The SCALE-UP instructional model adopted for FSU’s Studio Physics Program is built on a foundation of years of research on teaching and learning at universities around the nation and the culture of respect that exists in my physics department.
But without great graduate teaching assistants, it fails.
This semester, I had great graduate teaching assistants.
Sogoud Sherif and Tristen White made my studio-style calculus-based course in electricity and magnetism a welcoming place for all of my students, coaxing them to push beyond the boundaries of their comfort and confidence.
Occasionally, I was jealous of the way that Sogoud and Tristen earned the students’ trust. Of course, I am in my 60’s and Sogoud and Tristen are (I think, anyway) in their 20’s, so it is easier for students to confide in the two of them than it would be for them to share their learning frustrations with me. But that’s why graduate teaching assistants are so important – because they can relate to students in ways that professors cannot.
I was blessed to have Sogoud not just for this spring semester but also for the fall 2023 semester. She has helped to keep me grounded for this entire academic year.
In closing, I’ll note that the learning gains my students posted this semester were the strongest of any group I’ve had since the pandemic. In fact, their gains were comparable to my stronger classes before the pandemic.
And aside from learning gains, it’s been a privilege to get to know this spring’s students.
Along with the fatigue that the end of this semester has brought, I’ll also carry a candle of hope into the next academic year.
Bridge to Tomorrow 