Matthew Kirby

Matthew Kirby

PhD student at the University of Arizona

Teaching

Lecturer - Physics 102

University of Arizona | Fall 2014

I was the lecturer for one section of about 150 students for physics 102. Physics 102 is the algebra-based mechanics course for life science majors at the University of Arizona. For this course, a faculty member oversaw the creation of all of the course materials but three graduate students were put in charge of delivering the lectures to the three sections. Out of the three section that semester, my section was chosen to participate in the university’s Collaborative Learning Space Pilot Program.

Primary Instructor - Physics 103

University of Arizona | Summer 2014

I was the primary instructor for the summer session of Physics 103 in 2014 at the University of Arizona for about 60 students. Physics 103 is the algebra based electricity and magnetism course for life-science majors at the University. As the primary instructor, I was in charge of preparing the curriculum, lectures, homework and exams as well as giving the lectures to the students. During the lectures, I employed active learning techniques to facilitate interaction between the class and myself.

Discussion Facilitator

University of Arizona

Several of the introductory physics courses at the University of Arizona spend 1 of the lecture slots each week on a dedicated discussion section. During these sessions, the several hundred students that attend the lectures are broken up into section of 20 students to work on problem sets together in discussion sections. Each section is led by a graduate student and has two undergraduate student preceptors. During these sessions, the students work in groups of 4 to complete a packet that is specially designed for group work. The preceptors and myself are walking around the room and ask each groups questions to push them in the right direction when/if they begin to struggle.

Lab Instructor

University of Arizona

One of the standard graduate teaching assistant positions at the University of Arizona is to be an instructor for the various undergraduate physics labs. The duties of a lab TA are to oversee two lab sections of about 30 students each week. The lab sections begin with a short introduction to the material that the lab would be covering (typically the lab material was ahead of the course material) and then to assist the students, who work in small groups, to complete the experiment. I have been in charge of labs for several different courses as detailed below.