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2012

Turning lectures into learning, at Turning Technologies User Conference, Aarhus University (Aarhus, Denmark), Tuesday, June 19, 2012:
talk_1919.pdf
The world is abuzz with talk about "clickers" or classroom response systems. Clicker are not just simple polling tools, but can be used to achieve significant learning gains. In this presentation we explore using clickers with Peer Instruction, a pedagogy that encourages students to interact and solve problems during class.
Turn to your neighbor, at Turning Technology User Conference: Aarhus, Denmark, Aarhus University (Aarhus, Denmark), Tuesday, June 19, 2012:
talk_1951.pdf
Peer Instruction (PI) is a teaching method that leverages the power of cutting-edge learning technologies, such as clickers, to transform learning. The centerpiece of Peer Instruction is the ConcepTest, a short interactive question that helps uncover student misconceptions. “Turn to your neighbor” is the classic catch-phrase of PI methodology, whereby teachers encourage students to think about a question, vote on their answer, and then turn to their neighbor to engage, rather than sitting passively in a lecture. In this presentation, we examine two big, open questions frequently posed by... Read more about Turn to your neighbor
Turning Up Learning in Brazil, at Turning Technology User Conference: Aarhus, Denmark, Aarhus University (Aarhus, Denmark), Tuesday, June 19, 2012:
talk_1952.pdf
Peer Instruction (PI) is a teaching method that leverages the power of cutting-edge learning technologies, such as clickers, to transform learning. The centerpiece of Peer Instruction is the ConcepTest, a short interactive question that helps uncover student misconceptions. “Turn to your neighbor” is the classic catch-phrase of PI methodology, whereby teachers encourage students to think about a question, vote on their answer, and then turn to their neighbor to engage, rather than sitting passively in a lecture. In this presentation, we examine two big, open questions frequently posed by... Read more about Turning Up Learning in Brazil
The scientific approach to teaching: Research as a basis for course design, at Frontiers in Science Teaching Symposium, Aarhus University (Aarhus, Denmark), Monday, June 18, 2012:
talk_1918.pdf
Discussions of teaching -- even some publications -- abound with anecdotal evidence. Our intuition often supplants a systematic, scientific approach to finding out what works and what doesn't work. Yet, research is increasingly demonstrating that our gut feelings about teaching are often wrong. In this talk I will discuss some research my group has done on the effectiveness of classroom demonstrations and on active learning from 20 years of implementing just-in-time-teaching and peer instruction in science courses.
Science pedagogy - no longer a private frontier, at Frontiers in Science Teaching, Aarhus University (Aarhus, Denmark), Monday, June 18, 2012:
talk_1950.pdf
Teaching within an academic research career is often cast as a private enterprise, representing a silo among professors’ more communal work within research groups and service activities. Just like new frontiers in science research, innovation in science education often involves joint ventures. In this presentation, we introduce for the first time Peer Instruction Network, a new social network developed at Harvard University to connect educators worldwide in their efforts to shape the terrains of how and what people learn in the 21st century. The presentation will include a live... Read more about Science pedagogy - no longer a private frontier
Femtosecond Laser Nanostructuring of Semiconductors and Metals, at 13th International Symposium on Laser Precision Microfabrication (LPM), The Catholic University of America (Washington, DC), Thursday, June 14, 2012:
talk_1949.pdf
We have developed a unique technique to change the optoelectronic properties of many materials through hyperdoping and texturing [1]. By irradiating materials, such as silicon and titanium dioxide, with a train of amplified femtosecond (fs) laser pulses in the presence of a wide variety of dopant precursors, we can introduce dopants above the solubility limit while producing surface structures that have excellent anti-reflection and light-trapping properties.

Femtosecond-laser texturing originates from the formation of laser induced period surface structures (LIPSS) and consists of semi...

Read more about Femtosecond Laser Nanostructuring of Semiconductors and Metals
Peer Instruction, at Carleton University (Ottawa, ON, Canada), Wednesday, June 13, 2012:
talk_1819.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 2-3 hour long workshop, participants will learn about Peer Instruction, serve as the "class" in which Peer Instruction is... Read more about Peer Instruction
Confessions of a converted lecturer, at Carleton University (Ottawa, ON, Canada), Wednesday, June 13, 2012:
talk_1818.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
Educating the Innovators of the 21st Century, at University of Pretoria (Pretoria, South Africa), Friday, June 1, 2012:
talk_1943.pdf
Can we teach innovation? Innovation requires whole-brain thinking — left-brain thinking for creativity and imagination, and right-brain thinking for planning and execution. Our current approach to education in science and technology, focuses on the transfer of information, developing mostly right-brain thinking by stressing copying and reproducing existing ideas rather than generating new ones. I will show how shifting the focus in lectures from delivering information to team work and creative thinking greatly improves the learning that takes place in the classroom and promotes independent... Read more about Educating the Innovators of the 21st Century

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