Reza Ramezan and the Feedback Loop

Reza Ramezan and the Feedback Loop

Reza Ramezan, Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science

Written by Fahd Munir, Special Projects (Teaching Stories), CTE. 

Education isn’t just teaching to Dr. Reza Ramezan; it is learning too. As the recipient of the 2012 CUT Award (Certificate in University Teaching) at the University of Waterloo, he embodies the idea that the key to teaching is tailoring your pedagogical practices to meet your students’ needs. It is as much about learning from students, as it is about teaching them.

As a lecturer in the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, Ramezan conducts research at the intersection of statistics and neuroscience. If you step into Ramezan’s classroom, you understand how much he values the why behind learning. At the beginning of every term he reminds students that it is both their right and their duty to ask why they should care about the various components of course content, and that they should do this on a regular basis throughout the term. If he is unable to connect the topic in question to the big picture of the course, he won’t touch on it in the exams. Although this policy has kept Ramezan on his toes, so far no topic has been eliminated from midterms or finals.

Ramezan is always looking for new ways to engage students and isn’t above "stealing" effective teaching strategies from the great teachers of his past, books he has read on pedagogy, or from his mentors. One great example is his use of informal midterm feedback. He also plays music before his early morning lectures to help him, and his students, “wake-up.” The addition of group work and peer assessment in his Statistics for Business and Forecasting courses have enabled students to interact and reflect on tasks together. Ramezan also employs what he calls “The Candy Rule” where he leverages a student's sweet tooth by handing out candy to those who ask/answer questions. He elaborates, “If you love teaching, then innovation and interesting ideas will come when you need them, or at the very least, you're going to seek them out in books or from other enthusiastic teachers.”

Student feedback is a strategy that engages students, and Ramezan considers it a pillar of his pedagogy. Obtaining student feedback on different aspects of his teaching helps Ramezan tailor his lectures to maximize learning for his students. He values the informal midterm evaluations just as much as the formal teaching evaluations at the end of the term because it indicates whether a change in teaching style is necessary, and gives him time to adapt for the students that have given the feedback. “Changing my practice for the following term is great if it applies to all students, but each course is different with a different set of learning styles.” Each time he solicits the midterm feedback he summarizes the points and openly discusses the results with his students in order to address problems as soon as possible. His former student, Cynthia McLauchlan, now a teaching assistant and graduate student at the University of Waterloo, observes that "Reza is always enthusiastic about teaching. He constantly checks with his students to see if they're understanding the concepts, and provides frequent opportunities to anonymously give him feedback on his teaching style."

It is also deeply important to Ramezan to make a connection with his students. He makes every effort to be approachable, friendly and enthusiastic about his subject. “Making yourself accessible during office hours, through email and on the course website makes classes feel smaller.” Students in Ramezan’s lectures have also reacted positively to the personal connections that are forged simply by learning their names, even in very large classes where personal contact isn’t always readily achievable. Ramezan reflects on his students’ motivation to learn, saying, “If you care, then they care — it’s just that simple.” 

For more information on Reza Ramezan’s teaching philosophy, strategies, and methods please see the Teaching Dossier on his website.