My Teaching Philosophy
I have had the pleasure of teaching before I came to Missouri S&T. My first experience teaching was as an undergraduate where I taught an introductory astronomy course in the physics department back in my home country for several years. This course was actually conceived and created by a group of students I was part of. A now retired professor in the physics department (Miguel Monsalve, who was a pioneer of active learning techniques in my state) encouraged us to create the course and allowed us to prepare, teach, and grade the course. This was a defining experience in my life. My second opportunity to teach was in the University of Illinois during my graduate school. I created guides of material, improve laboratories, as well as deliver and grade a plasma laboratory (for graduate and undergraduates students). Also in Illinois, I took a special course offered for students thinking of pursuing academic careers (EOL-490TC: College Teaching and Academic Careers), this was a great opportunity to learn a lot more about active learning techniques, assessment techniques, philosophy of teaching, reflexive teaching, the scholarly of teaching and learning, etc.
I am constantly trying to improve my teaching materials and my teaching techniques (clickers, LEAD sessions, peer-learning, self-elected research projects, etc). I want to continue improving and enhancing my teaching effectiveness. Something that hinders the mastering of subjects in a small department is the inherent difficulties of having relatively few professors and many courses. For example, I have had to teach 8 “different” courses in my tenure period. This is hard when also trying to keep up with the time drains of service to a big student population and maintaining a research program.
I love knowledge in and by itself with no strings attached. I love learning for its own sake. I think my life span is short and I have little time to do whatever it is that I will do before the end comes. That said, I think that teaching and service are not different tasks of a professor. I believe they are one and the same: it is to live life. To teach, to help, doing as much as I can with our talents is to fulfill our mission in life (finding and living our vocation).
I like sharing with my students the thrill of learning. I find it hard to do a good job teaching if I do not know whom I am teaching and why I am teaching them. I try every time to learn about my students: What is it they are after? What drives them? Where do they see themselves a few years in the future? I realize that not everybody pursues an education for the thrill of learning; so discovering the motivation that drives students is a worthwhile task in the classroom and helps me better connect with students. I do not mind allocating some quality time to discussing their career.
I believe that some of the most important things that you learn in a classroom are not academic per se, but rather the skills developed concurrently. I frequently remind my students that hard work and proper discipline are key to succeed, yet every person has to strike a balance. There is no gain if I lose their mind in the process of mastering material. I would much rather have them only partially learn something than lead them to hate a subject by overexertion. I have obtained multiple degrees and I know that what stays with the person is the mental discipline that you gain by working in a course, the self-confidence that will stay with you from success, not the equations and methods that oftentimes get replaced with newer ways of doing things. I rather win the student’s “souls”, so that they will be lifelong learners and a inspiration for others, be it coworkers or maybe their own children.
My late mother specifically requested a feature in my teaching style. She told me that as a professor I should always try to help students, because not everybody has the same capability, learning habits, or resources. There are some students that make a big sacrifice to study and that has to count. I am not just a grade assigner. I want my students to succeed in learning and understanding. As Don Quixote once advised Sancho Panza when he was going to assume political power: “When there is doubt about the justice of a case, err on the side of mercy”. It is something that I always tell my students that I see faltering: “Never give up, for you can always succeed. Success is not just accomplishment, but the overcoming of your own challenges”.
Some of my best teaching experiences have come from teaching undergraduate elective courses and tutoring small groups of people looking for help. For example, I enjoyed teaching math to undergraduate students in a rural setting in Colombia many years ago. There was a lot I could do teach them. Many did not what options were available to them, and many wrongly thought that college was out of their reach. I had a great time, and the students understood that my main interest was their success. This focus elicited a very positive response from everyone. Even the few that did not perform well in the class acknowledged in individual meetings that if they wanted to achieve more they needed to put more effort and sometimes sacrifice some of their comfortable habits to achieve their dreams.
I think something that helps me be more effective is the fact that I remember how desolate a classroom can be when the professor is following some agenda but does not care if the students understand. What is the point of “covering” all the material if the students do not assimilate, nor master the material, and will not remember anything one year from now, or one week from now for that matter? What is the impact of that in the life of the students? I believe in the positive effect of modern teaching methods. There should not be any reason why a subject has to be made dull. From the abstract to the more concrete disciplines, they all have the potential of being interesting and different students can learn by focusing on different aspects of a subject. Many courses that are considered hard just require the appropriate grade of commitment and the proper focus for different learning styles. I was lucky enough to be introduced into the practice of teaching by a professor and friend that believed on excellence in education back in my home country. I had the opportunity to further study and practice modern educational techniques as part of my graduate education here in the United States in the Center for Teaching Excellence of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This helped me prepare better for my work.
One last feature I want to highlight in my teaching style is the stimulation of cooperation. I always try to correct my students if I do not see them cooperating or trying to hold onto knowledge. I try to give my students as much as I can, and I expect all my students to be open and cooperative. Learning is seriously impaired when students are secretive and do not share. Cooperative learning is based on the fact that we can assimilate information better from a peer than from an authority figure. In class I have them constantly work in groups and share across the classroom; I do not mind them talking to each other as long as they are engaged. In fact, I tell them that is the main difference between live and distance education is that you can talk to your friend on your side and solve your doubts J
Cooperativeness to me encompasses the giving away of prime material for the advancement of our society and its individuals. I want to show them the benefits of cooperation over profit. I advocate the creation of free books, the release of all academic papers, and the creation of free software. I see many cases where professors and other professionals spend a lot of time and effort making a great book but in the end the professor makes a few dollars per year and the material is not widely available. I advocate cutting the middleman to have a greater impact. Why not give away the small amount of money per year to make a great quality book available to everybody for free (or nearly so)? The benefit is so much greater. We have much to do in the little time we have left on Earth.
I can summarize my teaching philosophy by saying that I hunger for having a positive impact in the world by what I do. I do not want only to impact the way my students learn, I want them to go forth and help other people. They will be the professors and examples of future generations. I want them to help and be compassionate to their students, because many people need help. What good are the talents of our students, if their talents die with them having little or even a negative impact on their own students, coworkers, friends, and the society in general? I want them to learn to help others, and there is no better way to teach than by example. I do love teaching! I love teaching in an institution where I can have bright minds to impress and to mentor.
Courses Taught
NE 1105: Introduction to Nuclear Engineering
First recruitment course to nuclear engineering. It shows the many possible applications of nuclear technology as well as diverse careers of nuclear engineers.
- Semester taught: Spring and Fall
NE 2105: Introduction to Nuclear Engineering
It is the first real nuclear engineering course of the nuclear engineering curriculum. In this course students start training and understanding nuclear technology and the mathematic formulism that nuclear engineers apply in our eventual jobs.
- Semester taught: Spring and Fall
NE 4361: Fusion Fundamentals
Introduction to nuclear fusion, plasmas, and fusion devices. An elective course offered every other year in the Spring (2021-2023-)
NE 4438: Reactor Lab 2
Experiential learning laboratory in the senior year, where students in groups explore a practical experiment related to nuclear technology.
Student Engagement
LEAD sessions Mondays 4 pm in Fulton 220
Office Hours
W-F 9-11 am
Contact
castanoc@mst.edu
(573) 341-6766