Assoc Prof
Qinghai WangProfile page
Assoc Professor
Physics
TEACHING INTERESTS
Since joined NUS in 2008, I have taught eight different modules. They comprise a full spectrum of Physics education in a university. On the aspect of levels, I have taught level 1000 freshmen, level 3000 juniors, level 4000 honours year students, and level 5000 graduate students. On the aspect of topics, I have taught The Beauty of Symmetry (SP1021P, FMS1203P) for interests only, Mechanics (PC1141 and PC1431) and Thermodynamics (PC1431) as the foundations of other physics courses, Optics (PC3247) as a mixture of theory and applications, and the hard core theoretical modules like Electrodynamics (PC4242), Relativity (PC4248), Quantum Field Theory (PC5206), and Analytic Approximation (PC5204B). On the aspect of class size, I have taught courses as small as ten students (PC5206) and as large as 243 students (PC1431).
In a modern university like NUS, teaching is far more than delivery of knowledge. We teach students not only the concrete subject, but also the way of critical thinking, the strategy of problem-solving, the skills of communication including reading, writing, and speaking, etc. In my opinion, the ultimate goal of teaching is for students to learn. Therefore, teaching should be tailored according to different levels and backgrounds of students.
Teaching should be tailored according to different levels and backgrounds of students. Here, I will illustrate my teaching strategies and goals using the modules I taught as examples.
The level 1000 modules are the bases of all other modules in higher levels. My first goal of teaching freshmen is to give my students a solid foundation which will benefit them for the further study and career. We have good quality freshmen in NUS, they are well motivated and enthusiasm in their majors. They are also very anxious about the module and the university life in general. My second goal of teaching freshmen is to further increase their interests in the subject. I make the class interesting by adding a lot of demonstrations, conceptual discussions, and connections to daily life experience. I guide them step by step into the wonderful world of physics. Of course, not all freshmen are well prepared for the impact of college life. My third goal of teaching freshmen is to help them adapt to the college learning. I help them to make the transition from the passive knowledge receivers in junior colleges/high schools to active learners in the university. In PC1141, about two thirds of the students were first year physics majors. They were well motivated. My job was not only to deliver the knowledge, but also to keep their enthusiasm in Physics. For a freshman seminar module like SP1201P, it is taught in the class size of 15 students. They came from different departments. My teaching outcome of this freshman seminar is not only to deliver the knowledge, but also to equip students the basic oral and written skills for their scientific career. To achieve these goals, I used multiple teaching modes: lecturing, surveys, quizzes, student presentations, in-class discussions, group projects, and even showing a mathematical movie series.
The level 4000 modules are the highest level in the undergraduate study. Most of them are elective. They offer a wide range of topics for honours students. Many of our honours students are aiming to graduate schools. The level 4000 modules are meant to make them more complete NUS products and be more prepared for postgraduate studies and research. When I teach an honours level module, I focus more on knowledge delivery than motivation. I introduce more current ongoing research into the module. I adjust the level of the course depending on the background of students. For an honours level elective module like PC4248, the class was a mix of third year, honours year, graduate, and exchange students. To bring all my students to the same page, I systematically reviewed the prerequisite knowledge in Newtonian Mechanics and Special Relativity. The weaker students can learn the subject from the reviews and the strong students can build logical connections between all topics. Because this module is heavily mathematics involved, I showed my students details of derivations. I emphasized that the mathematics is the language of physics, it is impossible to understand a complicated physics phenomena without solid mathematics.
The level 5000 modules are for the graduate students. The courses are more research oriented. They are often in small class size, which gives us more flexibility. When I teach a graduate module, I adjust the syllabus to fit students' need in their research. For a graduate module like PC5206, it is more research oriented. They are often in small class size, which gives us more flexibility. When I teach a graduate module, I adjust the syllabus to fit students's need in their research.
In a modern university like NUS, teaching is far more than delivery of knowledge. We teach students not only the concrete subject, but also the way of critical thinking, the strategy of problem-solving, the skills of communication including reading, writing, and speaking, etc. In my opinion, the ultimate goal of teaching is for students to learn. Therefore, teaching should be tailored according to different levels and backgrounds of students.
Teaching should be tailored according to different levels and backgrounds of students. Here, I will illustrate my teaching strategies and goals using the modules I taught as examples.
The level 1000 modules are the bases of all other modules in higher levels. My first goal of teaching freshmen is to give my students a solid foundation which will benefit them for the further study and career. We have good quality freshmen in NUS, they are well motivated and enthusiasm in their majors. They are also very anxious about the module and the university life in general. My second goal of teaching freshmen is to further increase their interests in the subject. I make the class interesting by adding a lot of demonstrations, conceptual discussions, and connections to daily life experience. I guide them step by step into the wonderful world of physics. Of course, not all freshmen are well prepared for the impact of college life. My third goal of teaching freshmen is to help them adapt to the college learning. I help them to make the transition from the passive knowledge receivers in junior colleges/high schools to active learners in the university. In PC1141, about two thirds of the students were first year physics majors. They were well motivated. My job was not only to deliver the knowledge, but also to keep their enthusiasm in Physics. For a freshman seminar module like SP1201P, it is taught in the class size of 15 students. They came from different departments. My teaching outcome of this freshman seminar is not only to deliver the knowledge, but also to equip students the basic oral and written skills for their scientific career. To achieve these goals, I used multiple teaching modes: lecturing, surveys, quizzes, student presentations, in-class discussions, group projects, and even showing a mathematical movie series.
The level 4000 modules are the highest level in the undergraduate study. Most of them are elective. They offer a wide range of topics for honours students. Many of our honours students are aiming to graduate schools. The level 4000 modules are meant to make them more complete NUS products and be more prepared for postgraduate studies and research. When I teach an honours level module, I focus more on knowledge delivery than motivation. I introduce more current ongoing research into the module. I adjust the level of the course depending on the background of students. For an honours level elective module like PC4248, the class was a mix of third year, honours year, graduate, and exchange students. To bring all my students to the same page, I systematically reviewed the prerequisite knowledge in Newtonian Mechanics and Special Relativity. The weaker students can learn the subject from the reviews and the strong students can build logical connections between all topics. Because this module is heavily mathematics involved, I showed my students details of derivations. I emphasized that the mathematics is the language of physics, it is impossible to understand a complicated physics phenomena without solid mathematics.
The level 5000 modules are for the graduate students. The courses are more research oriented. They are often in small class size, which gives us more flexibility. When I teach a graduate module, I adjust the syllabus to fit students' need in their research. For a graduate module like PC5206, it is more research oriented. They are often in small class size, which gives us more flexibility. When I teach a graduate module, I adjust the syllabus to fit students's need in their research.