Some helpful resources on teaching in higher education

This blog is dealing with teaching physics (and materials science) in higher education. I started the blog a while ago because this topic constitutes a personal matter and I see a lot of potential in improving physics teaching and learning in the future. Not only with regard to physics, teaching in higher education is constantly evolving and transforming. This is why I believe that it is crucial to share and exchange our ideas about novel approaches, stories of success, and biggest failures in the context of teaching and learning.

Why physics classes at German universities should be held in English

While many influential physics books and articles were written in German prior to World War II, English has become the lingua franca of science. Nowadays, the majority of journal articles are published in English, physics conferences are held in English language, and a significant portion of renowned scientists are based in the United States and the United Kingdom. Consequently, English is the language used by scientists with different backgrounds when talking about research projects, teaching approaches or other topics. Due to the ever-growing importance of English as the global language, it certainly makes sense that nowadays, in countries such as Germany, kids start learning English as their first foreign language already in elementary school or even during their time in kindergarten. 

Why study physics and not engineering?

Nowadays, more and more people seem to be asking the question "Should I study physics or engineering?" 

From my experience in the United States, engineering majors such as electrical and computer engineering (ECE), mechanical engineering, chemical engineering and aerospace engineering are extremely popular with young people. As an engineering student, your future career options are relatively straightforward, since you become an expert in a specific field with a great selection of potential employers in industry. In other words, as an aerospace engineer you will most likely end up in industries in which you design and build aircraft, spacecraft, satellites, missiles or related applications. No big surprise. Certainly, this is also true for the German system as well as for the rest of the world.  

Teaching advice of the week: Get to know your students

Today, I present this week's teaching advice: Get to know your students.

A common and helpful advice on giving a presentation (for example, on scientific conferences) is to "know your audience". The same applies when teaching a class. What kind of students are attending your lecture? What is their motivation, expectation and background? Try to build a relationship with the students, ideally in the beginning of the semester. You may feel confident about the contents of the class after teaching it for several years, but you might need to adapt your teaching style every time because your audience changes every time.