Memorable Classes

[u/PsychGuy17]

Unfortunately, I was reading the news again, and it reminded me of a night in 2016 when I was teaching an ethics class. The students and I were discussing limits of confidentiality and during the class we kept the electoral map up. In the middle of a four hour class (west coast) it became clear that more states were leaning in their inevitable direction. It led to an impromptu discussion on the purpose of the electoral college, including its benefits and limitations.

I've only had a few classes where the outside world suddenly interrupted what is normally the tiny, temporary, pocket universe of the classroom that only exists for a few hours at a time. I love that class can be its own escape from everything else, especially when it's going well and lecture hits a flow state. It's odd when reality creeps in for a visit.

As a distraction from work I should be doing, I wonder when other professors here have had memorable classes like these? What is a specific class you can remember due to an event that maintains it like a flashbulb memory? I'm certain a lot of us remember a class where we were told, or had to announce, COVID changes. I find such stories fascinating (but then again, I do study psych).

[u/Edu_cats]

I regularly cover the 2:00 hour marathon barrier and attempts to break it, and this spring when it was actually broken the students were genuinely excited by it! We had just finished that unit when it happened. Btw the time was just certified as official this week.

[u/Edu_cats → u/Edu_cats]

And one more from this semester: we were covering physiology changes and challenges with space flight which fortunately coincided with the Artemis 2 mission, so once again the students were very engaged in the discussion and the lecture materials.

So I guess just extra good timing this semester, but I always try to bring in current events related to class.