A classroom veteran, physics professor Serge
Rudaz taught his first classes
before many of his current students were even born. He's spent a professional
lifetime teaching pure physics to students whose preparation may range from
superb to spotty.
"The point of having 20 or 30 years of experience is that you know what's important," he says. "Look at the enormous, thick textbooks that [beginning students] have the misfortune of lugging around. A good teacher can distill that into something a quarter of the size of the text."
Methodical in his preparation and conscientious in his delivery, Rudaz definitely is that kind of teacher. He's also keenly aware of the fearsome reputation that his subject has earned for itself among undergraduates.
"Physics is notoriously difficult," he admits. "It requires so much in the way of background tools."
Over the years Rudaz has developed a repertoire of techniques designed to counter the intimidation factor. For example, he insists on teaching all components of introductory physics sequences so that freshmen don't have to adjust to a new instructor each semester.
To further bolster their confidence, he makes sure that students in his classes receive a solid grounding in the basic laws of physics. Without that foundation, he says, beginning students may regard the subject as "an ad hoc collection of recipes." Sometimes in class he'll rework a single problem just to prove that any of several related approaches—basic Newtonian force laws or the conservation of energy, for example—could be used to solve it.
"The essence of pedagogy is repetition," he says. "I'll provide alternate derivations whether I'm teaching grad students or undergraduates."
He surprises his students with his "old-fashioned approach" to teaching. "I only use chalk and a blackboard. Any other [teaching aids] take away spontaneity," he says. "Attending my lectures is very important. I rarely follow anything in a textbook. If students only read the textbook, they're missing the course."
Rudaz (pronounced Ru-DAH) grew up in French-speaking Canada and received a Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1979. Although it's been several decades since his student days, he remembers clearly his own struggles with physics as an undergraduate and uses these recollections to inspire his teaching.
"I try to put myself in the students' place," he says. "They're bright, they're motivated, but they may have gaps in their background or understanding."
He adds, "Good teaching takes time. I took a job at a research university instead of a research center because I intended to spend half my time teaching. Besides, teaching is a help—not a hindrance—to research. To find the simplest way of looking at things for undergraduates can shape the way you look at research problems."
