University of Massachusetts Amherst - Index Yearbook (Amherst, MA)

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Sedan' H Students nominate professors and graduate students for the Distinguished Teachers' Award. 22!Distinguished Teachers I I l i l Photo by Jonathan Blake In Recognition of Excellence A The Distinguished Teachers Award is -presented annually 1 by the Graduate Student Senate to three faculty mem- bers and tothree teaching assistants in recognition of good teaching. a Each fall, the G.S.S. accepts nomina- tions frorn students-tori-.th.ose teachers who they feel haveoutstanding teach- insiabiiity- A it 'ies A . ff The nominees are evaluated,-in eight categories on a scale of 1 to 10, one being the poorest and ten the best. The categories include: communication of subject matter clearly and effectively: clearly defined course objectives: moti- vation of students to do their bestgag command of subject matter: fair and open-minded grading procedures: sen- students: and general excellence in teaching. to t sitivity to background and interests of ' ' I - ' - V A , X Egs'.-M532-t'.f-fu' Q K f- i K' K 1- K K X ii 'T my -r S.. f 1- . W .1 - 'jgs T The candidates are In the fall and committee' is Paste Wlnnesfs of-ifheliaW??fdi sentatives. from the 3 ment Association and- c-2f dent Senate. Letters are alsov-sioliicitiidlt A i A irss . ,irl campus-wise from any istudegntizwislgiingi l to 'write a' recontrnendati'on.aT candidate. Winnersof -the guished Teachers Aavyard illg Professors 1 l-ti' 5'- John A. Chandler-'Chemistry 5 1 4 kf,: 1, i ' Judith E. Goodenough- Zoology sc.s charlotte K. Spivak- Engiish-J' 's'. E Teaching- Assistants ' X Kay SatrefEnglish , tiistc -Sarah Sloane- English A Dana Weaver- Psychology Si - 1 f aii Edirorls Note: As ia result of deadline complications, no photos of the-Distinguished ii-. I Teachersawere available. if

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l 1-5- Ill The Big Push Towards Excellence Starting next semester new stu ents will no longer be able to select ourses from the traditional C D and E ore requirements They will be re ulred to take courses from a new set Qfgguidelifiesfknbwn HSirGeneiraliirEdvCeE QJ'StuderttsVwill have to .take discourses trom areas calledeAnalytical Reasoning l hysical and Biological Worlds? and'So- cial World. Students must itakeftwot Qpurses from Analytical Reasoning g six 'torn Social World and three from i hysical and Biological World. ln addi- tiOn. students may be required to take a science course with a lab. 1 I , Freshman sophomores and tumors already enrolled at the Umversity are subject only to the traditional core re quirements However due to the im plementation ofthe General Education requirements it will bB'tiOUgl'i6l'ffO.lff stue dentsto enroll incertain classes.tl-listo- ry courses willbe one ofthe more diffif cultcoursesl to enrolligin.p New students will be required to-take a historical course.-whilesrothers will be trying-to fulfill a1C corein History. 4 'General Education will improve the f qualityi of education but it will 4 take time and patience. t i i l -Ns-X f M24-57. sg Photo by Ka en Zar o Photo by Ka e Top-Students prepare for upcoming exams. The new General Education requirements will affect them next year. Above- Frank lVlarj a chemistry student fin- ishes his lab report. How will the new require- ments aftect the science departments? Academic Requirements!21

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-r 5 we . f. v 5, You are In a large lecture hall with 300 other students waiting for the pro fessor to begin his lecture How does a professor prepare to eteach a large lecture? Is it the same way students prepare to take exams? How does it differ when a professor :prepares for a small class? Each Professor prepares in his or her iown unique way Some study last eyear s lecture notes while others up .date their notes Alan Kamal a Psychol togy professor studies all the material t' to be sure that I personally thorough ly understand the material not just the relevant papers and books but the underlying logic and assumptions Professor F J Francis teaches his Food Science and Nutrition classes in a different way I have all my material on 35 mm slides I believe that it is ian efficient way of teaching Professor James Der Derian, top, of the Political Science Department, teaches a popular class in international relations. Professor Ralph Faulkingham, of the Anthropolo- gy Department, sometimes distributes his own lecture notes when unable to cover planned ma- terial, Professors Do Homework Too Professors tend to teach small classes differently than large ones One professor has more discussion in small er classes He makes them more infor mal and can make proiect assign ments R G Brown a professor of Nu trition plans his smaller classes for in class discussion Emphasis is on depth and stimulating discussion and thought Professor Alan Kamal prepares more visual aids for his larger classes He uses overheads slides etc ln small courses Professor Kamal stated I try to think up questions for prompting discussion and may plan on using some techniques not easily carried out in large groups Professor s attitudes towards teach ing have changed very little since they began teaching Dr Dario Politella a Journalistlc Studies professor ex plained I started out in teaching be cause I felt I have something to offer those who mlght follow in my profes sional footsteps I felt that I had such a fine practical and academic education that I ought to give some of it back which is what I ve been do ing with great satisfaction ever since Professors put many hours into a 50 minute lecture They work hard so that we can receive a quality education Wayne Coe Professor Preparation X23