Stein led a panel of award winning teachers who talked about a variety of subjects including grading, the student honor code and styles of teaching. New faculty members learned the finer points about teaching at Rice and heard the message that teaching is important during an workshop run by award-winning faculty. Bob Stein, interim dean of social sciences, oversaw the teaching workshop held on Sept 18. The two-hour workshop covered a number of diverse areas including student attendance, student group work, homework assignments, sexual harassment, syllabuses, teaching promotions and tenure.
Teaching here is valued in different ways than in other schools.
Throughout the evening, the panel pointed out the difference between Rice and other universities. Notable differences are the Rice students themselves and the college system. Hutchinson, who uses the Socratic method to teach, pointed out that lecturing in the classroom is not as effective as engaging the students in discussions. Although class discussion limits the amount of material that can be covered, the students learn more, he said. Johnson, who does lecture, said keeping the students engaged is vital.