2011

Active Learning Experiences, at IDEA League Workshop on Excellence in Engineering Education, Delft University of Technology (Delft, Netherlands), Thursday, November 3, 2011:
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 Active Learning Experiences
Infrared absorption of femtosecond laser doped silicon: effect of dopant types and thermal treatments, at 5th International Workshop on Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells (Boston, MA), Wednesday, November 2, 2011:
Doping silicon to concentrations above the metal-insulator transition threshold yields a novel material that has potential for photovoltaic applications. By focusing femtosecond laser (fs-laser) pulses on the surface of a silicon wafer in a sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) environment, silicon is doped with 1% atomic sulfur. Similar concentration of heavy chalcogen dopants (Se and Te) is achieved by fs-laser doping with solid-phase dopant precursors. Fs-laser doped Si:chalcogen systems exhibit near-unity, broadband absorption from the visible to the near infrared (< 0.5 eV, deep below the silicon... Read more about Infrared absorption of femtosecond laser doped silicon: effect of dopant types and thermal treatments
Rethinking Student Learning Evaluation in Higher Education, at Program on Innovative Teaching and Learning in Chile, Harvard University: LASPAU (Cambridge, MA, USA), Tuesday, November 1, 2011:
Open the doors to any classroom across the globe and you will observe an almost universal model for the evaluation of student learning. Instructors stand at the front of a lecture hall, teach content, students (at least we hope) attempt to learn that content, and then instructors evaluate that content learning through traditional assessments such as multiple-choice exams, quizzes, or research papers. Most of these conventional approaches to evaluation are one-dimensional and not aligned with overarching learning goals that relate to competencies students actually need to progress successfully... Read more about Rethinking Student Learning Evaluation in Higher Education
Black silicon: engineering an intermediate band in silicon for optical sensing and photovoltaics, at G1 Faculty Lecture, Harvard University (Cambridge, MA), Monday, October 31, 2011:
Shining intense, ultrashort laser pulses on the surface of a crystalline silicon wafer drastically changes the optical, material and electronic properties of the wafer. The resulting textured surface is highly absorbing and looks black to the eye. The properties of this 'black silicon' make it useful for a wide range of commercial devices. In particular, we have been able to fabricate highly-sensitive PIN photodetectors using this material. The sensitivity extends to wavelengths of 1600 nm making them particularly useful for applications in communications and remote sensing.
Turning lectures into learning, at Turning Technologies User Conference, University of Surrey (Guildford, UK), Thursday, October 27, 2011:
Almost 20 years ago, Harvard physicist Eric Mazur had an “aha” moment about his teaching practice that forced him to rethink the traditional unidirectional teaching model. He described his early approach to courses as “not how you teach it, but what you cover. [Then] I realized education was not merely a transfer of information. It was about how well students could assimilate information and transfer it to their own experience.” So Dr. Mazur radically changed his approach. He developed a strategy that incorporates “just-in-time” teaching with short lectures punctuated by... Read more about Turning lectures into learning
Confessions of a converted lecturer, at Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences Learning & Teaching event, University of Surrey (Guildford, UK), Wednesday, October 26, 2011:
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
Rethinking student learning assessment in higher education, at The University in the 21st Century: From Teaching to Learning in Costa Rica, Initiative for the Development of Academic Innovation, LASPAU, Harvard University (Cambridge, MA), Friday, October 21, 2011:
Open the doors to any classroom across the globe and you will observe an almost universal model for the evaluation of student learning. Instructors stand at the front of a lecture hall, teach content, students (at least we hope) attempt to learn that content, and then instructors evaluate that content learning through traditional assessments such as multiple-choice exams, quizzes, or research papers. Most of these conventional approaches to evaluation are one-dimensional and not aligned with overarching learning goals that relate to competencies students actually need to progress successfully... Read more about Rethinking student learning assessment in higher education
Panel on innovative syllabi, at The University in the 21st Century: From Teaching to Learning in Costa Rica, Initiative for the Development of Academic Innovation, LASPAU, Harvard University (Cambridge, MA), Tuesday, October 18, 2011:
Syllabi are the maps for learning in higher education; they flag major learning destinations and landmarks for students as they navigate the terrains of a course. The syllabus also represents the "logic" or "theory" of a course: If instructors and students use it as a map, engaging seriously in the content and activities laid out, then both should arrive safely at their learning destinations. Innovative syllabi signal instructors' expectations for student learning (learning goals) and link those expectations directly to authentic evaluation tasks and... Read more about Panel on innovative syllabi
The tyranny of the lecture, at OSA Board Lunch (San Jose, CA), Monday, October 17, 2011:
Most -- if not all -- of the important skills in our life are acquired outside the traditional classroom setting. Yet we continue to teach using lectures where students passively take down information. Instead, we should really focus on the assimilation of that information and shift the focus from teaching to helping students learn. Over the past 20 years, instructors world-wide have begun to adopt Peer Instruction to get students to think in class. With the advent of new technology the process can be significantly improved. A new data-analytics driven audience response system does away with... Read more about The tyranny of the lecture
Confessions of a converted lecturer, at HHMI Education Group Seminar, MIT (Cambride, MA), Thursday, October 13, 2011:
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

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