Faculty Learning Strategies

STEM Gateway would like to share the successes of faculty at UNM that are being recognized for their dedication to excellence in teaching and learning. These faculty continue to impress us with their continued commitment to improving teaching for learning. Furthermore, they want to share tips for succeeding in college with students. Learn more about the featured faculty and their tips for success by reading below.(Click HERE for more info on our re-occurring blog topics.)

Mark Morgan-Tracy, Senior Lecturer, in Physics and Astronomy, has been awarded the 2014-2015 Lecturer or Affiliated Teachers of the Year by the Center for Teaching Excellence. The award recognizes the contributions to UNM’s teaching mission by consistently employed, nontenure-track faculty. Mark served as a leader of the Physics 140/160 course redesign project in 2013-2014 and attended numerous teaching professional development workshops throughout the duration of the project. We commend Mark for being nominated by students and selected for his engaging teaching style.

Tips for students to succeed in Physics: Dr. Morgan-Tracy recommends that in order to excel in class “get help out of class”. Go to office hours, SI help sessions, or see a tutor at CAPS. Don’t wait until the middle of the semester or until it is too late. Go early and go often. Furthermore, be sure that you make the most out of the time you use in study sessions by asking directly for help on material isn’t clear. Knowing what you don’t know will lead to more productive study sessions.

William P. and Heather W. Weber Award for Teaching Excellence in Science in the College of Arts and Sciences in 2013- an award that honors Lecturers or Part Time Instructors who exemplify excellence in teaching of any science or math discipline within the College at the undergraduate level.

Outstanding Lecturer of the Year in 2010- an award that recognizes the contributions to UNM’s teaching mission by consistently employed, non-tenure-track faculty.

Tips to succeed in Earth and Planetary Science/ Environmental Science (EPS/ENVS)

Dr. Pun offers the following tips to students looking to excel in EPS/ENVS:
“Make friends among your cohort and spend time in the Earth & Planetary Sciences department. Feeling like a member of the EPS family is important for both support and success. You can join the Geology Club, participate in department activities, potentially get to know the faculty and start some potential undergraduate research in one of many labs. Studying in our building and interacting with fellow students and department members in the hallways provides opportunities to learn from each other, to learn about potential jobs, and to explore scholarships and research opportunities. The sense of belonging, the development of friendships, and support from our department will help foster motivation and success.”

Dr. Knottenbelt has provided the following advice to students aiming to succeed in the classroom:

The most worthwhile things you learn take effort to learn them. Expect to have to work hard to understand the concepts – it won’t all come easily, but it will come. Many students feel discouraged when the going gets tough in chemistry, and feel like giving up. That’s a great time to get help. Your instructors, TAs and classmates are great resources to help you look at a problem in a different way. My most successful students in General Chemistry are very good at finding help – they are often in my office hours or email to ask me questions. Asking for help in this class is a strength, not a weakness. Another mistake many students make is to believe that once they understand a concept or a way to approach a problem, that is enough and that they will always be able to do that type of problem. At its most biological level, learning is simply making new neural connections in our brains. These pathways are reinforced by practice, and so the more problems you do after you understand how to do them, the stronger the pathway becomes and the less likely you are to forget it. It’s important to do this soon after you have learned it, before the pathway ‘becomes overgrown’ and you forget it.

Work for the long-term learning and not just the points. If you work for the points and the grade, you may get the points, but will miss out on the learning and forget easily. You’ll have to do the work again when you need the knowledge later. If you work for the learning – following up with your whys even if you got the answer correct – you will get the points and grade, and you will have a solid foundation of knowledge to carry on to the next unit or course.

Top tips

• Ask questions of yourself all the time: what are you supposed to know? How well do you know it? How can you tell how well you know it?
• Get help when you need it.
• Practice often and a lot. Several short sessions of study over a week work better for learning than one long cramming session. Treat exam preparation like training for a marathon – do some most days and make sure to rest well the night before.
• Take the opportunity to teach when you can. Explaining something to someone is a great way to determine how well you understand it.
• Don’t be discouraged if you don’t understand something – you will be able to understand it with the right kind of effort and help.
• Plan to ask for help – it can save you a lot of time. Your professor and TAs are there to help, and enjoy the opportunity to work with you one-on-one in office hours to help you learn.
• Don’t be discouraged if you don’t do as well as you hope on a test or quiz. There is no exam that measures your worth as a person or your potential as a learner. Take any failure or disappointment as an opportunity to rethink your study strategies and find some more effective techniques. This will help you not only in your current course, but will help you become a better learner for when you move on to more difficult courses. Don’t hesitate to approach your professor, a TA or a peer for advice on what to change. Then make the changes, commit to them, and see how they work on the next exam.

A mistake or misunderstanding is an opportunity for learning. Make sure you have a good reason for everything and then if incorrect, explain your reasoning to try to find out where you were off target.

Don’t give up! You can do it!

1. Confirm you are in the correct class - both with your major and with your semester schedule: It's easy to assume that when needing to take a class, you start with the first one in the catalog, but that's not always the right one for your major or your program. Make sure you are familiar with your degree/program/major requirements and the class descriptions to make the best choices for your schedule. Once you have your semester schedule, take some time before classes begin to locate your classes on campus. This will save you time (and headaches) that first week of school. Once you are in class, pay attention and ensure that you are in the class you expect to be in. Rooms are not always numbered consecutively and classes do get moved at the last minute.
2. Attend lectures and take notes: Unlike secondary school, college is a privilege that costs money (it might not always be the student, but someone does pay). Honor that privilege by attending class and paying attention. Don’t fool yourself that you will be able to remember what was said in lecture. Take detailed notes that record as much of the material covered as possible. Don’t ask whether a particular topic will be on the exam. If it was discussed in lecture, it is important enough to appear on an exam and thus important enough to write in your notes.
3. Regularly review and modify your notes: A college semester is very short. At UNM there are 16 weeks of classes and if you only meet 2 times a week, that's 32 class meetings maximum to share everything there is to know about one main topic. That means stuff doesn't get repeatedly reviewed in class - it's up to the student to go back, review information and make connections between lectures or lecture and lab.
4. Ask questions!! If students don’t, instructors don't know what's being missed. There is no such thing as a stupid question….as long as it is asked. Science is all about questions, especially "Why." Most STEM instructors welcome inquisitiveness, especially if the student has already taken the initiative to try and discover the answers on their own.
5. Study actively and change up your study techniques: It has been shown that just looking over notes is ineffective. Following the same study routine also decreases study effectiveness. Try to incorporate different study techniques to keep your brain constantly challenged. Think of studying like a gym workout plan - the best, most effective plans regularly change up the routine so that your body doesn't get stuck in a rut. Same with studying - following the same pattern, lulls your brain into a sense of comfort and security while not allowing your brain to be challenged and remain sharp. For example, find a classmate to quiz the material with; teach other people (family members, friends, your cat, etc.) what you are learning in class; come up with funny ways to remember difficult processes; find a new location to study in.
6. Get involved - Biology program or club, research lab, tutoring, science library, etc.: It's important to build connections and resources while in college. Not only with this help you with your classes, but with any future plans you might have. Joining a Biology club or program creates associations with peers who will be taking or have taken the same classes you are. Getting involved in research opens doors for future career paths and recommendations. Working with other departments on campus can open doors to possibilities that you might not even know existed when you first decided to study Biology.