Presentations

Memorization or understanding: Are we teaching the right thing?, at CETP-PA Summer Conference, Clarion University (Clarion, PA), Thursday, August 19, 2004:
talk_1084.pdf
Education is more than just transfer of information, yet that is what is mostly done in large introductory courses -- instructors present material (even though this material might be readily available in printed form) and for students the main purpose of lectures is to take down as many notes as they can. Few students have the ability, motivation, and discipline to synthesize all the information delivered to them. Yet synthesis is perhaps the most important -- and most elusive -- aspect of education. I will show how shifting the focus in lectures from delivering information to synthesizing... Read more about Memorization or understanding: Are we teaching the right thing?
An introduction to femtosecond laser techniques, at 2005 SPIE Photonics West Conference (San Jose, CA), Sunday, January 23, 2005:
talk_1091.pdf
General Course Description: This interactively taught half-day course provides basic knowledge of the measurements of and research with femtosecond laser pulses. Beginning with the basic principles of the interaction of light and matter, we'll discuss the interaction of intense short pulses with matter. Using worksheets we'll address a number of common conceptual misconceptions in an interactive and collaborative setting.
Benefits Learning outcomes:
This course will enable you to
• Explain the basis for the electronic and optical properties of...
Read more about An introduction to femtosecond laser techniques
Active Learning and Interactive Lectures, at Teaching and Learning Center Workshop, University of Nevada Las Vegas (Las Vegas, NV), Tuesday, December 6, 2005:
talk_1158.pdf
I thought I was a good teacher until I discovered my students were just memorizing information rather than learning to understand the material. Who was to blame? The students? The material? I will explain how I came to the agonizing conclusion that the culprit was neither of these. It was my teaching that caused students to fail! I will show how I have adjusted my approach to teaching and how it has improved my students' performance significantly.
SC 541: An Introduction to Femtosecond Laser Techniques, at Photonics West 2006 (San Jose, CA), Sunday, January 22, 2006:
talk_1189.pdf
General Course Description: This interactively taught half-day course provides basic knowledge of the measurements of and research with femtosecond laser pulses. Beginning with the basic principles of the interaction of light and matter, we'll discuss the interaction of intense short pulses with matter. Using worksheets we'll address a number of common conceptual misconceptions in an interactive and collaborative setting.
Benefits Learning outcomes:
This course will enable you to
• Explain the basis for the electronic and optical properties of...
Read more about SC 541: An Introduction to Femtosecond Laser Techniques
Confessions of a converted lecturer, at Science Division Pedagogy Workshop, Hamline University (St. Paul, MN), Friday, May 5, 2006:
talk_1206.pdf
I thought I was a good teacher until I discovered my students were just memorizing information rather than learning to understand the material. Who was to blame? The students? The material? I will explain how I came to the agonizing conclusion that the culprit was neither of these. It was my teaching that caused students to fail! I will show how I have adjusted my approach to teaching and how it has improved my students' performance significantly.
Learning Together Through Technology, at AAPT Summer Meeting (Syracuse, NY), Saturday, July 22, 2006
The LT3 software, a combination of the Harvard ILT and the Erskine BQ programs, is a free, open source, web-based program. Many instructors are excited by new interactive pedagogies like Just-In-Time-Teaching (JITT) or Peer Instruction. LT3 provides an easy way to implement these. Participants will have hands-on experience as they learn: to create and manage courses in the LT3 program; to set up JiTT reading assignments; to access and browse a unique pool of content material, including ConceptTests, physlets, reading assignments and homework problems; to facilitate this content for in-class... Read more about Learning Together Through Technology
SC 541: An Introduction to Femtosecond Laser Techniques, at Photonics West 2007 (San Jose, CA), Wednesday, January 24, 2007:
talk_1247.pdf
General Course Description: This interactively taught half-day course provides basic knowledge of the measurements of and research with femtosecond laser pulses. Beginning with the basic principles of the interaction of light and matter, we'll discuss the interaction of intense short pulses with matter. Using worksheets we'll address a number of common conceptual misconceptions in an interactive and collaborative setting.
Benefits Learning outcomes:
This course will enable you to
• Explain the basis for the electronic and optical properties of...
Read more about SC 541: An Introduction to Femtosecond Laser Techniques
Peer Instruction: Successes and challenges, at Math & Science Partnership of Greater Philadelphia, Bryn Mawr (Bryn Mawr, PA), Tuesday, April 17, 2007:
talk_1314.pdf
The basic goals of Peer Instruction are to encourage and make use of student interaction during lectures, while focusing students' attention on underlying concepts and techniques. The method has been assessed in many studies using standardized, diagnostic tests and shown to be considerably more effective than the conventional lecture approach to teaching. Peer Instruction is now used in a wide range of science and math courses at the college and secondary level. In this workshop, participants will learn about Peer Instruction, serve as the “class” in which Peer Instruction is demonstrated,... Read more about Peer Instruction: Successes and challenges
Peer Instruction, at 2007 Teaching and Learning Conference, University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN), Monday, April 23, 2007:
talk_1222.pdf
The basic goals of Peer Instruction are to encourage and make use of student interaction during lectures, while focusing students' attention on underlying concepts and techniques. The method has been assessed in many studies using standardized, diagnostic tests and shown to be considerably more effective than the conventional lecture approach to teaching. Peer Instruction is now used in a wide range of science and math courses at the college and secondary level. In this workshop, participants will learn about Peer Instruction, serve as the “class” in which Peer Instruction is demonstrated,... Read more about Peer Instruction
Workshop on Peer Instruction, at Education Workshop, University of Kentucky (Lexington, KY), Wednesday, October 24, 2007:
talk_1353.pdf
The basic goals of Peer Instruction are to encourage and make use of student interaction during lectures, while focusing students' attention on underlying concepts and techniques. The method has been assessed in many studies using standardized, diagnostic tests and shown to be considerably more effective than the conventional lecture approach to teaching. Peer Instruction is now used in a wide range of science and math courses at the college and secondary level. In this workshop, participants will learn about Peer Instruction, serve as the “class” in which Peer Instruction is demonstrated,... Read more about Workshop on Peer Instruction
Peer Instruction Workshop, at CEGEP John Abbott College (Montreal, Canada), Wednesday, January 16, 2008:
talk_1363.pdf
The basic goals of Peer Instruction are to encourage and make use of student interaction during lectures, while focusing students' attention on underlying concepts and techniques. The method has been assessed in many studies using standardized, diagnostic tests and shown to be considerably more effective than the conventional lecture approach to teaching. Peer Instruction is now used in a wide range of science and math courses at the college and secondary level. In this workshop, participants will learn about Peer Instruction, serve as the “class” in which Peer Instruction is demonstrated,... Read more about Peer Instruction Workshop
Peer Instruction Workshop, at T-PULSE/TLS Education Talk, McGill University (Montreal, Canada), Wednesday, January 16, 2008:
talk_1365.pdf
The basic goals of Peer Instruction are to encourage and make use of student interaction during lectures, while focusing students' attention on underlying concepts and techniques. The method has been assessed in many studies using standardized, diagnostic tests and shown to be considerably more effective than the conventional lecture approach to teaching. Peer Instruction is now used in a wide range of science and math courses at the college and secondary level. In this workshop, participants will learn about Peer Instruction, serve as the “class” in which Peer Instruction is demonstrated,... Read more about Peer Instruction Workshop
Peer Instruction, at Surrey Centre for Excellence in Professional Training and Education Lecture, University of Surrey (Guildford, United Kingdom), Friday, March 7, 2008:
talk_1373.pdf
The basic goals of Peer Instruction are to encourage and make use of student interaction during lectures, while focusing students' attention on underlying concepts and techniques. The method has been assessed in many studies using standardized, diagnostic tests and shown to be considerably more effective than the conventional lecture approach to teaching. Peer Instruction is now used in a wide range of science and math courses at the college and secondary level. In this workshop, participants will learn about Peer Instruction, serve as the “class” in which Peer Instruction is demonstrated,... Read more about Peer Instruction
Peer Instruction, at University of Iowa (Iowa City, IA), Monday, September 8, 2008:
talk_1404.pdf
The basic goals of Peer Instruction are to encourage and make use of student interaction during lectures, while focusing students' attention on underlying concepts and techniques. The method has been assessed in many studies using standardized, diagnostic tests and shown to be considerably more effective than the conventional lecture approach to teaching. Peer Instruction is now used in a wide range of science and math courses at the college and secondary level. In this workshop, participants will learn about Peer Instruction, serve as the “class” in which Peer Instruction is demonstrated,... Read more about Peer Instruction
Peer Instruction Workshop, at New Physics and Astronomy Faculty Workshop, American Center for Physics (College Park, MD), Thursday, November 6, 2008:
talk_1410.pdf
The basic goals of Peer Instruction are to encourage and make use of student interaction during lectures, while focusing students' attention on underlying concepts and techniques. The method has been assessed in many studies using standardized, diagnostic tests and shown to be considerably more effective than the conventional lecture approach to teaching. Peer Instruction is now used in a wide range of science and math courses at the college and secondary level. In this workshop, participants will learn about Peer Instruction, serve as the “class” in which Peer Instruction is demonstrated,... Read more about Peer Instruction Workshop
Active learning in your classroom, at Workshop for HSPH Faculty, Docs, and Post Docs, Harvard School of Public Health (Boston, MA), Wednesday, November 12, 2008:
talk_1422.pdf
The basic goals of Peer Instruction are to encourage and make use of student interaction during lectures, while focusing students' attention on underlying concepts and techniques. The method has been assessed in many studies using standardized, diagnostic tests and shown to be considerably more effective than the conventional lecture approach to teaching. Peer Instruction is now used in a wide range of science and math courses at the college and secondary level. In this workshop, participants will learn about Peer Instruction, serve as the “class” in which Peer Instruction is demonstrated,... Read more about Active learning in your classroom
Peer Instruction: workshop, at Seminario Internacional sobre la Enseñanza y Aprendizaje Efectivo, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez (Santiago, Chile), Monday, January 19, 2009:
talk_1427.pdf
The basic goals of Peer Instruction are to encourage and make use of student interaction during lectures, while focusing students' attention on underlying concepts and techniques. The method has been assessed in many studies using standardized, diagnostic tests and shown to be considerably more effective than the conventional lecture approach to teaching. Peer Instruction is now used in a wide range of science and math courses at the college and secondary level. In this workshop, participants will learn about Peer Instruction, serve as the “class” in which Peer Instruction is demonstrated,... Read more about Peer Instruction: workshop
Peer Instruction: workshop -- technology, at Seminario Internacional sobre la Enseñanza y Aprendizaje Efectivo, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez (Santiago, Chile), Tuesday, January 20, 2009:
talk_1428.pdf
It has been suggested the lack of interaction in large lecture courses is to blame for the many problems facing these courses: declining enrollments, low attendance, poor evaluations, and disappointing retention. We offer a way of redesigning the classroom so interaction is introduced in many aspects of the course. This approach has shown to be effective by many instructors in a broad variety of environments. I will demonstrate some of the tools we have developed to foster this interaction.
Peer Instruction, at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, NC), Tuesday, April 7, 2009:
talk_1455.pdf
The basic goals of Peer Instruction are to encourage and make use of student interaction during lectures, while focusing students' attention on underlying concepts and techniques. The method has been assessed in many studies using standardized, diagnostic tests and shown to be considerably more effective than the conventional lecture approach to teaching. Peer Instruction is now used in a wide range of science and math courses at the college and secondary level. In this workshop, participants will learn about Peer Instruction, serve as the “class” in which Peer Instruction is demonstrated,... Read more about Peer Instruction
Peer Instruction Workshop, at New Physics and Astronomy Faculty Workshop, American Center for Physics (College Park, MD), Thursday, June 25, 2009:
talk_1487.pdf
The basic goals of Peer Instruction are to encourage and make use of student interaction during lectures, while focusing students' attention on underlying concepts and techniques. The method has been assessed in many studies using standardized, diagnostic tests and shown to be considerably more effective than the conventional lecture approach to teaching. Peer Instruction is now used in a wide range of science and math courses at the college and secondary level. In this workshop, participants will learn about Peer Instruction, serve as the “class” in which Peer Instruction is demonstrated,... Read more about Peer Instruction Workshop

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