Teaching Definition and 372 Threads

I am an undergraduate physics major who just finished her sophomore year of physics and is currently at a research REU. I found that I had a lot of trouble studying by myself during my past year of school : conversations I had in office hours with my professors and exercises we did during class...

Hello all, I'm a Senior in undergrad physics. I want to teach my sister physics as well as prepare for the GRE this summer. What are solid introductions both mathematically and conceptually concise? I am thinking of Physics: Concepts and Connections (5th Edition) by Art Hobson before I...

Greetings all, I am posting here for the first time and this is one of my first ever forum posts so if i have posted this in the wrong section i apologize and am open to constructive criticism so that i may direct future questions and such more accurately :) I am a 22 year old Australian...

Hello PF! I just finished my freshman year at my local CC majoring in physics. I did not chose to major in physics to become a theoretical physicist, esteemed professor, or the next Einstein. I chose to major in physics because I want to teach kids about science and the universe around us...

Hello everyone, I am currently using khan academy to teach my self trig and refreshing my memory on some algebra things I have forgot since I haven't taken a math course in 3 years. (algebra 2 was the last course). I have almost finished all the practice on khan with trig and am now ready for...

Hello everyone! A little background on myself: I'm currently attending my local CC majoring in physics (gave engineering a one semester try, wasn't my cup of tea). Haha. Teaching is my family business, as my dad, sister, aunt, two cousins, and great aunt are all teachers and my mom is the...

The French physicist http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Pierre_Maurice_Marie_Duhem.aspx#1 wrote:The legitimate, sure and fruitful method of preparing a student to receive a physical hypothesis is the historical method. To retrace the transformations through which the empirical matter accrued...

I've recently posted here on PF about engineering and resolved my issue. I've also been recently trying to truly ignite my passion for what I want to do for the rest of my life. At the moment, I'm on track to pursue a degree in Engineering (civil or mechanical, from what I hear the Statics...

Can someone give me a general sort of outline of what I should teach myself and in what order? or supply me a link that has a neat pdf?

I hear horror stories about the inability to find a tenure track position and that sort of thing. What I would like to know is whether teaching is a viable option. Nevermind tenure track research stuff, I want to a actually teach. I'm certain that I will learn whether this is truly my desire...

hi: teachers I have taught physics since 15 years and I found that the best way to teach physics is using multimedia such as flashes, virtual labs and simulation all these ways help teacher to approach concepts to students but it is important to know when and how we use it in period . I suggest...

I am a teacher in a school my students has some algebra problems like which comes first multiplication addition...etc and they got problems in fractions also, so i am thinking to make a review with much problems to solve what i need is some directions or if there is a website with different...

(sorry if this is in the wrong section) I teach a ninth grade class at a public high school and had a student ask me a question about fractals. We were reviewing complex numbers in Algebra 2 when she asked me how to write the equation of a fractal. How would I explain this or go about teaching...

Hi, I'm teaching IGCSE/IB Mathematics here in Egypt for a few years for middle/high students (BSC in Mathematics from the Faculty of Science - Mathematics section) but recently I started getting "financially" bored from teaching in schools and dealing with teens and I want to take it a step...

Are there any research careers in mathematics that don't involve teaching?

Hello everyone, I love reading the posts on PF. I enjoy hearing the experiences and thoughts from engineers, scientists, hobbyists, etc. who love science. I have a question regarding academia: does anyone know how easy or difficult it is to become a professor in a department outside of...

Hi, How do teaching assignments work for professors? I want to be a physics professor one day, and I would love to teach QM, electromagnetism, stat. mech, etc...but I am not sure how this works. I have seen teaching records for some profs. and it seems like some have literally taught all of...

How would you go about teaching relativity to someone who refuses to take anything on faith or argument from authority? That is, to someone to whom you must actually prove experimentally each postulate or aspect of the theory? This hypothetical student is interested in learning. They just don't...

I am an undergrad who wants to teach high school physics in the US (most likely public school). I am seeking some advice about a masters degree. I could either pursue a masters degree in education or in physics. The M.ed would probably include student teaching. The M.sc would probably require...

From elementary to high school I've had teachers who've droned on and on trying to explain minute details about the concepts they're teaching. I've almost always found it more difficult to follow the teacher's train of thought than to just learn the concept myself, so I always just read the...

there was a post on www.reddit.com/r/science a couple of days ago that involved someone bitching about dealing with foreign grad students teaching all of their classes wherein someone commented something along the lines of "you should have gone to a private teaching college instead of a research...

So if I wanted to change my career from professional engineer to community college teacher, would a Ph.D in engineering be helpful or over qualify me? I have a bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering, a M.S. in ME with emphasis on controls and dynamics, and about 2 years of professional...

I'm not really a big fan of computers but I understand there importance to physics. My school offers computer programming classes for engineering and science majors but I don't want a extra formal class that isn't required. Do you think it would be a good idea to self learn all of the programming?

I'm going into my second year of applied math and engineering. My problem is that my degree requirements do not allow me to take any courses on quantum mechanics. Therefore, I am thinking about teaching myself from a textbook or something of that sort. I was wondering if someone could give...

50 Fun Things for Professors to Do on the First Day of Class 1. Wear a hood with one eyehole. Periodically make strange gurgling noises. 2. After confirming everyone's names on the roll, thank the class for attending "Advanced Astrodynamics 690" and mention that yesterday was the...

So I've been contacted by a Community college I was hoping to get a small job teaching a 6 hour/week course for some extra money. The course starts monday the 15th but the interview won't take place until the week classes start! Has anyone ever heard of this? My contact said that I will...

When I self-teach myself mathematics or physics for that case, I like to run through every single problem in the chapter. The outcome... teriible terrible pace... Is this necessarily a bad thing or a good thing? How do you guys study mathematics? In need of advice. Thank you.

I am an international graduate student studying in U.S.. I am pretty not sure whether or not it is easy to find job in American university/college (gaining a teaching position) after graduation. I come from China, P.R., and now a physics graduate student in U.S.. I still have many years left...

Hi, A question for all of the college/university teachers out there: Do good, full-time teaching positions for someone with only a Master's exist at the college level? If so, how rare/difficult to obtain are such positions? Does one have to be willing to relocate often? I currently hold BS...

How effective is online learning?

And why are the partitions not equal to one value? Why x1, x2, ... , xk, ... , xn-1, xn ? And why |the norm| -> 0 ? I was just curious if there is some specific logic behind it or if it is just there to discuss things in general. Thanks a lot. P.S.: Norm is the partition having the...

I'm looking for a teaching job (physics and/or math) at the college or university level, and I was wondering of the pros and cons between teaching at a 2-year school vs. a 4-year school. I'd appreciate any insights people have to offer based on their experiences.

I have two questions for the most part. I'm getting really close to the point where I will be taking the classes that really matter for my physics BS, and I have started thinking about what specifically I would like to major in, or focus on. I really like physics, and mathematics, probably...

Hi all, Over the summer, I am going to be doing some research with EEG. My professor suggested I could do some signal processing of the data using markov chains. I'm not familiar with markov chains, but I think the prof intends to teach me himself. I'd still like to get some background...

So I currently teach a precalc class and new this year we are required to teach conic section. We cover parabolas, circles, ellipses, and hyperbolas. Since I haven't taught this before, I was wondering if anyone has suggestions on how to teach it? The book we use has a bunch of formulas, but...

I'm currently a junior in college (in physics) but for the past half-year, I have struggled between staying in physics or switching to education to become a teacher instead (not necessarily in science, either, just elementary). My issue is... I'm not the best at physics but I enjoy it. I've...

Hello everyone! Alright, my current high school math class is IB Higher Level Mathematics. It's a two year long course. During the first year we have focused primarily on Advanced Algebra, Trigonometry, and we are about to start Vectors. Year 2 consists of Calculus I, Statistics, and then...

I'm thinking of teaching myself some topics in maths and physics for fun over the summer. However, I've found that I usually need a teacher/lecturer to explain some concepts to me when the books go all sketchy in those areas. I need this especially when I can't see where I've gone wrong in my...

Hey there! My name is Luke and I got my bachelors in BS Physics last year (along with a math minor). I am enrolled in grad school but I'm starting to feel it might not be for me. So I'm trying to think of career alternatives. What sounds very interesting and rewarding is becoming a high...

http://video.foxnews.com/v/4547418/six-year-old-forced-into-psych-ward-by-school It's not the kid who should be committed. Is the so called adults, the do gooders, which are an infestation to our society.

I've decided I really like math, but I'm too realistic to expect to make a living off of it alone. Are there any jobs for people who love to think, and quickly tire of calculation-based/statistics-like math. I've considered the many engineering fields, but I'm guessing most of them would top...

My friend is taking linear algebra this semester, and math is definitely not one of her passions. She was nervous about taking it, but ended up doing it because I got an A+ in the course last semester and said I would help her with anything she's having trouble with. Unfortunately I'm having a...

Hi all. I could use some advice on how to pursue my goals. I would like to become a high school Math Teacher. My background is a little unique. I am 32 years old have already completed a degree in Political Science in 2002. Currently I am taking the Math courses necessary to get me Teaching...

Hello, I have a general interest in teaching myself topology to build up to moving onto Representation theory. I have chosen M.A. Armstrongs's book "Basic Topology" as my start. My Question... where would you all recommend I go from there. I took top in undergrad and that was the book...

I don't know if this is the right subforum to put this in, but it seemed like the best. Some background: I'm 14, in 9th grade, and go to a good public school. About 5 months ago, for whatever reason, I really got into physics and math, but mostly physics. I read Brian Greene's Fabric of the...

I seem to get mixed messages when it comes to the requirements one needs to teach at a college. I'm not talking about a research position at university. Like, at the smaller private colleges or something. I've heard that all you need to become a professor at such an institution is usually a...

I'm in my first year at junior college now, planning on transferring elsewhere. I'm pretty sure that I'd like to teach high school (either physics or math). My motivation for this is that good teachers are rare, good physics/math teachers are even rarer (and therefore more valuable?). I'm an...

I have to teach Tires to my class and I want to do something innovative and new that will tie into Physics. Please help and any ideas you have that I could use would be greatly appreciated

Do you think that they are better at teaching the course or worse at teaching the course, as compared to newer professors who might have taught the course for only a couple of times? Obviously, I realize that there is no clear-cut relationship. *But*, there are certainly patterns to look for...

By all techinical standards, I am not required to take Differential Equations. I am currently a Physics major with a 2nd major in Mathematics Education. I want to take DE before I start any of my upper level Physics courses next fall since 2 of my academic advisors (one for Physics, one for...