Teaching

In the essay “Science, Art, and Play,” Erwin Schrödinger, a physicist and a Nobel laureate best known for his role in the development of quantum mechanics, presents a view of scientific inquiry and scholarly activity in general as play. He reflects on the purpose of science and the role of science educators,

… we are compelled to see the chief and lofty aim of science to-day, as in every other age, in the fact that it enhances the general joy of living. It is the duty of a teacher of science to impart to his listeners knowledge which will prove useful in their professions; but it should also be his intense desire to do it in such a way as to cause them pleasure.

Schrödinger, E. (1957) Science, Theory, and Man. New York: Dover Publications.

While Schrödinger was speaking from a traditional paradigm in which knowledge is passed directly from a teacher to a student by means of lecturing, his characterization of science as play provides an apt metaphorical framework for the discussion of more modern approaches to teaching. Our job as educators is to show the students how to play, whether by modeling the scientific inquiry in classroom activities or engaging them in research projects. To this end, we should design courses built on goal-oriented, project-based activities through which students can explore on their own under the guidance of an instructor. When students are engaged in activities in which there is something at stake, they more quickly absorb and integrate new information into their pre-existing body of knowledge, and become better problem solvers. A good educator facilitates intellectually challenging experiences and provides opportunities for students to develop their communication and collaboration skills. Just as importantly, we have a task of breaking down our students’ assumptions about who can or should or is capable of partaking in the scholarly play.

The practical challenge for me has been finding the right balance between imparting factual knowledge and allowing for independent inquiry, which depends on the type of the course. In my 100-level courses I focus more on the importance of asking creative questions, the value of making mistakes and learning from them, and the experience of joy of investigation. I believe this is particularly important for attracting minority students who may think they are not “cut out” for science. In my 200- and 300-level courses, I focus more on building the body of knowledge necessary for addressing more advanced problems, strengthening students’ confidence in their ability to tackle these problems, and sharpening their skills for independent inquiry.

My experiences in the classroom have strengthened my belief that doing independent, creative, project-based work is the best way for students to maintain an interest in the material and master it.

COURSES

Hampshire College (2016-Present)

NS-0338, Thermal Physics
NS-270, Transdisciplinary Approaches to Understanding Scientific Understanding
NS-0274, Linear Algebra
NS/HACU-0243, On What There Is: Physics and Metaphysics
(co-taught with Christoph Cox)      
NS-0213, Symmetries of Nature: An Introduction to Group Theory    
NS-0208, Science in a Cultural Context
NS-0206, Modern Physics
NS-0205, Physics II: Fundamentals of Electricity and Magnetism with Lab
NS-0204, Physics I: Classical and Quantum Mechanics with Lab
NS-0183/383, Basic Physics: Quantum Mechanics for the Myriad
NS-125/325, Energy      
NS-117, Div I Seminar: Energy and its Manifestations
NS-0113, Physics of Color
NS-0103, The Science of Space and Time

Wellesley College (2012-2016)
Physics 101, Einstein’s Century: Physics in the Last 100 Years            
Physics 104, Fundamentals of Mechanics, Lecture & Lab           
Physics 106, Fundamentals of Electricity, Magnetism, & Optics, Lecture & Lab   
Physics 108, Principles and Applications of Electricity, Magnetism, & Optics                        Lab        
Physics 250H, Independent Study in General Relativity                        
Physics 302, Quantum Mechanics   

Boston University (2009-2012)
WR100, Writing Seminar, Space and Time: Common Sense & Beyond
WR150, Writing and Research Seminar         

SENIOR PROJECT ADVISING

Committee Chair

  • Timothy Matthias, Heat Engine Behavior of Charged and Spinning Black Holes in de Sitter Space. Hampshire College, 2022.
  • Scout Chaplin-Loebell, Photography From Scratch. Hampshire College, 2022.
  • Daniel Schmidt, Structures of water: Creative non-fiction investigations of economics, biology and language. Hampshire College, 2022.
  • Isabel Rowland, Modern Alice: A Blog Addressing Common Misconceptions in Introductory Physics. Hampshire College, 2022.
  • Johari Rhett, The Effect of Environment on Star Formation Rates among Low Surface Brightness Galaxies. Hampshire College, 2021. (Co-Chaired with Jason Young).
  • Michael Garcia, Evolution of Autonomous Navigation Policies for Tensegrity Robots. Hampshire College, 2021. (Committee Member: Lee Spector).
  • Carlos Sevilla, Analog Quantum Simulation with Hyperbolic Optical Lattices. Hampshire College, 2020. (Work supervised by Prof. Arka Majumdar, UW)
  • Lucy Propper, Situating Science: In Search of a Just Production and Dissemination of Scientific Knowledge. Hampshire College, 2020. (Co-Chaired with Herb Bernstein).
  • Max Adams, Learning through Optical Interference on a Budget; Building a Mach-Zehnder Interferometer. Hampshire College, 2019.
  • Andy Cohn, Variability of Low Mass Stars. Hampshire College, 2019. (Co-Chaired with Jason Young).
  • Ariel Kane-Ersig, Teaching Physics. Hampshire College, 2019.

Committee Member

  • Rafael Boccuni-Godfrey, Exploring musical representations of algorithms by robotically interfacing with an electric guitar, Hampshire College, 2023
  • Madeline An, Story, 5+0ry, “Story?”: Blurring the Lines Between Author and Audience. Hampshire College 2022.
  • Tom Nicholson, Game Design, Development, and Programming. Hampshire College, 2022
  • Josef Doyle, Context and Quantification in Natural Language Discourse. Hampshire College, 2021.
  • Kunga Chonyi, Stress-induced catatonia: A case study. Hampshire College, 2021.
  • Sophia Cappello, An Examination of Emergency Relief Efforts made by The American Red Cross & International Medical Corp: Haiti 2010. Hampshire College, 2021.
  • Lyle Broughton, 50 Fundamental Chain Reaction Mechanisms. Hampshire College, 2021.
  • Amy Lowe, The Pathophysiology of Migraine: Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Peptide and P815 Cells. Hampshire College, 2021.
  • Elaine Robinson, Molecular Characterization of Pluripotent Stem Cells: When Science is Personal. Hampshire College, 2020.
  • Lucas May, Out of the Earth, into the Fire. Hampshire College, 2020. (Pottery and Printmaking)
  • Alison Lima, How 2020 State Laws Can Affect Abortion Access. Hampshire College, 2020.
  • Christian Lee, Accessible Forest Management in New England. Hampshire College, 2020.
  • Jonathan Kay, Beatty Sequences, Sturmian Words, Subtraction Games, and Infinite Sums. Hampshire College, 2020.
  • Sarita Shera, TJ Tiger and the Quantum Mechanics. Hampshire College, 2019.
  • Andrew Davis, Food Neophobia and Disgust. Hampshire College, 2019.
  • Doma Ghale, Evaluating fairness and transparency in decision models for predicting recidivism. Hampshire College, 2018.
  • Jeremy Kirn, Topology and Logic. Hampshire College, 2017.
  • Victoria Delano, Neurocardiology, Biofield Physiology and the Pineal Gland; Understanding Energy Medicine. Hampshire College, 2017.

OUTREACH