Passing the Students' Test: Simple Techniques for Becoming a Good Engineering or Science Teacher

Many college teachers of engineering or science enter their profession with inadequate training on how to be an effective teacher. When faced with intense pressure to develop their research programs, many faculty members have little time to devote to developing their teaching skills. These teachers often struggle to teach the course material to their students. The students' educations suffer, and the students will frequently shift their studies out of engineering or science to unrelated disciplines.While not everyone is going to become a great teacher, there are many simple practices that every teacher can undertake to improve without expending an excessive amount of time. Implementation of these techniques will likely transform a struggling teacher into a good engineering or science teacher. Such a teacher will connect with and gain the respect of the students, and entice the students to want to learn. By keeping the students interested in the course, the teacher has the opportunity to educate the students. This is a hallmark of being a good teacher.Many of the teachers who struggle to be good teachers lack some of the fundamental skills or practices which most good teachers consider routine and which are expected of the teacher by the students. This book concentrates on explaining these practices. It is designed to be used by those who are either already struggling teachers of engineering or science in college and by those who are looking towards becoming a engineering or science faculty member. Most of the practices described are designed to require only a small amount of time from the teacher.A feature of this book is that many of the actions which are seen as faults by the students are illustrated by examples. These examples are analyzed, and an alternative scenario is presented reflecting the practice being addressed. Through these scenarios, teachers should gain a greater insight into how their current practices are perceived by the students.

Dr. John Reisel is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM). He began teaching there in 1994. He has received the UWM Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award, the UWM College of Engineering and Applied Science Outstanding Teaching Award, and the SAE Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award. He has authored many papers on engineering education, and received a Best Paper Award from the ASEE New Educators Division. In addition to his educational work, he has performed a significant amount of research in various combustion fields and related energy disciplines. Dr. Reisel is married to his wife Jennifer, and has two children, Theresa and Thomas.