Statement of teaching: Experience, interests, supervision and courses

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Teaching concept

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Teaching is a form of learning; it is the best way to learn and review basic knowledge and even life. Teachers are encouraged to seek continuous professional development because they are asked questions from students on a daily basis. Teaching even shapes research because it provides a chance to be continually creative.

Understanding the potential of students and discovering how they learn is the most challenging aspect of teaching. It relates directly to the educational background and personal parameters of the students, including their ability to concentrate and interpret the teacher’s words. A good teacher should be familiar with such parameters of individual students and build up his teaching on it. In other words, a good teacher should personalize the potential and problems of different students. This is particularly important for heterogeneous classes, such as international students from different cultures and varying outlooks.

A teacher is also required to communicate complex and difficult topics in a manner that is easily understandable, as well as provide everyday life examples. An example of this relates to an explanation of marriage using entropy. It would be necessary to explain how the entropy of a dimer (a couple) is less than that of a monomer (a single person) and how the association of a child creates an oligomer with less entropy and, ultimately, less free energy.

Polymer chemistry is an applied field, and its fundamental concepts can be exemplified using various available objects. For example; an illustration could be made of how small changes in the structure or connections of monomers can dramatically change the transition temperature of the final polymer and consequently change its application from an artificial glass to a flexible bag.

I always prompt students (at any level) to consider reactions and phenomena from different points of view, sometimes using impossible pathways. My job is to motivate students to learn. I should also teach them to be critical, even through well-known reactions. For example, in explaining the mechanism behind a simple reaction, I try to reach the answer using several reaction pathways. After that, I ask the students which approach is incorrect and which is appropriate and get them to explain the reason for this. Identification of the incorrect pathways and the ability to determine the reasons for this is more important than identification of the correct pathway. Postgraduate students are encouraged to discuss their projects when I teaching related topics. This is the basis of my teaching philosophy and involves asking “Why?” and “How?”

I try to learn as much as possible about my students and to locate their potential when embarking on a new course or entering a new semester. It is very helpful to meet the students individually, in particularly those who need assistance, and to cover different topics. Students who have a close relationship with their teachers are more likely to succeed academically. A close relationship between a teacher and students impacts positively on their behavior in class, thus leading to greater engagement in the learning process. Students are better able to learn from a teacher who has created a friendly and stress-free atmosphere. A strong relationship between students and the teacher is not limited to the classroom or teaching course because students tend to visualize their teacher as a model for their future career and a leader from him they can ask advice. Thus, a strong relationship is the foundation for a professional networking opportunity for students who remain in communication with their teachers long after graduating.

A good teacher should be able to transmit his knowledge to students, and this is best achieved by using language that is accessible to them. He should imagine that he is a student sitting in class and listening to the topic. Then, he should consider the most optimal language to facilitate absorption of the information by the students. A good teacher needs to prepare well for the course. I review topics before the next class and determine the best way to communicate the topic using a readily understandable language. I never proceed with a course (i.e., basic polymer chemistry or organic chemistry II) before reviewing the topic, and this remains the case even after 15 years of teaching.

Teachers must teach students the concept of teamwork regardless of the course that they are taking because graduates with this skill are more likely to be successful in their future careers and more readily able to solve problems. I exemplify the concept of teamwork by highlighting the difference between a monomer and a polymer. I demonstrate how the connections between monomers create a polymer with useful properties and high-potential applications. To convey the concept of teamwork, I design multi-step reactions and ask several teams to identify the mechanisms of each step. Finally, the students must review the steps together. Any unsolved step indicates an unsolved multistep reaction.  

I try to use new facilities and software while teaching. It is not possible to teach certain concepts without showing a good film or cartoon by way of illustration. Similarly, teaching using PowerPoint^® slides only can be too hurried for students to follow. Thus, I use PowerPoint^® slides, films, or cartoons along with a blackboard. Together, both strategies are useful. I also locate scientific talks (conferences) by eminent scientists on YouTube and present them together with the relevant topic in the class for postgraduate students. I encourage students to learn new software and utilize new technologies when completing their homework.

Every two weeks, I briefly review the previous topic and, sometimes, this is best achieved by setting tests. This helps students make connections between previous and new ones. I recommend that students visit the library to read new books because I personally believe that notes and other sources are not as an efficient learning tool as books.

Finally, I believe that teaching requires passion and dedication. Teachers should be able to motivate and encourage their students and illuminate their academic path. When I see my students succeed, I believe that I am also successful in my career.

Courses

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Evaluation	Year	Course	Level
			BS	MSc	PhD
4.88/5	2007	Organic Chemistry I	•
4.96/5	2007	Spectroscopy in Organic Chemistry	•
4.89/5	2007	Polymer Chemistry		•
5/5	2008	Heterocyclic Chemistry		•
5/5	2008	Nanomedicine			•
4.89/5	2008	Spectroscopy in Organic Chemistry	•
4.75/5	2008	Organic Chemistry II	•
4.85/5	2009	Introduction to Biochemistry	•
4.88/5	2009	Nanomedicine			•
4.78/5	2009	Introduction to Biochemistry	•
4.95/5	2010	Polymer Chemistry		•
4.77/5	2010	Organic Chemistry II	•
4.65/5	2011	Polymer Chemistry		•
4.99/5	2011	Advanced Organic Chemistry		•
4.97/5	2011	Heterocyclic Chemistry		•
4.71/5	2011	Nanomedicine			•
4.31/5	2012	Advanced Organic Chemistry		•
4.28/5	2012	Nanomedicine			•
4.88/5	2012	Polymer Chemistry		•
4.77/5	2013	Supramolecular Chemistry		•
4.8/5	2013	Advance Organic Chemistry		•
-	2014	Polymer-graft-Carbon based Nanomaterials and their Biomedical Applications			•
-	2014	Advanced Topics in Polymer Science		•
-	2016	Advanced Topics in Polymer Science		•
-	2016	Polymer-graft-Carbon based Nanomaterials and their Biomedical Applications		•
-	2016	Macromolecules I		•
4.98/5	2016	Advanced Polymer Chemistry			•
4.90/5	2017	Introduction to Nanotechnology		•
-	2017	Macromolecules I		•
4.18/5	2017	Advanced Organic Chemistry			•
-	2018	Macromolecules I		•
4.71/5	2018	Introduction to Nanotechnology		•
-	2018	Polymer-graft-Carbon based Nanomaterials and their Biomedical Applications		•
4.90/5	2019	Advanced Polymer Chemistry			•
5/5	2019	Heterocyclic Chemistry		•
5/5	2019	Supramolecular Chemistry		•
4.28/5	2019	Advanced Organic Chemistry			•
4.93/5	2020	Polymer chemistry	•
4.95/5	2020	Nanomedicine			•
-	2021	Polymer chemistry			•
4.88/5	2021	Organic Chemistry II	•
4.89/5	2022	Organic Chemistry III	•
4.9/5-	2022	Heterocyclic Chemistry		•