- These remarks, slightly updated from those prepared for RPI teaching luncheon, 4/28/2016, are online at http://wrfranklin.org/Main/TeachingTechniques2016 .
Context
- I've been teaching ECSE-4750 Computer Graphics since 1982.
- For F2016, 62 students preregistered; largest ECSE-4xxx section by 20 students.
- Fall 2014 student eval: 4.46/5, 4.46/5
Techniques
- Course wiki summarizing each lecture, with old exams and homeworks with answers.
- Organization, organization, organization.
- A lot of time (really: too much time) spent.
- Good text book.
- Up to date material, including latest material from news.
- Creative destruction of course computing material every 5 years (but keep the math).
- Iclickers.
- Knowitall points awarded for correcting me.
- In class notes written on tablet, and uploaded to wiki.
- Complaints internalized.
- Student feedback solicited on how to improve course.
Biggest problems
- Impossibility of finding knowledgeable TAs.
What more I could do
- More student interaction in class.
- More iclicker questions.
What more RPI should do
- Reward instructors according to tuition generated.
- Allow competition in courses between RPI and other colleges and within RPI...
- while encouraging coordination between overlapping curricula.