The Cover Letter of Mike Daub

31 July 2010

To whom it may concern:

I am applying for teaching positions. I have over three years of prior teaching experience. This includes one semester as a high school teacher, one semester as a community college professor, one quarter as a technical college instructor, and four semesters as a college teaching assistant. While a teaching assistant, I received formal teaching training, including course development and classroom and laboratory instructional techniques.

I have a Master of Arts degree in Physics from U.C. Berkeley and two Bachelor of Science degrees in Mathematics and Physics from Penn State. I do not possess a California high school teaching credential, though I do possess an Emergency 30-Day Substitute Teaching Permit, and I passed both the CBEST test and the CSET Mathematics subject tests. I am contemplating whether or not to enter a teaching credential program in the near future.

During my recent college teaching positions, I received very good reviews from my students and from the faculty members observing my classes. I think my mastery of math and physics subject matter (and related areas) is my greatest asset as a teacher. Many of my former students have expressed frustration to me about previous teachers they had in high school who did not completely understand the subject matter they were teaching, particularly the math and science teachers. Understandably, the students developed the feeling that if the subject was too hard for their teacher, then it must be too hard for the students.

During my education as an experimental physicist, I learned a variety of other useful skills that I will enjoy passing on to my future students, including computer programming, electronics, mechanical drawing, and machine shop. This fall, I taught an applied mathematical problem solving class, covering a wide range of topics. Some of these topics, including computers, electronics, and drafting, were of great interest to my technical college students. Lucky for them, each of these topics is something that every experimental physicist knows well. I was able to modify my lessons on the fly in order to answer any and all questions about these topics, in order to make the lessons more applicable to their particular course of study.

My prior high school teaching experience was two years ago as a mid-year replacement at private high school. I was a bit frustrated at first, because I mistakenly tried to run the class as I would run college class. I made some changes in how I dealt with the students along the way, and the class ran more smoothly. An important detail I learned from the veteran high school teachers was that children do not think the same way as adults. They need to be told explicitly which of their actions are beneficial and which of their actions are damaging. They do not consider all consequences of their actions, particularly the long-term consequences. This was new to me, as previously I dealt exclusively with adults.

Throughout my years in graduate school, I volunteered thousands of hours tutoring and mentoring younger students. My work with undergraduate students was primarily through Berkeley's chapter of the Society of Physics Students. I tutored many of these undergraduate physics students in their math and physics classes, along with their GRE test preparation. My mentoring of other physics graduate students included, among other things, the new physics graduate student orientation at Berkeley.

Regarding my teaching style, I try to enjoy myself. At times, I may appear ridiculously zealous when I explain things. I try to break everything down into as simple steps as time permits. I have been known to talk nonstop for several hours about subjects which I am well-versed in. I enjoy throwing in amusing anecdotes and jokes to keep everybody relaxed. I even break into song occasionally. On the other hand, I can also be blunt and emotionless when telling students things they do not want to hear, particularly what actions or behaviors they must change in order to succeed.

My teaching philosophy is patched together from various sources. The student must learn not only the proper problem solving techniques, but also the logic behind those techniques. If the student errs when attempting to solve a problem but can explain the reasons for their actions, then we can correct both their logic and their action, and the student will learn. If the student can not explain the reasons for their actions, then, even if their answer is correct, the problem solving techniques appear mystical to the student, and the student will not learn. And, if the student refuses to prepare for class, I will not carry them. They are still responsible for what we would have covered in the class.

Thank you for your time and consideration. If you have any questions, I can be reached by email at mike@mikedaub.com or by phone at 925-952-4258.

Best wishes,

Michael Daub