David Goodwin, Ph.D.

TEACHING IN THE FIELD: Recent Department of Geoscience Field Trips

WHY I TEACH

Answering a question inccorrectly sparked my love for geology and geoscience education. In the freshman year of my undergraduate career I enrolled in my first geology class. Early in the semester, the professor, who later became my mentor and eventually a good friend, asked the class to explain why the Hawaiian Islands form a straight line. I raised my hand and confidently answered that the hot-spot moved under the the crust thus creating the linear chain of islands. "Actually Dave that’s not quite right," my professor corrected, "but I like the way you’re thinking," and then he began my first introduction to plate tectonics. I was diaapointed to be wrong but proud that the professor appreciated my creative thinking. This one remark encouraged me to learn more and has inspired and motivated me ever since.  One of my goals as an educator is to provide this same kind of enthusiasm and encouragement for my own students, even if they don’t get the answer right the first time.

HOW I TEACH

Love of learning—commonly for its own sake—continues to be largely responsible for my scholarly and intellectual development; and it is through modeling its rewards that I strive to promote achievement in my own students. Accordingly, my classroom is informal and, as much as possible, my lectures are discussion based. Effective instruction, I believe, stems from active discourse fueled by questions, largely from students. Another of my goals as an educator is to help my students learn how to ask their own insightful and important questions. I recall being moved by one of Denison's commencement speakers, Dr. Michael Armacost, when he addressed the value of inquiry by asserting that we should be “...judged by the quality of questions we ask.” Of course, eventually students—and professors too—run out of answers to their questions and are forced to confront their own ignorance. I am humbled by how much I do not know. But the limit of my knowledge is not a confining verge, but rather a frontier to be explored. Accordingly, I continue to evaluate my own intellectual development not by what I know but rather, by what I do not know. This is the standard of evaluation I hope to instill in my students. Bertrand Russell wrote, “It should be one of the functions of a teacher to open vistas before his pupils, showing them the possibility of activities that will be as delightful as they are useful.” I hope that when leaving my classroom, students reflect on the view, but more importantly, ask what is over the horizon. 

MY GOALS AND EXPECTATIONS

In closing, I offer a few comments on my goals and expectations for myself and my students. I expect nothing less from myself than I do from my students, and that is their best possible performance. I realize that each student is different; each has his or her own interests, learning style and skill set. Some students will naturally grasp material, while others will struggle with the same concept. Nevertheless, I expect every student to be curious about his or her own world. Above all, however, I want all of my students to constantly challenge themselves intellectually. My mother once told me, "A day without learning is a wasted day." Perhaps this is the most important lesson I try to teach. Early in my career, a student wrote on an evaluation form, “Dave is a great prof [sic], but his class was very challenging.” While I am pleased that the student liked my course, I think he missed the point. I would rather hear, “Dave is a great professor, because his class was very challenging.” My ultimate goal as a professor is to teach my students to want to learn, not to impress me or please their parents, but rather, as the Nobel Prize winning physicist Richard Feynman wrote, for “the pleasure of finding things out.” 

HOW TO DO WELL IN MY CLASSES

• Be aware of my expectations of you: 
  • be an adult; 
  • take responsibility for your actions; and, 
  • treat others, your environment, and yourself with respect at all times.
• Dedicate yourself to succeeding. That means making a commitment to master ALL of the material presented in the course. If you do not understand something, do what ever it takes to figure it out. One of the characteristics shared by successful students at all levels is the refusal to move on before completely understanding a concept. Furthermore, most successful students will say that the process of working through an idea is one of the most rewarding parts of the learning experience. This is what the Nobel Prize wining physicist Richard Feynman called, "the pleasure of finding things out.”
• Come to class! You are responsible for everything said during our meetings, this includes unannounced quizzes and modifications to the syllabus. But most importantly, this is the best place to clarify problems and ask questions.
• Read the assigned material before you come to class. Take notes on the reading, don't worry if you don't understand everything, that is what office hours are for. I guarantee you will perform better if you know what to expect at the beginning of class. Furthermore, you will be able to understand more complex concepts rather than struggling with the basics.
• Take a few minutes every day to work on this course. I recommend that you get into the habit of rewriting your notes and keeping them in a three-ring binder. It will not take much time. You will be amazed, you will remember more than you ever thought possible. If you follow my advice, you may never cram for an exam again.
• Start working on assignments as soon as possible. It is rare that work done at the last minute will be your best. Furthermore, you need to develop the ability to anticipate how much time different assignments will take. If you struggle with time management, now is the time to working on this skill.
• Be an active learner. This is your education and you get out what you put in. I am here to share information with you, so think of me as a resource. I love what I do and am happy to talk with you about class material (or most anything else for that matter). Remember, I am here to help.
• If you have questions, about anything, come and talk with me. I am usually pretty busy, but you will find I will make time for you.
• Lastly, have fun!

COURSES TAUGHT

• GEOS 111: Physical Geology
• GEOS 114: Interpreting the Geologic Record of Climate Change
• GEOS 210: Historical Geology
• GEOS 240: Oceanography
• GEOS 308: Biodiversity Through Time (aka Paleontology); Cross listed with BIOL 308
• GEOS 333: Stable Isotopes in the Environment
• DENISON SEMINAR 200: Ecolonomics (co-taught with Quentin Duroy, Dept. of Economics)
• DENISON SEMINAR 200: LooKING for RICHARD III (co-taught with Fred Porcheddu, Dept. of English)