I teach three classes each year, the standard load (but an above-average load) in my department.  My principal undergraduate teaching is of two courses, Earth's History of Global Change and Elementary Oceanography, each of which I have taught every year for many years.  My mission as a lecturer in the two courses is two-fold: to convey information that any educated person should know about the topic, and to induce my students to think.  In Earth's History of Global Change, I try to get my students to think about why they believe what they do about the Earth's history and future, whereas in Elementary Oceanography I try to get them to think about interconnected processes.

        In both classes, my method is much the same.  For most lectures, I have a powerpoint presentation built around an outline that I present item-by-item, so that I don't dump large quantities of text on the students at any one moments.  With the sequential bits of this outline, I intersperse illustrations, many of which I have made myself, and with images that hopefully either inform or provide visual relief.   Each year I add new illustration slides, commonly of new developments reported in the scholarly literature or of news released by the more widely public media.

        I prepare each day¹ so as to arrive at the classroom the first second it is available after the previous class, commonly making my way into the room as the students of the previous class try to leave.  I set up all my teaching materials for the day, clean the boards of any previous material, move furniture that will be in my way, and generally assure that I will be ready to begin my lecture at the beginning of the class period.²  I use every class period to the maximum, and so I am still a "bell-to-bell lecturer" long after the bells have been removed from our building.

        I begin each class period with a loud "Good Morning" or "Good Afternoon" and launch into the lecture with all the enthusiasm that I and my pre-lecture cup of coffee can generate.³  I try to look my students in the eye and maintain a conversation with them throughout the lecture. I ask specifically for questions, and I even beg for interaction by asking "Questions? . . . Rebuttals? . . . Harpoons? . . . .".⁴  I answer every question with all the respect that I can muster, commonly telling students that "there are no stupid questions".⁵

        Throughout my lecture, I do everything I can to keep my students' attention.  My mantra is "Teaching is a performance", and I have danced, sung, crawled on my knees, climbed on chairs, and hit myself on the head to get or keep my students' attention.  I refuse to use a laser pointer and instead use a wooden stick as pointer, both so that I move more while I lecture and so that I can occasionally wave the stick to what I consider to be dramatic effect.⁶

        All this is not to say that all my students love my way of teaching.  Many complain that the exams are too hard, too "picky", and take too many questions from material that I cover in my lectures.  With regard to "pickiness" and other issues, I long ago wrote a response suggesting, among other things, that attention to detail can be useful.

        On the other hand, at least some students think that I teach well.  Here are some cherry-picked comments from teaching evaluations in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011:

GEOL 3030 (Elementary Oceanography) Spring 2011 anonymous student evaluations:

"Probably the best lecture I've ever had. Always completely prepared."

"I loved this class, and it was applicable to all of my other classes. Great class!"

"Great course."

"Great Professor!"

"Dr. Railsback is the most amazing teacher I've had at UGA (I'm a senior). I wish there were more classes I could take of his."

"He is amazing . . . speaks, teaches, prepares, explains, etc. well".

"Have Dr. Railsback teach more undergraduate courses; he rocks!"

"Great teacher - very interesting and informative course."

"As a fourth-year student, this was one of the best classes and the best professor I have had at UGA."

"Most prepared instructor EVER.  Had tons of data to back up his presented information. . . . Seriously one of the best professors I have had."

"The instructor was very well prepared and funny as hell".

"Dr. Railsback is an excellent professor who is passionate about what he does and does a good job in conveying his concern for the world to the rest of us."

"Dr. Railsback is amazing. He can answer any question and puts lots of thought and concern in his answers.  He is concerned about students' progress and very understanding.  Wonderful teacher!"

"Dr. Railsback is amazing at making the class interesting!  I learned a lot from this class." "He is a great teacher!"

GEOL 1122 (Earth's History of Global Change) Fall 2011 anonymous student evaluations:

"He is very passionate and well-read on the subject. He makes me interested in a course I would normally have no interest in."

"You could tell that he was very well prepared, well informed, and really wanted us to learn. I loved him and this class."

"Dr. Railsback was very knowledgeable and knew so much about the course topic. He is very nice and sincere. He welcomes questions and rebuttals which allowed for a friendly learning environment."

"Both professor and the class were awesome!!"

"Dr. Railsback is a great instructor . . . He treats everyone with respect.  He is excited to be here teaching. . . . I would take Railsback again."

"Railsback obviously loves his profession, and that really shows in his lecturing."

"He is definitely one of my favorite professors at UGA - interesting, caring, funny, and so smart."

"This has been my favorite course at this university thus far.  I have no critiques; I enjoyed coming to class, learned a lot, and even liked studying for tests. The online course webpage was of great use as well.  I would love to take more classes like this one."

"Professor Railsback did an awesome job making geologic history interesting."

"My instructor was extremely well prepared and incredibly enthusiastic about what he was teaching.  He was always more than willing to do whatever he could to help his students succeed."

"I learned a lot. This course made me consider a geology major."

"He was a great professor".

"I really enjoyed the class. Subject was OK, but Railsback did a good job of making it interesting and making me think for myself, instead of just trying to memorize stuff for the test."

"I really enjoyed this course, I have even recommended a friend to take it.  I have also done well on the tests which is a first in a science class for me."

"This is great and interesting course. I would recommend it to anyone. Dr. Railsback really knew his stuff and you could tell he really loved teaching it.  It made me want to come to this class."

"Thank you. I enjoyed your course far beyond the expectations I had when I enrolled.  I very much appreciate your enthusiasm for your profession and your desire to invigorate those students not destined for a geological career.  Best wishes!"

"Thank you for challenging our 1122 class to think about the world in different ways and motivating us to make it better.  It was my favorite course at UGA so far."

_______________________

Notes:
¹ I am amazed at instructors who look for every possible excuse to waste a class day.  The topics that I teach have far too much interesting and important material for me to let class time go by unused.

² . . . and each time I remember Dr. Ray Langebartel of the Department of Mathematics of the University of Illinois rearranging the front of the room before each lecture so as to carefully prepare his classroom for uninterrupted teaching.

³ I dwell on that way of beginning a class to contrast with people who begin classes or public meetings by standing in front of a room full of boisterous people and quietly saying "Well . . . uh . . . let's get started . . .".

⁴ I dwell on saying "Questions?", rather than saying "OK?" or "Right?" because the latter openings force the student to cross an implicit hurdle to ask a question.  They have to implicitly say "No, that's not OK" or "No, that's not right".  Ending every sentence with "OK?" or "Right?" is a good way to ensure that one is not asked very many questions.

⁵ I additionally make my office hours all the time that I'm not in class or getting ready for class, so that there are tens of hours each week in which I am available to students.

⁶ I learned that lecturing is a performance from my beloved colleague, Professor Gilles Allard, and I learned it not from anything that he told me but from his efforts in lecturing and the effect that he has on an audience.

With regard to these reports about GEOL 1122, the remarkable thing is that one of my colleagues has publicly proclaimed that I have never taught this class.  I try to remember this: one does not do the things that one thinks are important in order to earn the praise of others - one does those things because they are important.