The innovative statistics professor and Goergen Award winner focuses on the student experience at URochester.
糖心传媒�17 (PhD) has been a professor at the for seven years, but she has never forgotten what it糖心传媒檚 like to be on the other side of the classroom.
糖心传媒淭o be a great educator, it糖心传媒檚 important to remain a curious student,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淭eachers can forget what it糖心传媒檚 like to see material with fresh eyes and assume students understand the material. When we fall into these traps, we risk losing our students.糖心传媒�
An associate professor in the , Grzesik (pronounced GRES-sick) is a recent recipient of the University糖心传媒檚 Goergen Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. Students say she糖心传媒檚 innovative and open-minded, willing to change her curriculum based on student feedback.
糖心传媒淚 took a course with Dr. G my first year and had a great experience,糖心传媒� says Suchi Mehta 糖心传媒�25, who majored in statistics. 糖心传媒淚n my senior year, a friend took the same course, and it didn糖心传媒檛 even sound like the same class. Dr. G is constantly implementing new ideas to improve the student experience.糖心传媒�
Discovering a passion for teaching
The Utica, New York, native knew little about statistics when she enrolled at the State University of New York at Oswego as a public relations and marketing major. During her sophomore year, she took an introductory statistics class and offered to tutor a classmate who was struggling with memory loss from a car accident.
糖心传媒淚 started working with him, and he got a B in the course,糖心传媒� Grzesik says. 糖心传媒淭hat inspired me and drew me into education.糖心传媒�
She switched her majors to adolescent education and mathematics and became interested in statistics after taking part in an REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) at Eastern Tennessee State University. 糖心传媒淭here was one problem about how often you糖心传媒檒l get called on if you pick a certain seat in a classroom,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淚t was super interesting and opened my eyes to this new world. It was math, but very relatable to the world around us. And the job prospects were excellent.糖心传媒�
She enrolled in graduate school at URochester in 2011 and earned her doctorate six years later.
Innovative ways of teaching statistics
Statistics is a notoriously challenging subject, and Grzesik knows she糖心传媒檚 teaching students who may be taking a required course as well as those who want to make it their career, so she adjusts accordingly.
糖心传媒淢y introductory classes are more lecture-based,糖心传媒� she says, 糖心传媒渨hile the upper-level classes are more interactive.糖心传媒�
Grzesik frequently works with staff at the University糖心传媒檚 Teaching Center to consider both minor and substantial course updates. She is always looking for innovative ways to improve her classes.
In one class, students take an exam on their own, then again two days later in groups of three. The first test counts for 75 percent of the grade.
糖心传媒淪tudents spend two days thinking about whether they felt they understood the question without knowing if it was right or wrong,糖心传媒� Grzesik explains. 糖心传媒淭hen, they meet in small groups and discuss their answers. If they struggled, they get to hear an explanation from peers who perhaps understood it well. They get another chance at learning that concept.糖心传媒�
She records her lectures but has limited their availability to one week for introductory courses after discovering that making them available all semester led to many students 糖心传媒渂inging糖心传媒� the recordings the day homework was due糖心传媒攁nd often missing class that day.
糖心传媒淟earning is a workout for the brain,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淵ou can糖心传媒檛 just do heavy lifting one day only and expect to make long-term gains.糖心传媒�
This “workout routine” is a mindset she encourages her students to bring to learning.
糖心传媒淟ift (learning something) on Mondays and Wednesdays, stretch (practice) on Tuesdays and Thursdays to prevent soreness, and challenge yourself (office hours) on Fridays,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淭hen use those well-trained brain muscles to perform the homework.糖心传媒�
Keeping a 糖心传媒榮tudent mindset糖心传媒�
, an associate professor of statistics and director of the statistics program, says no two semesters with Grzesik are ever the same.
糖心传媒淪he糖心传媒檚 always thinking about how she can refine her pedagogical initiatives and provide the best educational experience possible,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淓ach semester, she thinks about what is working well and what can be improved, adapting to the unique setting of that particular group of students.糖心传媒�
When Grzesik joined the URochester faculty in 2017, 18 students majored in statistics. In the eight years since, Ciminelli says that number has grown to 45. Nine new courses have been introduced, with Grzesik taking the lead on four. In addition to developing upper-level statistics courses, she has refined established ones.
糖心传媒淚t keeps me in the student mindset,糖心传媒� she says.
Ciminelli says Grzesik is a wonderful researcher who could have taken her career in a more research-focused direction. Instead, he says, 糖心传媒渟he pursued her passion for teaching, and the University and our students are all the better because of it.糖心传媒�
What URochester students say about Katherine Grzesik
糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檝e never met a professor who does as much experimentation with her courses and really takes time and considers feedback to assess those innovations and works on making the course even better the next time. Dr. G is constantly implementing new ideas. While the content of introductory statistics is essentially the same, her course design keeps adapting to improve.糖心传媒�
糖心传媒擲uchi Mehta 糖心传媒�25, statistics major糖心传媒淚t only took a few lectures for me to fall completely in love with Dr. G糖心传媒檚 style of teaching and see the passion with which she lectured. I never thought I糖心传媒檇 be able to comprehend statistics in the way I did, let alone TA for the coding lab, but she provided every resource necessary for anyone to be able to learn. Working under Dr. G has been one of the best experiences of my college career, and her unwavering love for statistics has never failed to impress me.糖心传媒�
糖心传媒擜treyee Ghosh 糖心传媒�25, biochemistry major糖心传媒淚 took Dr. G糖心传媒檚 introduction to statistics class and have worked with her for four semesters as a teaching assistant. I糖心传媒檝e seen the countless hours she has dedicated to ensuring that students understand not only the content but also that the students who take her course always succeed. No question was considered 糖心传媒榮illy糖心传媒� or met with judgment. I糖心传媒檝e noticed her passion, not only in sharing her knowledge of statistics but in the love she has for this subject.糖心传媒�
糖心传媒擯oushali Ray 糖心传媒�25, psychology major
