2015 Outstanding University Graduate Student Teaching Award Winner- Masters II
Mark A. Servos, B.S.
- B.S. in Chemistry, Illinois State University (2014)
- Graduate Teaching Assistant, Department of Chemistry
Teaching philosophy
I want my students to ask questions and desire answers, and I want to help them find a passion for all things scientific.
The most rewarding aspect of teaching
The look that a student gets when they are able to fully understand a concept or find that they truly enjoy the subject at hand. nothing really comes close to the sensation that you’ve made a difference in the way your students perceive the world around them.
The most challenging aspect of teaching
The most challenging aspect of teaching is getting out of my own head. I find that I have trouble explaining concepts to students on the spot because I often find myself explaining it in the way that I understand it. I have come to realize that I think of things in a very unique way relative to my students, and because of this my explanations can often be lost in translation. In order to overcome this problem, I plan out what I want to say beforehand in a manner that would best benefit the student with whom I am working. More often than not this technique helps to elaborate on the lesson I am trying to teach, but I still find myself slipping back into my own mindset every once in a while. It is a continual effort on my part.
The most embarrassing event in my teaching career
I decided to give up education and that I wanted to solely focus on the science. When I was assigned to be a teaching assistant during my graduate career, I was able to realize that there are many types of education, and that I’m not just limited to the idea of educating in a formal classroom setting.
