… and here is the first post, which kind of summarises my work so far: Well, the good  news is that I managed to finish marking my exams in 2007 – so I could concentrate on the lectures that I teach this semester. The bad news is that this semester started on Jan 3 already, so not much of a break. I did find a couple of days, however, to relax and recharge my batteries. Concerning teaching, things are running a lot smoother. I have only 2 courses to teach and taught these already last year. So the framework of the lecture is set up and running quite smoothly. There are, however, a few things that I have changed, especially in my approach to help students learn a bit better (at least I hope that is going to be the case):
- Â I have initiated Strategic Learning Sessions, which are small group sessions with senior student leader held 3x/week. Problem solving and discussion of lecture topics make up these sessions. So far feedback was encouraging and attendance is growing.
- I have added elements of peer instruction into my lectures in order to foster better understanding of the concepts taught. Feedback from students was positive and I will continue to add these exercises from time to time.
Lots of news on the research side of things as well – but these have to wait a little longer.Â