Charlotte M. Wood
Teaching Experience & Philosophy
Physics, Astronomy, and Writing
Teaching Philosophy
Coming soon!
Lectures & Classes Taught
As a graduate student, I had several opportunities to cover lectures for a variety of classes and I even had the opportunity to teach my own summer class. I have also covered lectures as a postdoc and hope to be able to teach a full-semester class.
Scientific Writing for the REU and Beyond
This course was a professional development class offered to the Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) students at the University of Notre Dame. As part of their REU project, students are required to produce a written report. This class teaches students, who may have no prior experience with writing scientific papers, how to effectively communicate their research to a broad physics community. Goals of the class include for students to learn how to plan out their paper, develop strategies for drafting, and learn what makes an effective figure or table. The goals of the class are achieved through a mixture of lecture, group discussion, peer review, and office hour discussions. Syllabus and sample class materials available upon request.
Books Used:- Schimel, Joshua; Writing Science; Oxford University Press, 2012
- Olsen, Randy; Houston, We Have a Narrative; University of Chicago Press, 2015
- Doumont, Jean-Luc; Trees, Maps, & Theorems; Principiae, 2009
- Morrison, Michael; Effective Scientific Writing; Oxford University Press, in preparation
Lectures Covered
The Physics Teaching Practicum gives physics graduate students at the University of Notre Dame the opportunity to get actual lecture experience, which is not included in regular teaching assistant duties. Students are allowed to cover up to three lectures per semester under observation from a professor in the department or someone from the Kaneb Center for Teaching Excellence. After three lectures covered, students create a teaching portfolio that includes class preparation materials, self-reflections for each lecture, and observer feedback. The portfolio also includes student feedback if available. I completed the Teaching Practicum twice as a graduate student and my portfolios can be available upon request.
In addition to covering lectures through the Teaching Practicum, I have also covered a few lectures for astronomy classes at Iowa State University. These lectures were not done under observation and class preparation materials were provided to me.
| Class | Location | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ASTRO 120 | Iowa State | The Sun and the Solar System: An introductory astronomy class for non-science major undergraduate students focusing on planetary science, exoplanets, the possibility for alien life, and the night sky. (2) |
| ASTRO 150 | Iowa State | Stars, Galaxies, and Cosmology: An introductory astronomy course for non-science major undergraduate students focusing on the universe beyond the solar system and the history of the universe. (1) |
| PHYS 10140 | Notre Dame | Descriptive Astronomy: An introductory astronomy course for non-science major undergraduate students focusing on the night sky, the history of astronomy, the solar system, and major discoveries. (1) |
| PHYS 10240 | Notre Dame | Elementary Cosmology: An introductory astronomy course for non-science major undergraduate students focusing on the universe beyond our solar system, stellar astronomy, and the history of the universe. (1) |
| PHYS 20481 | Notre Dame | Introduction to Astronomy & Astrophysics: An introductory astronomy course for sophomore physics major students focusing on using physical principles to describe stars, galaxies, the universe, and telescopes. (3) |
| PHYS 50201 | Notre Dame | Physics of Astrophysics: An advanced astronomy course for senior physics major undergraduate students and first year physics graduate students. (1) |
| GRED 60500 | Notre Dame | Scientific Writing for Graduate Students: A professional development course offered to science and engineering graduate students focusing on the conventions of scientific writing in the United States. (1) |
| (#) = Number of lectures covered | ||