TEACHING

BACKGROUND

Michael K. McBeath

My teaching background emphasizes the fields of Perception, Cognition, and Statistics.

The following lists summarize my teaching background:

1. Teaching Philosophy

2. Courses I am prepared to teach

3. Innovations

4. Supervisory activities

4. Teaching Experience

5. Teaching ratings

Information concerning courses can be found in my Class Notes and Handouts web page.

**TEACHING PHILOSOPHY**
Undergraduate level	1. Emphasize making classes informative, memorable, relevant, and fun. 2. Promote a broad-based education that includes academics, research, and extra curricular activities.
Graduate Level	1. Train students how to be successful and inspired in their careers. 2. Help guide students to complete their degrees in a timely manner. 3. Pass on tricks of success on how to perform well in research, publishing, teaching, and grantsmanship.

**COURSES I AM PREPARED TO TEACH**
Undergraduate level	Perception Experimental Design and Statistics Methods in Psychology Writing in Psychology Cognitive Psychology Mathematical Psychology Human Factors/Engineering Psychology Introductory Psychology Controversial Issues in Psychology
Graduate level	Perception Experimental Design and Statistics Cognitive Psychology Mathematical Psychology Human Factors/Engineering Psychology A variety of seminars (e.g. Navigating Nature: Vision & Audition)

**TEACHING INNOVATIONS**
Perception	Seven blind people and the elephant theme Silly hats for each theoretical approach Many cartoons Hands on demonstration materials Harmonica and guitar acoustic demonstrations Audio CD demonstrations Talking cup Special topics like perception in sports and virtual environments
Statistics	Machiavellian approach to statistics theme Emphasize definitional formulas over computational formulas Training on computers The Great Toy Car Race: A memorable demonstration of correlation. Use of Legos to show simple descriptive statistical concepts Use of Legos to provide a geometric example of the General Linear Model Analysis of Variance on the Harmonica Take home final exam

**SUPERVISORY ACTIVITIES**
Activities that promote the non-classroom training of students	Psi Chi Advisor Undergraduate Research Supervisor Star Minority Student Program Volunteer Experimental Brown Bag Speaker Series Co-organizer Department colloquium committee member Department computer and World Wide Web committee member Principal Research Advisor to six graduate students

**TEACHING EXPERIENCE**
1994-Present	Introductory Perception Class, Professor, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242. Instructor for undergraduate level course.
1995-Present	Writing in Psychology Class, Professor, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242. Instructor for undergraduate level course.
1993-Present	Introductory Statistics Class, Professor, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242. Instructor for undergraduate level course.
1993-Present	Experimental Design and Statistics Class, Professor, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242. Instructor for graduate level course. Instructor for graduate level seminar.
1992-Present	Perception of 3-D Space and Motion Seminar, Professor, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242.
1988-1989	Cognitive Psychology Class T.A., Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305. Assisted in coordination, lecturing, and grading, in team taught Graduate level course. Professors: Dr. Gordon Bower & Dr. Barbara Tversky.
1988	Mathematical Psychology Class T.A., Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305. Provided sections and office hours, determined homework and exam solutions, and graded for Graduate level course. Professors: Dr. Amos Tversky, Dr. Misha Pavel, & Dr. Brian Wandell.
1987	Statistics Class T.A., Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305. Led sections and graded homework and exams. Professor: Dr. Karen Ahlm.
1986-1987	Perception Class T.A., Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305. Provided office hours and review sessions, and graded homework and exams. Professor: Dr. Brian Wandell.
Physics and Engineering courses taught prior to obtaining Ph.D.	1. Microcomputer Laboratory T.A., University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106. Developed and instructed laboratory classes. Professor: Dr. Douglas Hogg. 2. Physics Laboratory T.A., University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106. Instructed and graded laboratory classes. Supervisor: Rick Dorshaw. 3. Electronics Laboratory T.A., Brown University, Providence, RI 02912. Supervised and graded laboratory classes. Professor: Dr. Barrett Hazeltine. 4. Physics Laboratory T.A., Brown University, Providence, RI 02912. Instructed and graded laboratory classes. Professor: Dr. Chung-I Tan.

**TEACH RATINGS**
Awards	1. Innovative Teaching Award, Psi Chi Psychology Honor Society, Kent Chapter, 1996 2. Advisor of the Semester Finalist, Kent State Office of Campus Life, 1995, 1996.
Comments	1. Average annual teaching ratings: 1998-9: 1.14 (on a scale of 1-5: 1 = most positive, 3 = average, 5 = most negative). 2. Average teaching ratings for all undergraduate courses while at Kent State from 1994-1998 (scale of 1-6): My average: 1.46, Dept. average: 2.32. 3. Sample rating recent semester in Perception class (scale of 1-5): My average = 1.06 (1 = 94%, 2 = 6%, 3 = 0%, 4 = 0%, 5 = 0%).

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[Last updated 6-10-97]