Dr. Mustafa Rajabali of the Department of Physics is a recipient of the 2023 College of Arts & Sciences Award for Innovative Teaching. This award recognizes a recent significant innovation in undergraduate teaching. Dr. Rajabali is recognized for his project-based learning techniques that incorporate creative inquiry and group work.
Dr. Rajabali requires students to develop a one-sentence question about a topic in the Physics course and to propose, develop and conduct an experiment using children’s toys to test the hypothesis in their question. He has further refined and expanded this form of creative inquiry to more advanced classes with great success.
These approaches to teaching are designed to assist students in understanding and applying complex theories and to prepare them for advanced courses, working with a team, and future careers.
Congratulations Dr. Rajabali and thank you for all that you do for students!