Teaching Philosophy

I have come to understand something, over the years, as a visual learner in an engineering field. I have learned the importance of diverse perspectives in the learning process. I have been witness to many students' struggles in engineering fields (and experienced them as a student myself), and I can tell you that many of the struggles in engineering education boil down to problems of perspective. This can take different forms: a student might expect problems within a certain context, and be given problems in a totally different one. A teacher might use highly technical jargon that the student doesn't understand. The primary medium of communication used by a teacher might be a chalkboard, written words, and spoken words, while the primary medium of learning of a student might be visual, concrete, and hands-on.

Unfortunately, the perspective problem has a negative feedback component

Often, a student is not given the proper context for a problem, or does not have enough of their perspectives in common with a. This can take different forms - the teacher might use highly technical jargon that the student doesn't understand

, the teacher uses highly technical jargon the student doesn't understand, the primary communication mediums are chalkboards, written words, and spoken words, all unappealing to an intuitive or visual thinker, all making the transfer of knowledge difficult.

With over a decade of experience as a student, teacher, and professional in an engineering field, I can tell you exactly why STEM fields are suffering from a lack of diversity.

It has a lot to do with perspective

I've witnessed the struggles of many students in engineering fields. My own entry into the field was no cakewalk - I've also experienced them myself. The origin of so many of these struggles is a mismatch of teaching and learning styles.

Many of these struggles boil down to perspective.

Having spent nearly two decades as a student, teacher, and professional in a technical engineering field, I can tell you exactly why STEM fields are suffering from a lack of diversity. And the problem boils down to perspective.

part of the process of becoming an expert in a subject is to absorb the language that surrounds that subject. Often, it is deep technical jargon that makes no sense to the uninitiated. As a person's expertise becomes deeper, it becomes more difficult to articulate and communicate mental models without the use of technical jargon.

This leaves students who do not speak the same language without a way to reason through the subject. The dissonance between instructor and student

Negative feedback loop of context deeper into field, losing contact with everyone else

Philosophy of teaching

• STEm require up front explanation of principles in myriad ways
• abstractions to tackle complicated subjects
• intuit their way around new ideas

Teaching style

• tackle complicated subjects
• distill very large body of materials into essentials
• intuitive way, visual abstractions, intuition pumps

The bigger picture

• This is about more than a "bag of tricks"
• This is about solving, one person at a time, the problem of diversity in technology
• Negative feedback loop, as get deeper into technical field, losing touch with context, fewer can follow, self-selective process
• Process of engineering education is the process of teaching students how to think critically, how to observe and analyze, how to build mental models.