• General Chemistry I CHEM 101

• Experimental General Chemistry I CHEM 103

“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” William Arthur Ward

My teaching philosophy is rooted in understanding the learning process and students’ needs by avoiding the rigidity of didactic instruction. I see the educator’s role as an initiator of students’ transformation from mere recipients to knowledge production contributors. Students must act from a stance that is informed, critical and reflective. To provide them with the necessary guidance while allowing them to build up their knowledge. In particular, I value providing information in an interactive format by advancing questions to which the students themselves respond. This allows them to strengthen the knowledge they acquire through the reflective process.

My approach to classroom dynamics is structured while also allowing for improvisation; in this, my goal is to foster a student’s independent thinking. I strive to guide students to think critically and solve problems independently. To achieve this goal, an approach that I have found personally gratifying is to impress upon students that learning is better facilitated by dialogue and open inquiry. This approach fosters an appreciation of one of the essential aspects of academia: effective communication. Dialogue and open inquiry transcend beyond any particular scientific discipline. Independence and comprehensive understanding are two attributes, I have found, that change the educator and student relationship significantly. In the research setting, this signifies a paradigm shift. Ideally, it occurs as a shift from “a thirst for knowledge” to a “thirst for discovery.” Therefore, successful education is far more complicated than transmitting information or presenting a list of facts. Primarily, it involves motivating the learning, clarifying the big picture, and helping students connect with the material personally. They must walk away, feeling what they have learned is useful and fascinating.

One of my long-term goals is to inspire a generation of aspiring scientists to appreciate the wonders of nature. Explaining interesting and sophisticated concepts in applied physics, chemistry, and materials to a group of curious students gives me a sense of achievement. When I see that my students have understood concepts and appreciated their beauty and significance for further scientific inquiry, I know my work has been worthwhile. Research has shown that enthusiasm and a keen interest in the subject matter are the traits most correlated with effective teaching. I convey my chemistry passion to my students by introducing them to additional exciting facts that complement the curriculum’s scope to broaden their perspectives.

During my years of teaching, I have developed a pedagogical tactic that places focus on providing students with a foundational understanding of the field. I utilize audio-visual materials to connect students’ perception of difficult abstract concepts to simple concrete ones that they can easily visualize. This approach significantly aids the students in easily assimilating difficult concepts and applying them. In my teaching, I emphasize the overarching idea behind each concept and revisit it often. Hence, I strive to continually gather feedback from my students to improve the course material and my teaching approaches. I consistently inquire about the student’s perceptions and suggestions about the course during class discussions and office hours. A deep understanding of science is achieved through imagination and creativity. Therefore, in our discussions, I help students develop an awareness of the human dimension in science by including anecdotes about past scientific discoveries to make the class more exciting and memorable.