{"447521":{"#nid":"447521","#data":{"type":"news","title":"In the Classroom with Bill Singhose","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EProfessor Bill Singhose teaches Mechanical Engineering 2110, Georgia Tech\u2019s introductory mechanical design class that enrolls 300 students per term. His students, who know little about engineering when they enter the class, follow a basic engineering curriculum, which culminates in the construction of a simple robot that competes in an end-of-term competition attended by hundreds, including industrial sponsors. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cWe give each student team [of three to four students] $1,000 worth of material to build a robot for the competition,\u201d said the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering professor who has taught design for 17 years. \u201cBefore the competition, the projects are evaluated by the competition sponsors during a science fair, and the sponsors get to ask questions. The sponsors can then easily identify the best students they want to hire for their company. Essentially, it\u2019s like a specialized career fair where students bring a machine they just built.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003ESinghose is at home interacting with the sponsors, spearheading the competition, and most of all, teaching the students. But, he did not reach this comfort level overnight.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cI think I started learning how to teach well when I was a postdoc at MIT,\u201d he said. \u201cI taught the capstone design course in conjunction with other faculty. I got to help students build a machine, and they had to exhibit the machine and explain how it worked to a panel of judges. The whole experience was very rewarding. I can\u2019t say I was a great teacher at that point, but I realized it was a very fun thing to do.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EAfter a year at MIT, Singhose came to Georgia Tech and began teaching similar classes, helping students create machines.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cI\u2019m not one of those teachers who does a lot of theory and proofs,\u201d he said. \u201cI think that because I don\u2019t teach those classes I have a lot more fun with my students because we get to build something. Almost all of my classes involve building or using real machines,\u201d said Singhose, who also teaches a graduate-level controls course and a rehabilitation engineering course.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EAt Tech, he has received accolades for teaching, including the CETL\/BP Junior Faculty Teaching Excellence Award and the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u2019s Zeigler Outstanding Educator Award. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch5 class=\u0022p6\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EClassroom Strategies\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h5\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cMy approach is to try to relate to the students and explain a topic in terms of something they will understand at an intuitive level,\u201d Singhose said. \u201cFifteen or 20 years ago, we probably could have used automobiles a lot as examples, but students don\u2019t work on their cars any more. So, we have to think of new things. I try to bring in topics that are current. A lot of the examples I use now have to do with cellphones since everyone has one.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003ESinghose said he also cites examples from his own experiences working at different companies. This past summer, he spent two weeks in Alaska working as a commercial fisherman, where he worked 20-hour shifts and caught 275,000 pounds of salmon during a particularly prolific eight-day span.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E \u201cI use a lot of cranes as examples in my teaching,\u201d he said. \u201cThe fishing boat has a crane that lifts up the fish. I learned how to operate that crane and how to pick up the fish and spill them into the boat. I learned a lot about fluid dynamics and how to maneuver the net to keep it from tangling. In my introductory class, I have a lecture on safety. I imagine I will show some videos on what can go wrong [when fishing commercially] and how dangerous the real world is.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch5 class=\u0022p6\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EReally Reaching the Students\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h5\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EBecause of Singhose\u2019s approach of using his personal experiences to reach his students, he introduces new design challenges to them every year that are inspired by his latest adventures and current events.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EBut is he, in fact, getting through to them?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cWhen I\u2019m teaching 300 students, it\u2019s difficult for me to know if they\u2019re getting it, Singhose said. \u201cIn the smaller classes, I make a lot of eye contact, and I will prompt them with questions. Mine is one of those annoying classes where you sometimes have to speak up and ask or answer a question.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EThe 300 students in ME 2110 are divided into subgroups of 20 that meet in the design studio to run tests and develop their robots. At that level, Singhose can have more interaction with the students and see if they understand the material.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cOver the years, you develop certain techniques, stories, and examples where you know they will be interested,\u201d he said. \u201cAs long as they can stay awake, at least you have that much of their attention.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003ESinghose has had only a couple of instances where he realized he didn\u2019t get through to the students during his lecture.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EIn one case \u2014 after most of the class failed the same question on a quiz \u2014 he reviewed the exam during the next lecture. The third question was the one most of the students did not answer correctly. To bring some humor to the scenario, when reviewing that particular question with the class, Singhose converted it into Japanese and said: \u201cFor some reason, you did not understand this question, and I don\u2019t know why.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch5 class=\u0022p6\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAdvice for New Faculty\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h5\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003ESinghose does not have one \u201cmagic piece of advice\u201d that suits all new faculty. His advice changes depending on the faculty and the class.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cIf a young faculty member is teaching a class that is already pretty successful \u2014 based on what other faculty have done in the past \u2014 my advice is don\u2019t change much,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you try to change everything and make it the world\u2019s greatest class, you\u2019re going to make too much work for yourself. You\u2019re probably going to make some mistakes, and you\u2019re going to annoy the other faculty who taught the class before you because they developed things that work. And, now you\u2019re spitting in their face by changing everything. Learn from others and appreciate what they\u2019ve done, then slowly make it your own class.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EAnd the personal experience approach is another key piece of advice that can work particularly well for young faculty members, says Singhose. He points out that young faculty at Tech are around 30 years old, with 10 or more years of work experience that they should use to make the material relatable.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cA lot of people are afraid to use their own experience, thinking it\u2019s not professional enough, or it\u2019s not in the book. Don\u2019t worry about that. If it had meaning to you, use it.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"ME Professor Uses Machines, Technology to Engage Students"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe mechanical engineering professor discusses what inspires him as a teacher and how he keeps his classes interesting to students.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The mechanical engineering professor discusses what inspires him as a teacher and how he keeps his classes interesting to students."}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2015-09-14 14:23:40","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:19:33","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-09-14T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2015-09-14T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"447501":{"id":"447501","type":"image","title":"Bill Singhose","body":null,"created":"1449256246","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 19:10:46","changed":"1475895189","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:09","alt":"Bill Singhose","file":{"fid":"203245","name":"singhose.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/singhose_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/singhose_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":764303,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/singhose_0.jpg?itok=kE-EknEi"}},"447511":{"id":"447511","type":"image","title":"Bill Singhose","body":null,"created":"1449256246","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 19:10:46","changed":"1475895189","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:09","alt":"Bill Singhose","file":{"fid":"203246","name":"singhose3.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/singhose3_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/singhose3_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":558442,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/singhose3_0.jpg?itok=5I_wTCxK"}}},"media_ids":["447501","447511"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/faculty\/singhose","title":"About Bill Singhose"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"141191","name":"bill singhose"},{"id":"594","name":"college of engineering"},{"id":"630","name":"me"},{"id":"541","name":"Mechanical Engineering"},{"id":"220","name":"professor"},{"id":"3918","name":"profile"},{"id":"737","name":"teaching"},{"id":"14302","name":"Teaching and Learning"},{"id":"2378","name":"Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:victor.rogers@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EVictor Rogers\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}