251–260 of 276 posts
I graduated from Cal in 2013 in Physics and CS. I had a full time lecturer (not a professor) for a course in Analytic Mechanics and the teacher (Charman) was in a similar situation. Despite having ratings well above average and being immensely popular, he was let go. It seems like lecturers are treated as second class citizens, much like contract workers or outsourced positions.
This is ludicrous - I was taught by Professor Ogus, and he had an excellent grasp of didactic techniques. He dedicated a large amount of time to having me come in during office hours so I could do a mock lecture before it was actually delivered, and I could compare notes when he delivered his. Yes, he was exacting and demanding, but it made me a better student. The fact that a lecturer with low standards happens to b…
"""If you're too weak to excel in an environment filled with the world's top researchers""" What kind of attitude is this? Seems pretty cruel and horribly antisocial. If you're too weak...what is this the animal kingdom? And I'd think that it would be way more interesting if a Fields medalist would be freed up to teach more courses about his/her specialty instead of the intro to calculus stuff (or arguably not teach…
The reality is that top math departments are very competitive places. It's realistic, not cruel. And feelings, yours or mine, aren't the ultimate arbiter of truth.
I, for example, am a weak football player. It's okay to say you're weak on certain dimensions, and it's in fact very important to assess as impartially as our limbic system allows because it prevents you from wasting time.
I wouldn't break down trying to run the football field with Gronkowski because there were some elbows thrown. I don't feel entitled to be a football player. I'd recognize the nature of the game I'm playing and find another one better suited to my skills. I also wouldn't try to turn football into a different game.
Suggesting a student go to a liberal arts college focused on teaching rather than a major research university isn't "cruel and horribly antisocial". It's allocating scarce resources effectively.
What a great and inspiring letter from someone who is clearly under significant public and private pressure; I'm sure he was repeatedly advised not to go public in any way by friends, enemies and lawyers on both sides. My favorite part is where he imagines the Math department is "jolly cross".
I agree. He really knows how to substantiate his grievances with choice words and data. I don't know any of the players involved in this drama but the letter was so damning that I could not help but look up profiles of Stark, Ogus, Christ, and Evans just to get a picture of their faces. Politically, this was an excellent play - with his popularity among students, the Math department (and in particular, named faculty)…
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"""If you're too weak to excel in an environment filled with the world's top researchers""" What kind of attitude is this? Seems pretty cruel and horribly antisocial. If you're too weak...what is this the animal kingdom? And I'd think that it would be way more interesting if a Fields medalist would be freed up to teach more courses about his/her specialty instead of the intro to calculus stuff (or arguably not teach…
First, because I implied it rather than stated, let's explicitly scope that statement to students. I am saying that if weaker math students like a professor because he has easier material, they should find another school. Top research universities should not be diploma mills, and students should appreciate and take advantage of unique resources at these schools. It may be the last time a student has exposure to a wor…
He's simply significantly better at teaching if the provided data is correct.
The takeaway here should be...why are (other) Berkeley math professors so bad at teaching? I guess you could question the reported statistics and if it makes sense to rely on evidence based teaching. Feel free to suggest a better approach.
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The National Science Foundation (or other group) should produce high-quality video lectures for all courses.
If this caught on all mathematics departments would lose funding and no longer be able to fund research. It's a strange conflict of interests.
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I'm still learning mathematics. I'm in fact largely teaching myself. I can assure you, though, that a Fields medalist is not required to teach me Differential Calculus (Math1A). In fact, I'd prefer it if they didn't.
Likely you don't care because you have no intention of pursuing mathematics in a research capacity at any point. However part of the experience for those who care more about math than an easy "A" is ensuring you have access to amazing role models early on. People who take an interest in you, and spend some of their incredibly valuable time shepherding you through a unique, beautiful field. Where is your sense of wond…
Unless they are that rare commodity - the extraordinarily talented mathematician who can remember what it was like to struggle with the basics and who is able to keep the teaching of concepts simple enough it doesn't go over the head of the class, or go too fast - then I would prefer to be taught by someone who cares about imparting the basics of mathematics in an understandable and reasonably paced way.
I've been to lectures where a clearly brilliant mathematician was teaching basic maths, and it nearly turned me off maths. You speak of killing wonder: well, there you have it.
(P.S. I'm an Australian who will never get the opportunity to go to Berkeley, and I'm definitely not bitter! If I was doing highly advanced math, then in that case I'd want a Fields medallist teaching me!)
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"""If you're too weak to excel in an environment filled with the world's top researchers""" What kind of attitude is this? Seems pretty cruel and horribly antisocial. If you're too weak...what is this the animal kingdom? And I'd think that it would be way more interesting if a Fields medalist would be freed up to teach more courses about his/her specialty instead of the intro to calculus stuff (or arguably not teach…
First, because I implied it rather than stated, let's explicitly scope that statement to students. I am saying that if weaker math students like a professor because he has easier material, they should find another school. Top research universities should not be diploma mills, and students should appreciate and take advantage of unique resources at these schools. It may be the last time a student has exposure to a wor…
Whilst someone who teaches must clearly understand the material they are teaching, that's not enough. They must also be able to explain it clearly, and preferably find a way of engaging with students. Their subject matter expertise probably needs to equal or even be slightly less than their pedagogical skills.
I fear you are mistaking the concerns here with the teaching of higher level math courses. Teaching lower level math like Math1A means teaching students who are NOT going on to be professional mathematicians. There are a raft of fields where you need to know foundational mathematics - like civil engineering, electrical engineering, physics and even economics. A good grounding in maths is very important, but students in these courses don't have to be doing ground breaking mathematical research.
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That is exactly the job of a teacher - to make sure you learn effectively.
How many of your teachers focused on efficient learning ? I can't remember one. Even the handful of teacher that left a deep trace in my memory never mentioned 'learning'. They were just so well aware of their subject, they could be the catalyst to bridge gaps in my view of things, triggering inspiration and desire.
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I wasn't claiming he was harder on the students. I was claiming that there is absolutely no evidence he was popular because he gave out easy As. So you're agreeing with me.
I studied there, and during that time, spoke to and tutored many such students. Anecdotal evidence is better than no evidence.
Goodness! You mean the anti-vaxxers might have been onto something?
I'm not associated with UC Berkeley, but I have been involved in a lot of campus politics in the past. Because I see many alumni commenting here about the effectiveness of this lecturer, I offer a suggestion: Give a restricted gift to the university. Earmark it for something like the salary or research of Dr. Coward. If they want to play politics, you can too and restrict that your donations are tied to his continued…
Why not just send Coward a check directly?