Today, I want to share what I learned from Prof. Dr. Ismail Said.

He already read a book entitled ” The Cosmic Perspective”,  written by Bennett, Donahue, Schneider & Voit, published in 2014. It is a textbook of physics major at Cornell University.

Begin with a nice point of view. “Science is not a body of facts but rather a process through which we seek to understand the world around us” (Bennett et. al., 2014).

Prof. Dr. Ismail Said stated that there are seven (7) pedagogical principles on delivering our lessons in the classroom namely:

(1) Stay focused on the big picture,

(2) Always provide context first,

(3)  Make the material relevant,

(4) Emphasize conceptual understanding,

(5) Proceed from the more familiar and concrete to the less familiar and abstract,

(6) Use plain language and,

(7) Recognize and address student misconceptions.

“Also, teach students to gain knowledge through analytical and critical thinking modes. These skills stay in them for long. Thus, students put less concern on getting grades, more on what they learned” he added.

He ended the sharing session with a scenario at Cornell University.

“Physics professors are instructed to set how many As be given in their classes. This to assure tough competition. Taufiq finds that his study is stressful. This is how Cornell generates good quality students. It has 22 Nobel Prizes in Physics”.