Introduction
Why is this?
By Susana deOliveira
As a brief introduction, my academic background is in Fundamental Physics. During my final years at the University, I was extremely fortunate to have a mentor who guided me on how to teach a discipline that is seemingly difficult to understand or boring to those who believe it will be of no use to them. Well, these are very subjective opinions, and all of them are acceptable or minimally understandable.
For years, I taught this subject to groups of university students for whom elementary physics meant nothing to their careers. In fact, I had students who didn't even know how to add fractions when they started. And I wondered how it was possible for them to choose a career in Architecture or Construction Engineering without any knowledge of basic calculus concepts.
In short, what I did was help them understand and have fun while learning. And they would clearly see the progress they made in their knowledge at the end of the year. This concept of seeing results after a year has helped me in countless situations. You work day after day, month after month, and suddenly, you realize how much progress you've made.
During my student days, one of my favorite authors was Richard Feynman, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965, because in his books he conveyed concepts that were difficult to understand at first glance in a simple way. In fact, he was a keen popularizer of physics through both books and lectures, including a talk on top-down nanotechnology entitled There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom (1959).
And, my mentor led me directly to the so-called Feynman technique, a study method based on the idea that learning how to teach is one of the most effective ways to thoroughly understand a concept. The process can be summarized in four main steps: choose a topic and study it, explain it in your own words in a simple way, identify and fill in any gaps in your knowledge, and revise and simplify your explanation to make it as clear as possible.
It's a method that helps develop the ability to communicate complex ideas effectively, a valuable skill both academically and professionally. I've applied it throughout my life in different situations. Now, you can understand why I'm starting this project.