1am/for-the-love-of-teaching

For the love of teaching

· from tutoring HCI at ANU · Mayukh Das

A year ago I was a student in Human-Computer Interaction at ANU. I had a great tutor, Ethan Teber-Rossi, and that is when I first felt I would love to tutor this course one day. This semester I'm on the other side of the room, tutoring the same course, COMP6390/3900.

A student asking a question with an outstretched hand while Mayukh stands at the front listening
A question from the floor.

A course built to be fun

The way Charles Martin teaches HCI at ANU is designed to be fun and arts-and-craftsy. Students make paper prototypes and work with their hands, which keeps them engaged while they grasp real HCI research methodology and theory. It isn't a lighter version of the subject. It is the subject, taught in a way that makes people want to turn up.

Being taught that way taught me how to make teaching engaging while making sure everyone understands.

The tutorial room from a student table, with laptops open and Mayukh presenting at the front
The tutorial, from a student's seat.

The last student, not the first

Some students get it on the first go, and others need a little more attention. It is tempting to measure a tutorial by the first hands that go up, because that feels like it worked. For the love of teaching, not the first.

In practice that means explaining the same idea more than one way, walking through real examples on the screen, and staying with a question until it actually makes sense to the person who asked it.

Mayukh pointing at a bubble chart on the screen while facing the room
Walking through a chart.
Mayukh reaching up to point at notes on the screen
Back to the notes.

Why I keep coming back

Teaching a course I took so recently means I still remember where I got stuck. I can't wait to tutor again.

Judge the tutorial by the last student to understand, not the first.

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