Teaching and Mentoring
"People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
― Maya Angelou
“Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.”
― Margaret Mead
Certificate of Practice (Caltech)
I completed my Certificate of Practice with the Caltech Center for Teaching, Learning & Outreach. The certificate requires "a high commitment, spread over 2-4 years" and involves extensive application, demonstration and reflection of effective teaching practices.
(2023)
Guest Lectures (Caltech)
I replaced Prof. Andrei Faraon multiple times for the graduate student course EE/APh130 (Electromagnetic Theory) in fall terms 2022 and 2023. I got very positive feedback from students and the teaching assistant, e.g. for clarity and engagement. One student wrote: "This was perhaps the best lecture I’ve attended in Caltech" (2022). In 2023, 66% of students rated my performance as "outstanding" or "among the best" they've ever experienced.
Learning To Teach (ETH Zürich)
Successful completion of the Learning To Teach certificate for PhD students and teaching assistants. The course covered active learning, best practices for teaching and classroom assessment techniques, e.g. think-pair-share.
(2017)
10+ years of Mentoring
While I mentored PhD, Master and semester students during a variety of projects/theses in an academic setting, I started mentoring teenagers and adolescents almost 15 years ago in private and ecclesiastic settings. My passion for mentorship is rooted in the privilege of having great mentors in my life.
7 Years of Tutoring
(Sadly,*) My main job was encouragement, buoy my students up and allay their fears of failure and ugly equations. All started unsatisfactory and some went on to be among the best or even class winners in math/physics.
(2009-2016)
*While I love my main job I regret that my students weren't given these basics. Which is very common though...
“Show me a successful individual and I’ll show you someone who had real positive influences in his or her life. I don’t care what you do for a living—if you do it well I’m sure there was someone cheering you on or showing the way.
A mentor.”
— Denzel Washington
“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.”
― William Arthur Ward