By Winson Ye and Lucy Kim
Managing Editor of News and News Reporter
Newton South physics teacher Hema Roychowdhury has been named the winner of the Keegan Prize for Critical Thinking for her ability to foster thought-provoking lessons for her students.
The winners for this award are chosen by a committee of former winners as well as Brenda Keegan herself.
In describing the characteristics of her teaching style, Roychowdhury feels that she does not so much as teach to students as guide them to think about the material themselves.
“I don’t think I ‘teach’ much actually – I try to get the students to learn so I just ask questions, lots and lots of them. I aim to build the logical progression by asking questions and trying to get the students to realize that they have the power to figure things out by building on some fundamental concepts,” Roychowdhury said.
When it comes to Roychowdhury’s teaching philosophy, however, she thinks that the stress associated with grades should be taken out of the classroom, so students can focus more on learning.
“As far as teaching philosophy goes, I think that grades follow learning and don’t precede it as a motivator,” she said. “I take the stress of grades out of the picture and get the students to concentrate on learning.”
Giving her students the leeway to fail and still get back on their feet is an important aspect in Roychowdhury’s teaching philosophy.
“I believe in second chances and in the ability of the students to grow from not succeeding at first but seeing the value in trying again. I have seen students grow confident as a learner and needing fewer second chances as a result,” Roychowdhury said.
Alan Crosby, one of Roychowdhury’s close colleagues, also feels that one of the defining characteristics of her teaching philosophy is her ability to take the stress out of the classroom setting and allow students to just focus on learning.
“Mrs. Roychowdhury believes in the core values of learning: developing the student mind, work ethics, perseverance,” Crosby said. “Even though a student might struggle, they will come out of her class at the end of the year a better student. And that’s one of the most important things to know – learning how to be a student.”
In trying to challenge her students to stretch their minds, Roychowdhury first figures out what kind of learners she has in her class.
“The first thing I try to do when I get my cohort of students for the year is to try to figure out their learning personalities in my classroom. Some might be totally at ease writing a 10 page essay but are daunted by mathematics; others are great at math and can’t seem to fathom why physics seems so challenging; yet others are so afraid to fail that the fear gets in the way of their learning,” Roychowdhury said.
The next step is to then use this information to fit the curriculum to the needs of her students.
“I try to get to the bottom of what it is that is preventing the students from achieving and figure out strategies based on that. Modifying the content to challenge the students where they are is the easy part,” Roychowdhury said.
Indeed, Crosby feels that Roychowdhury always pushes her students beyond their comfort zone so that they can grow as students and people.
“She will never take ‘I don’t know’ for an answer. She will always make you push yourself and think,” Crosby said.
For her, one of the great things about teaching at South is the fact that there is a multitude of different talents and skills.
“What I love about teaching here is the sheer diversity of talent and ideas and achievement that the students and faculty and staff bring in through their passions and explorations and experiences,” she said. “There is a constant evolution of ideas and a celebration of the journey of the evolution, in many, many different ways. I love that about teaching at South.”
Roychowdhury’s mother was the one who inspired her to become a teacher in the first place after she saw the kind of teacher her mother was.
“My mother was a dedicated teacher and I always admired what it meant to her to be one. I gave teaching a try after my Ph.D and can’t stop exploring what it means to me to be a teacher,” Roychowdhury said.
Roychowdhury’s ability to engage students to delve into the study of physics is one of the reasons why she was chosen as the winner for this award.
Her love of physics has inspired her own students to look at the world differently after taking her class, and she wants them to leave the classroom with a different perspective on their surroundings from when they came in to her class.
“I teach Physics – it’s really easy! Physics is all around us,” Roychowdhury said. “All I try to do is give the students a lens through which to see the world and hope that nothing is the same for them ever again.”
