Ever wondered what lecturers love about teaching and connecting with students? We chat with one of our own, Dr Raluca Popp (middle) about her experiences, her love for podcasts, and advice for thriving at university.
What’s your favourite part about teaching/interacting with students?
That I learn something new every day. I don’t refer here to need to keep up with current political affairs or the latest developments in my field of study. It’s mostly new points of view, ideas and experiences that are completely new. As an academic, and an introvert, I kind of live in a bubble. It’s nice to break that and listen to what students have to say. It’s always a different perspective, which then allows me to (I hope) better understand my students and relate to them.
What’s your favourite thing about your course/the course you teach?
I teach quantitative methods, and I know stats isn’t usually a student’s favourite subject. I can relate, I struggled with it myself as a student and didn’t enjoy it much at first. But if you stick with it, there’s often a lightbulb moment when things finally click, that’s my favourite part, seeing my students experience that realisation. Interestingly, that moment sometimes happens after they’ve graduated, when they’re out in the workforce applying what they learned.
“It’s always rewarding to get an email years later, where they tell me they finally understand the value of knowing how numbers are used and why it all matters.”
Another thing I enjoy is showing students that statistics is actually all around us. For example, if you visit the Guinness factory in Dublin, you’ll find a plaque dedicated to William Sealy Gosset, the statistician who developed the t-test. He created it to help the brewery analyse small sample sizes in quality control, to make sure they maintain the best possible beer production.
Are there any podcasts you are enjoying at the moment?
I love a stats detective story: More or Less BBC Radio 4. The short episodes offer engaging stories each week, making them perfect for sparking discussions and use as an intro in my lectures.
I’m also a loyal listener of This American Life, since my stats lecturer made us listen to an old episode as homework. Best homework I had to do! Other than that, I have about 10 food podcasts that I listen to religiously.
What are your tips for staying on top of your studies at University?
Use your calendar! Set reminders on your phone. Work in the cloud. Organise that mess on your desktop, and put things neatly into folders. Oh, and the one I repeat over and over and I have the feeling no one listens to: please do your reading before the lectures. That’s right, not the seminars. The lectures.
What advice would you give to first-year Raluca when you first started University – and would you do anything differently?
Don’t be afraid to ask questions! No one will think you’re stupid if you ask for clarifications. Quite the opposite, it shows interest. And you’ll be surprised, but usually you’re not the only person in the room who has the same question but is too hesitant to ask.