pages, and my "summary syllabus" which is 2 pages long and tells them just what they really need to know. At the pre-semester meeting, there was talk about teachers buying liability insurance in case something bad happens in the classroom (just what exactly, I don't know). I really appreciate having a school so close to me who seems so happy to hire me on a regular basis, but I certainly wouldn't want to work there for the long term!
The class at SMU is junior-level electrodynamics, and it meets Tuesday and Thursday morning. I have five students, and we meet in this little seminar room, which is cozy, but is completely lacking in blackboard space: maybe you humanities-types don't need much board space, but it is hard to do physics in such a tiny space. I've actually taken the audacious step of requesting they give me another blackboard; I won't be surprised if they turn me down, but then again, maybe no one's ever tried before, eh?
The class is fun to teach, the students being more advanced, and closer to me both in skill and in interests. That being said, I do frequently catch them off-guard, by asking them a question and getting painful blank stares back. It can be a little frustrating; I'm probably so excited to be teaching actual physics majors that I could be overcompensating. :) We've had five classes so far, and surprise surprise, I've actually been able to plan my lectures a week or so ahead of time. For this class, I take sloppy notes on each chapter of the textbook, and then write clean notes from the sloppy notes. I think I can get a little scatter-brained by sitting in front of the computer for too long, so it's nice to have something work-related that doesn't involve the computer.
The other interesting thing about SMU is that they let me join their Faculty Club, which not only gives me reciprocal rights in other faculty clubs around the country (I'm not sure exactly what that means, but I might have to try that out next time I'm in Williamstown), but it lets me eat in their nice new all-you-can-eat dining hall for $5. If I gain weight by the end of the semester I will know the precise reason for it, but meanwhile it is fun to have the option again. (Bonus: the dining hall has wireless internet.)
Part 2:
My other class is at Eastfield, and its teaching astronomy; I just finished my first week. I've never taught astronomy, and haven't even taken the subject since 8th grade, so I have trepidations about the class. The class is amazingly small-- only 9 students-- for an Eastfield class (20 is more the norm). Teaching it seems rather fun, as I get to show lots of pretty pictures and explain things, and I actually do have some students who are generally interested in the subject (and one student who is particularly bright and engaging in class; having that one student who reacts to what you say really helps!) The big problem I have with the class is picturing it as a course with grades, rather than as a nice little lecture/discussion series. It's different from my typical physics classes, where it's obvious what to give them for homework, etc. I decided to not give them homework, but to give them weekly quizzes instead, along with a pair of midterms and a final. I have had difficulty keeping my preparations ahead of schedule for this class, mostly because I don't know what to expect with it, so I was up Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday night frantically putting together the next week's class. I didn't cover nearly as much as I expected on Friday, however, so I am already half prepared for Wednesday, and I'm going to try to finish that up this weekend.
Eastfield, as a community college, is very anal and rule-bound; there's a lot of talk about state and federal regulations that one doesn't hear anywhere else. I actually give my students two syllabi: the "official" syllabus which runs to 6 pages, and my "summary syllabus" which is 2 pages long and tells them just what they really need to know. At the pre-semester meeting, there was talk about teachers buying liability insurance in case something bad happens in the classroom (just what exactly, I don't know). I really appreciate having a school so close to me who seems so happy to hire me on a regular basis, but I certainly wouldn't want to work there for the long term!
