Office of Graduate Studies

Jennifer Scricco
Chemistry

Although I never took an education course in college, my college years were filled with classes that encouraged me to develop an idea of what it takes to be a good science teacher. As a freshman in college, I took an introduction to philosophy class to fulfill a general education requirement. I was fascinated by the section discussing theories of knowledge, and was inspired to take more philosophy classes. I eventually took philosophy as a second major, and focused my classes on theories of knowledge and the philosophy of science. It is from the many hours of thought and reading that I carried out for these classes that I have come to my philosophy of education.

            I believe that the best way for a student to learn chemistry is to induce general principles from a variety of concrete examples. And so a large portion of the recitations that I teach are dedicated to working through example problems. I try my best to come up with examples that are different from those used in lecture and in the text, so that my students have as many sources of concrete examples as possible. I also try to create problems that highlight the use of the general principle that is being taught, even though it is being used in contexts that vary in their specifics.

            I believe that this method is important for two reasons. First, it gives the students a sense of accomplishment when they come to understand a principle through their own effort to “connect the dots” of individual examples. It is a gratifying experience to see the look of pride that comes across a student’s face as they make the leap from applying a series of steps because they know they should to applying a principle because they understand the problem at a fundamental level. This method is also important because it unites the use of factual knowledge and abstract reasoning. When students are taught a general principle as a floating abstraction, they are not able to reason to the use of that principle for individual problems – they have no connection between the principle and the concrete forms it takes. On the other hand, when a student is taught only to memorize a list of concrete facts and formulas, every problem they try to solve becomes a never before seen situation – students have no way to understand how to generalize their knowledge. A teaching approach that induces principles from concrete examples allows for the development of factual knowledge and abstract principle-based reasoning.

            All that philosophy is well and good, but is does not do any good if no one shows up to recitation. To this end, I try to make recitation as welcoming and relaxed as possible. I pride myself on being organized and topical, so that I can best keep the attention of my students. I attend every lecture that the professor gives, both to increase my understanding of the material and to have a shared experience with my students. Their homework is my homework, as I read and work through all the material they are assigned. I also try to remind the students that I am a student, just like them. I am a member of a performing arts group on campus, and enjoy discussing that with my students, and hearing about their involvement in life on campus.

            I am honored to have been nominated for this award, and thank you for your time in reading this essay.

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