G. C. Sloan: Teaching Experience



VT logo Senior Instructor, Department of Physics, Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, VA), spring 1999 to spring 2000

I taught general physics each of my three semesters at Virginia Tech. This included both (1) calculus-based physics for freshmen in engineering and science and (2) physics without calculus for students in biological disciplines. Each semester, I was responsible for 2 or 3 sections, ranging in size from 80 to 120 students each. My favorite part of the course? Motivating students to tackle a challenging subject. Despite the sheer number of students I had each semester, I was able to give one-on-one attention to the students who needed it (including a few who didn't realize that I'd spot them even if they didn't approach me).

UNE logo Visiting Lecturer, Division of Physics and Electronics Engineering, University of New England (Armidale, NSW, Australia), second semester 1996, 1997, and 1998

The Division of Physics has hosted me in Armidale three times now, starting each time in July. As the only astronomer at UNE (and a visiting one at that), I was asked to teach their astronomy course, help them reorganize and update it, and improve the laboratory exercises for the students. I still maintain a web page for them with some recent pictures from Galileo and other probes.

UM logo Visiting Instructor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Montana (Missoula, MT), summer 1991

The summer before I completed my Ph.D., Montana needed someone to teach their concurrent summer courses on planetary and stellar astronomy. Lecturing 3 hours a day, 5 days a week, didn't lead to a lot of progress on my dissertation that summer, but I had a lot of fun. Most memorable was the open house we held during the partial solar eclipse. One of the department engineers linked a heliostat on the roof with a closed-circuit large-format television monitor in the lecture hall, and several hundred people came by to view it! I was very impressed with the interest in astronomy among the citizens of Missoula, and this was the first time I made the evening news.

UW logo Instructor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Wyoming (Laramie, WY), summer 1986 and 1988
After my first year of graduate school, I volunteered (begged really) to teach the introductory astronomy course offered during the summer school. This was such a good experience, I volunteered again the next summer I was available.

While in grad school, I also served as a teaching assistant for virtually every course the department offered (but then, who hasn't?).


A separate page describes my life as a researcher.

Curriculum vita available in postscript or PDF format.


Home Teaching

Last modified 18 October, 2002. © Gregory C. Sloan.