Teaching

Tomorrow is my first day teaching. It is an exciting time for the department because this is the very first class of a new graduate program that has been in the works for several years now. I've tried to remain zen about things, but I get news of problems or changes with the classroom/labs/my course expectations about every 30 minutes throughout the day. Once all the "fires" are put out, I generally feel prepared and excited for a great first class tomorrow (3 hr lecture on Fri, a 3 hr lecture on Sat morning, and a 2 hour lab on Sat afternoon!).

I think the students will be in for a bit of a shock with my teaching style (American)! In Rwanda, most professors teach by lecturing straight from notes for several hours at a time. And the students receive the lecture notes. I will be doing neither of these things and I know the students will be surprised at this different sort of teaching strategy. My lectures are based on active learning- with lots of discussions. I ask them to break out into pairs to discuss questions I pose in class and then we discuss as a group. I'm expecting it will take the students some time to warm up to the idea. I'm told that Rwanda's educational system was developed by the Belgians and that their system was very hierarchical. The professor was the boss and the students better just be quiet and take notes. For one, I don't have the attention span to lecture straight for three hours. But also, how are the students supposed to stay awake for three hours?