In a classroom in McLane Hall, students surround another student plucking strings on a cello. These are not music students, nor are they in a class on music.
The students are part of the service-learning course titled, Physics Outreach and Pedagogy.
The professor, Donald Williams, has taught the class for two years. The course prepares students for the field of teaching.
“That’s my expertise,” Williams said. “I teach teachers.”
Williams, who, in previous years, went out to local schools to teach physics, was recommended by the physics department to start a service-learning course.
Williams collaborated with Chris Fiorentino, director of the Jan and Bud Richter Center for Community Engagement and Service-Learning, to start the class.
“The physics service-learning course is a wonderful example of how faculty members are able to connect the content of any discipline to meeting the needs in the community,” Fiorentino said.
The course entails a prerequisite of a single basic physics course.
“Basically, what it is, they are going to learn how to teach,” Williams said. “They are going to learn how to really teach.”
The students travel weekly to schools throughout the Valley to experience teaching in real-life settings.
“Believe it or not, we go to preschools, even all the way up to colleges, so all of my students get a chance to teach in front of all kinds of stuff,” Williams said. “They get a real feel of it.”
Williams discussed not only the importance of learning experience received by his students, but also the benefit to the community as well.
“I’m spreading the word of physics out to the community,” Williams said. “We go not just to schools. We go to hospitals. We go out to community organizations. We go out to mother-daughter things. We do a lot of TV spots.”
Williams estimates that his students in the past two years have performed more than hundreds of hours outside the class.
Melisa Gemetti, a student in Williams’ class, sought out the course to get more hands-on experience working with children and teaching. Gemetti said the class offered students the opportunity to work with less-fortunate communities and schools.
“It’s doing this stuff that makes you motivated to want to continue to go into teaching,” Gemetti said.
Brenda Lawson, a former student of Williams, has returned since graduating to help other students currently in the course.
“It’ll teach you what you’ll need to know in the classroom,” Lawson said.
Lawson, who is teaching now, admits that what she learned from textbooks and other classes did not prepare her like Williams’ course.
“When you go into a classroom, it’s not that perfect situation,” Lawson said. “With these types of classes, you have those, ‘Oh my gosh, we have a problem. How are we going to solve it?’””and that’s what everyday teaching is.”
Gemetti and Lawson both said students need to be involved with service-learning courses.
“I think every student needs to take a service-learning course to learn what else is out there other than the book learning,” Gemetti said. “It has been an eye opening experience.”
Williams expressed the importance for professors to utilize service-learning courses in their curriculum.
“Absolutely service-learning,” Williams said. “I’m 100 percent behind it.”
Williams hopes to expand and add more service-learning courses in the physics department.