“I try to see every student”
Loving to meet students, a desire to constantly improve, and competent colleagues who provide support. That is the secret behind the highly regarded teaching of Katarina Gustavsson and Fredrik Schaufelberger. The duo are this year's recipients of KTH Pedagogical prize, which will be presented by KTH's President Anders Söderholm at the graduation ceremony in December.
“I work at an institution with many excellent colleagues. And even though I stand alone in the classroom when I teach, much of what I do is based on collaboration with my colleagues. There is always someone to talk to about teaching, and that is very valuable,” says teacher Katarina Gustavsson.
She works at the Department of Mathematics at the School of Engineering Sciences and teaches applied mathematics, specifically numerical methods. Katarina Gustavsson has been teaching for a long time and on all KTH programmes. Currently, her students come from the chemical engineering and biotechnology programmes.
"My teaching is not based on any major pedagogical theories. I go to the lecture hall and try to be inspiring and show that I care about the students' learning and that I want them to succeed in the course," she says.
Motivating students to succeed
Meeting students, dispelling preconceived notions and motivating students to succeed are what drive her most.
“Quite a few students come to the course with the preconceived notion that mathematics and programming are both difficult and boring. So when you hear at the end of the course that many of them have changed their minds, it makes you very happy and encourages you.”
Connection to reality
Katarina Gustavsson believes that it is important in teaching that numerical methods can be used to solve a range of different real-world scientific problems, which means that the applications covered in the course can be adapted to the programme for which the course is intended.
“I think that when students see that the content of the course has a connection to reality or to other courses they are taking at KTH, their motivation to learn new things increases. And if you are motivated, you can also achieve a little more,” she says.
"Make lots of mistakes"
Fredrik Schaufelberger teaches organic chemistry and research ethics and works in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health.
“It’s great that students think I’ve done a good job teaching; of course I was very happy. I’m a perfectionist, but at the same time I can make a lot of mistakes. I think everyone who teaches makes mistakes. I always try to improve and involve students. I think that’s what they like,” he says.
Trying to see everyone
Involving students in teaching and letting them ask questions is important to Fredrik Schaulfelberger. He really likes personal interaction and giving each student a personal reason to attend lectures.
“I try to see every student; that’s one of my most important priorities. A teacher is a coach and mentor, not just someone who delivers facts – for that, there’s Wikipedia. There is a reason why you, in particular, should learn this. I try to weave it into a narrative. I have always made it a policy to learn everyone's names; it's a matter of respect. Having a personal approach is an important part of being a teacher," he says.
Arousing interest
Fredrik Schaulfelberger says he loves the subjects he teaches and the feeling he gets when he conveys something he finds interesting and exciting to his students and gets them to feel the same way.
"The moment when I spark the students' interest is fantastic, both for them and for me as a teacher. I thrive on it when I see that this is something that inspires them and realise that they are engaged."
Text: Sabina Fabrizi ( sabina@kth.se )