From: Benjamin Mako Hill Date: Mon, 3 Sep 2012 18:54:50 +0000 (-0400) Subject: revised teaching statement (finished a draft) X-Git-Url: https://projects.mako.cc/source/bmh-teaching_statement/commitdiff_plain/41cc3f0f0efc0481266baed23842efb5f21bcc2e?ds=sidebyside revised teaching statement (finished a draft) --- diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile index b219b72..d4bbda0 100644 --- a/Makefile +++ b/Makefile @@ -4,16 +4,12 @@ all: $(patsubst %.tex,%.pdf,$(wildcard *.tex)) pdf: all %.pdf: %.tex - perl -p -e 's/©//' refs.bib > refs-cleaned.bib - recode -d u8..ltex < refs-cleaned.bib > refs-processed.bib rubber -fd $< clean: rubber -d --clean *.tex rm -f *.tmp rm -f vc - rm -f refs-cleaned.bib - rm -f refs-processed.bib viewpdf: all evince *.pdf diff --git a/teaching_statement.tex b/teaching_statement.tex index cb41961..b049696 100644 --- a/teaching_statement.tex +++ b/teaching_statement.tex @@ -59,50 +59,52 @@ \maketitle -When I was eighteen and frusterated with high school, I took extra -classes, graduated early, and moved to Ethiopia. A year later, I -matriculated at Hampshire College: an experimental institution without -grades, tests, or majors. I chose Hampshire becase I cared deeply -about a personal connection to learning that I felt more traditional -institutions would not afford. - -Today, I am passioante about teaching and I take pride in teaching -well. However, as someone once driven away from traditional higher -education, I also have a healthy ambivalence about my role at the -front of the lecture hall and seminar table and strong feelings about -how to help students learn. Before each lecture, I reflect on the -total human-hours my teaching consumes. In every class meeting, my -students give me dozens, even hundreds, of hours of their attention. I -strive to never waste it. - -I have noted that graduating PhD students have spent most of their -lives in apprentice-like relationships. From their first day of grade -school to their dissertation defense, students learn eveything from -reading and arithmetic to sociological theory and multi-level -statistical modeling from teachers who have and use that knowledge -themselves. ``I know something that I find useful,'' a teacher might -say, ``and I want my student to be like me.'' +Graduating PhD students have spent most of their lives in +apprenticeship relationships. From their first day of grade school to +their dissertation defense, students learn everything from reading and +arithmetic to sociological theory and multi-level statistical modeling +from teachers who use that knowledge themselves. ``I know something +that I find useful,'' a teacher might say, ``and I want my student to +be like me.'' In much of higher education -- and in graduate and professional -teaching in particular -- this relationship breaks down for the first -time in most students' and teachers' lives. In business schools, where -I teach most often, lectures are given by professors trained as -academic sociologists, economists, and psychologists. To say that few -business school students have an interest in becoming social -scientists would be understatement. I have seen how a failure to -recognize this dynamic can lead to a lack of respect and a lack of -connection between teachers and students seen as, ``the folks who pay -the bills.'' - -But this setting has also shown me that teaching that confronts, and -takes advantage of, this dynamic can lead to transformative learning -experiences. Successful teaching across intellectual domains goes -beyond the simple reproduction of skills and knowledge and becomes a -process of adapation and instantiation of knowledge in the context of +teaching in particular -- this relationship breaks down. In business +schools, where I teach most often, lectures are given by professors +trained as academic sociologists, economists, and psychologists. Very +few MBAs become social scientists. I have seen how a failure to +recognize this dynamic can lead to a lack of respect and connection +between teachers and students treated as, ``the folks who pay the +bills.'' + +Business school has also shown me that teaching that overcomes this +dynamic can lead to transformative learning. Teaching across +intellectual domains goes beyond the reproduction of skills and +knowledge and becomes the creation of new knowledge in the context of students' personal experiences. I understand that most of my students -do not want to be a researcher like me. I believe that in spite of -this unusual and challenging relationship, and \emph{because of it}, I -can teach students in ways that suprise, connect, and enrich. +will not become a researcher like me. I believe that in spite of this +challenging relationship, and because of it, I can teach students in +ways that surprise, connect, and enrich. In my teaching, I address +this dynamic in three different ways. + +First, I strive to make my teaching material relevant to my students +experiences and interests. I always seek to communicate why the +material I teach is relevant and how it will be useful. I have taught +identical material to engineers, MBAs, and executives and have worked +to refine and tailor my message for each audience. + +Second, I attempt to involve students directly in learning. Even in +large lectures, I engage students interactively in discussion of +examples from their experience and adapt my teaching to emphasize +relevant material. In assignments, I challenge students to integrate +course concepts with their experience and interests. + +Third, and most importantly, I structure my teaching around an +explicit mutual respect. Before each lecture, I reflect on the total +student-hours my teaching will consume. I realize that in every class +meeting, my students give me dozens, even hundreds, of hours of their +attention. I strive to never waste it. I continually seek feedback +from my students so that my teaching is more relevant, useful, and +important to them. \section{Teaching Experience} @@ -115,34 +117,31 @@ Over the last three years, I have served as the teaching assistant for Professor Eric von Hippel's lecture courses on innovation where I have worked closely with students on the design and evaluation of their course projects. In these classes, I have developed, delivered, and -refined a series of 90 minutes lectures as a guest lecturer in those -classes. In particular, I have developed a lecture on Internet-based -user innovation communities based around the case of consumer -``hacking'' of Canon cameras and a practical lecture on how to attract -participants to online communities. - -After positive evaluations from students in these course, I have been -invited to give regular lectures in MIT's Executive Education and -Visiting MBA programs. These lectures have focused on fundemental -introduction to concepts on innovation management and user communities -and on practical methods for putting these into action including lead -user methods, broadcast search, and the construction of user -communities. - -In addition to experience in the lecture hall, I have also run a -series of seminars for smaller groups of graduate students. Working -with Tom Malone at the Center for Collective Intelligence, I -coordinated an interdisciplinary seminar on collective -intelligence. Working with Chris Csikszentmihályi, I organized and ran -a graduate seminar on Free, Libre and Open Source -Software. - -Outside of organizing my own seminars, I have taught in a number of -seminars at MIT Sloan, the MIT Media Lab, the MIT Program on +refined a series of ninety-minute lectures as a guest lecturer. These +include a lecture on online innovation communities using the case of +consumer ``hacking'' of Canon cameras and a practical lecture on how +to attract participants to online communities. + +After positive evaluations from students, I have been invited to give +regular lectures in MIT's Executive Education and Visiting MBA +programs. These lectures have focused on introducting concepts on +management of innovation and user communities and on practical methods +for putting these into action including lead user methods, broadcast +search, and the construction of user communities. + +In addition to experience lecturing, I have also run a series of +seminars for smaller groups of graduate students. Working with Tom +Malone at the Center for Collective Intelligence, I coordinated an +interdisciplinary seminar on collective intelligence. Working with +Chris Csikszentmihályi, I organized and ran a graduate seminar on +Free, Libre and Open Source Software. + +Outside of organizing my own seminars, I have guest-taught in a number +of seminars at MIT Sloan, the MIT Media Lab, the MIT Program on Comparative Media Studies, Harvard Law School, the Stanford Design School, and elsewhere. Since 2011, I have also coordinated a reading group on empirical research into online cooperation at the Berkman -Center for Intenet and Society at Harvard. +Center for Internet and Society at Harvard. \section{Mentoring} @@ -152,15 +151,15 @@ researchers. I have had the pleasure of mentoring several undergraduates at MIT through the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program. These students worked with me on both a full-time basis over the summer and in a part-time capacity over the academic year giving -me experience with day-to-day management and more hands-off +me experience both in day-to-day management and more hands-off relationships. Additionally, I have served as an external advisor to two Masters -degree students. I advised and evaluated one Masters Thesis on -technology design and in am currently advising a Masters thesis -studying a large free software community. In both cases, I have -enjoyed meeting regularly and engaging with students over the life of -their research projects. +degree students. I advised and evaluated one thesis on technology +design and in am currently advising a social scientific analysis of a +large free software community. In both cases, I have enjoyed meeting +regularly and engaging with students over the course of their research +projects. \section{Example Courses} @@ -172,13 +171,13 @@ Undergraduate --- traditional firm-based innovation as well innovation by hackers, user communities, free and open source software, and lead users. \item \emph{Quantitative Research Methods}: An introductory class on - applied statistics. Topics include basic stastical methods up to, - and including, linear regression with programming excercises using + applied statistics. Topics include basic statistical methods up to, + and including, linear regression with programming exercises using real data. \item \emph{Computer Mediated Communication}: An overview of practical and theoretical issues related to computer-mediated - communication. The class focuses on analyses of pratice but also - incorporate readings and lectures on system implementation and + communication. The class focuses on analyses of practice but also + incorporates readings and lectures on system implementation and design. \end{enumerate*} @@ -193,9 +192,9 @@ Graduate --- unstructured text, and programming for massively parallel computing systems. \item \emph{Social Computing}: The theory, analysis, and design of - large scale, computer mediated social systems. Final projects will + large scale, computer-mediated social systems. Final projects will challenge students to create a new systems or execute a study of an - existing system. + existing community. \end{enumerate*}