Thoughts on Teaching

Richard M. Karp
Computer Science Division
The University of California at Berkeley

12 April 1988

PREPARATION

• Follow the boy scout motto: be prepared.

• Never select material that doesn't excite or interest you. Boredom is deadly and contagious. If the standard syllabus is boring, then disregard it and pick material you like.

• Figure out your notation and terminology in advance. Know exactly where you're going, and plan in detail what you intend to write on the board.

• Check out the trivial details. They're more likely to hang you up than the major points.

• Make sure you understand the intuition behind the technical results you are presenting, and figure out how to convey that intuition.

• Debug your assignments and exams. They're just as important as the lectures.

• Don't teach straight out of a textbook or from old notes. Recreate the material from afresh, even if you're giving the course for the tenth time.

STRUCTURING THE MATERIAL

• Ideally, each lecture should be a cohesive unit with a small number of discernible points.

• In organizing your lectures, use the principles of structured design: top-down organization, modularity, information hiding, etc.

• Make sure the students have a road map of the material that is coming up.

CONDUCTING THE LECTURE

• Take a few minutes before each lecture to get relaxed.

• Start each lecture with a brief overview.

• Go through the material at a moderate but steady pace. Don't worry about covering enough material. It will happen automatically if you don't waste time.

• Write lots on the board; it helps the students concentration and keeps you from going too fast. Print, even if your handwriting is very clear. Cultivate the skill of talking and writing at the same time.

• Talk loud and write big enough.

• Maintain eye contact with the class.

• Develop a sense of how much intensity the students can take. Use humor for a change of pace when the intensity gets too high.

• Be willing to share your own experiences and opinions with the students, but stay clear of ego trips.

• Make it clear that questions are welcome, and treat them with respect. In answering questions, never obfuscate, mystify, or evade in order to avoid showing your own ignorance. It's very healthy for you and the students to find that you're fallible.

• Be flexible, but don't lose control of the general direction of the lecture, and don't be afraid to cut off unproductive discussions. You're in charge; it's not a democracy.

• If you sense from a question or class reaction that you're not getting through, back up and explain the material in a different way. The better prepared you are, the better you will be able to improvise.

• Try the scribe system, in which the students take turns in writing the lectures and typesetting the notes.

• Start on time and end on time.