George Duncan

As a teacher, my primary goal is to stimulate interest, to inspire learning. More specifically, as a scientist I introduce students to a body of facts and concepts. I ask them to consider all of this material as tentative, material to be viewed critically through the lens of the scientific method. I also introduce science in the sense of community and encourage students to think of themselves as members of the community who should be active citizens, not onlookers. Methodologically, I seek a balance in my courses between lecturing to students and asking them to make discoveries. I encourage students to engage with the topic at hand, and recognize that I am often sowing the seeds of confusion which they will have to harvest with me and with each other in the belief that good teaching depends upon intellectual exchange. My approach to student assessment is directed at mastery of a body of knowledge without a lot of rote memorization and demonstration of the ability to use the scientific method to organize facts and concepts, identify unknowns and suggest possible experimental roads into solutions.