Arnold, Cyr, Gergen, Mayr To Receive Atherton Award

3-28-96
University Park, Pa. -- Four University faculty members will receive the 1996 George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching. They are: Douglas N. Arnold, professor of mathematics, University Park campus; Richard J. Cyr, associate professor of biology, University Park campus; Mary Gergen, associate professor of psychology, Delaware County Campus; and Norbert Mayr, associate professor of history, Worthington Scranton Campus.

The award, named after Penn State's seventh president, was established in 1989 as a continuation of the AMOCO Foundation Award. It honors excellence in teaching at the undergraduate level. They will be honored at the Faculty/Staff Awards ceremony on Sunday, March 31, at the Nittany Lion Inn.

Arnold is a leader in the use of computers in mathematics education at Penn State and has been especially involved with the teaching of calculus. He maintains a heavily visited World Wide Web site that includes graphics and animations vividly depicting things like the volume of water in a tipped glass or Archimedes' calculation of pi. Arnold is also the author of an article on computer-assisted instruction in Encarta, a CD-ROM encyclopedia to be published in 1997 by Microsoft.

Arnold spearheaded the 1992 effort that led to the establishment of the McAllister Technology Classroom, which is in almost constant use for many classes, including advanced graduate courses. In addition, last year he was a principal member of a group that received a $500,000 grant from IBM to establish two computer laboratory/classrooms on campus. Both are now in Hammond Building, and one will move to Osmond later this year. They are making it possible for several mathematics and engineering courses to be taught in entirely new ways.

Arnold is the epitome of the outstanding University teacher, a colleague said. "He brings to his undergraduate teaching the same penetrating intelligence, boundless enthusiasm, and hard work that have made him an internationally recognized scholar. He proves that research and teaching are not mutually exclusive activities, as they are often portrayed, but rather symbiotic processes in which each reinforces the other."

Citing his computer animations, one of Arnold's students said that Arnold challenges them to increase their knowledge and understanding. "Professor Arnold never gave us anything on a silver platter," she wrote. "He continually pushed us to our limits."

Arnold said he approaches calculus instruction by trying to help students appreciate "the exceptional utility of calculus on the one hand, and its inherent beauty and compelling logic on the other. I introduce applications early on, and students are always impressed when they see the currency of applications of calculus."

Computer animations are ideal for calculus instruction, he said, because "calculus is largely the study of change and motion, and animated images can be invaluable aids to the imagination. They also encourage spontaneous exploration and student involvement."

Cyr has taught biology courses to more than 7,000 students since coming to Penn State in 1989, many of them in large classes, and has personally orchestrated the total redesign of Penn State's general biology sequence into a series of four courses. The four-semester series allows deeper coverage of the subjects, introduces a writing component, and provides a more interactive and collaborative set of lab exercises.

Cyr also also helps undergraduates work for independent study credit in his lab and advises University Scholars Program participants. Five years ago, he received a grant from AT&T to equip a computer learning lab for undergraduate students in biology, a facility now used by thousands of students a year.

He is co-author of the general biology lab manual and a major participant in the department's Howard Hughes scholars program for outstanding undergraduates. As a doctoral student at the University of California, Irvine, Cyr had already distinguished himself as an excellent researcher and won a notable teaching award as a graduate teaching assistant.

Cyr, said a colleague, "is knowledgeable, he has a natural talent for describing and explaining difficult subjects, he has charisma, he cares deeply about student learning, and he devotes large amounts of his time to the undergraduate education mission of Penn State."

One of Cyr's students said that he is "humorous, knowledgeable, laid-back, yet dedicated. He sees when we are floundering, but he knows when to let us 'tough it out.' " Cyr neither coddles them nor ignores them, he said.

Another student said that Cyr "really knows how to lecture. Cyr is a guy who is good in a big room. A lot of lecturers don't have the confidence to pull it off, but he does."

Cyr said his philosophy of teaching is "to help students learn how to think, how to communicate what they understand, and how to obtain a basic core of knowledge in a given subject. These qualities can be taught at all levels, and in different yet complementary ways."

By the time the students graduate, Cyr said, "they should be able to critically examine new knowledge as it is acquired, put it in the context of what is already known, and communicate their conclusions to others."

Gergen has been using active and collaborative learning techniques in her classroom long before it was a commonly accepted practice, said a colleague. "Her classes, which are larger in size than most at the campus, have a personal and familiar 'feel' to them and are dynamic and active. Her students work in groups; they collaborate, deliberate and reach consensus. Students soon come to know each other," said the colleague, and they interact with the fluidity and ease found in much smaller classes.

To facilitate collaborative learning, Gergen requires students to work in small groups on various kinds of projects, such as designing and leading a class for one period or researching a current social phenomenon and presenting their findings in a paper or a video.

Gergen has been described as extremely creative in involving students with the material she's presenting in a lecture. For instance, while lecturing on memory, she will remove outer layers of clothing (coat, jacket, sweater, vest) as the class progresses, then ask the students to write a paragraph recalling what happened. (The lecture is videotaped so that student's written recollections can be compared with the visual record of what happened.)

Gergen is also adept at using classroom discussion as a learning tool and is known for working well with traditional students as well as returning adults. Using classroom discussion "provides a solid foundation for her students," said a former student, gives them "a better and stronger grasp" of the material learned in the classroom and better equips them "to apply what is learned to daily life."

A former adult student of Gergen's says that she "breathes life into a classroom, energizing everyone around her. It takes an accomplished and confident teacher to stimulate lively discussion from a room full of students of a diverse mix in the evening, after they've had a full day of dealing with other responsibilities."

Gergen's "action assignments" are intended to apply the real world to the study of psychology and to carry active learning beyond the classroom. These action assignments, recalled another student, required the students to "design an experiment, execute using psychological concepts, and apply it to themselves. Even after the conclusion of the course, I have retained the knowledge and skills I learned via these assignments."

Gergen said she takes seriously the notion that "people learn by doing, rather than by hearing others talk about it." Thus, her action assignments are intended to fully engage the students. "As they 'do' psychology in a non-campus setting, they feel the emotional tug of engaging with others according to some theoretical system," Gergen said. "They react in ways that build networks of associations that are more enduring than simply memorizing key terms for a multiple-choice test."

Mayr has won several awards for effective and innovative teaching and for service to the Worthington Scranton Campus. In his teaching, said a colleague, Mayr "concentrates on the great issues and movements that force historical change, and his students find this relevant to today's events and to their own lives. His classes have remarkably high levels of student involvement, or obvious student interest."

Another colleague cited "his energetic drive to do what is best for the students and his dedication to the ideals of this institution. His enthusiasm is infectious, and his impact on the campus goes well beyond the classroom."

For example, Mayr organizes weekly symposia or panel discussions on current events; takes students on field trips to places like the Immigration Museum on Ellis Island in New York City, Historical Williamsburg in Virginia and the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.; runs weekly volleyball games between students and faculty; and involves students in community service projects. He generated the first student-supported scholarship in memory of an honors student who was killed in an auto accident, and organizes semi-annual fundraisers for the scholarship.

As coordinator of the campus Honors Program/University Scholars Program, Mayr participates in the recruitment, screening and selection of students for the program, administers honors options, and serves as honors adviser.

Mayr's expert, enthusiastic and challenging teaching style and encouragement of discussion, said one of his students, "makes the material easier to understand" and also makes it clear "that different outlooks are not harmful and that discussion helps us to see all sides of an issue. In fact, he encourages debate in the classroom."

Knowledge, said Mayr, "should not be confused with the ability to hold vast reservoirs of data to be regurgitated on command at test time. True knowledge is found in the ability to analyze the value of information and to separate the trivial from the meaningful by using critical judgments and reason. It is the teacher's task to develop in the students the competence to do just that."

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