Search 
MyUMUC 
WebTycho Center for Teaching and Learning
Faculty Excellence at UMUC
Judy Swartz Philosophy/Psychology |
 |
Faculty Interview
|
| Interviewer: | Please tell us about yourself--what made you decide to teach at UMUC? What kind of work do you do when you are not teaching at UMUC? What life experiences have influenced your teaching at UMUC? |
| Judy Swartz: | In the U.S. I was trained as a clinical psychologist (PhD, Michigan ) and as a philosopher (PhD, Yale), and I taught both subjects in addition to practicing as a psychotherapist. When my husband and I left the US in 1994, we went to Thailand to teach and then to Ecuador . After a very eventful year in South America, we decided to seek the relative peace of the European Division of UMUC. |
| Interviewer: | Please tell us if you teach face-to-face, online, or both and explain what made you choose that format of teaching. |
| Judy Swartz: | I teach mostly face to face, but I also teach on line. For many of my students, face to face teaching is an important change from their work life, giving them an experience of a university classroom that is seen by them as very valuable. The classroom experience is important to these students, most of whom have stressful military jobs. I greatly prefer f2f teaching, but can also appreciate the opportunity to teach upper level classes on line, classes which would never achieve sufficient enrollments, were they to be offered f2f. My 300 level philosophy class, "Moral problems in medicine" is an example of such a class. |
| Interviewer: | What do you find most satisfying about teaching in your chosen format(s)? |
| Judy Swartz: | The most satisfying part of my teaching for UMUC is when students use what we talk about in the classroom to understand their world more fully. Students often bring in magazine articles, cartoons, or report on a TV show that they would never have understood or been interested in before. This is a centrally important effect of education: the ability to understand, appreciate and engage with what goes on around you in new and interesting ways. |
| Interviewer: | What do you find challenging about teaching in your chosen format(s)? |
| Judy Swartz: | Face-to-face teaching in the European Division, particularly in 100 level courses, can be quite challenging because of the exceptionally wide range of abilities of the students. Some students are seriously unprepared for university-level work, while others are well-equipped to succeed. This requires a fair amount of individual attention, especially as far as writing is concerned. |
| Interviewer: | Please tell us about your chosen discipline—how long have you worked in or taught it? What made you interested in the area? What keeps you interested in the area? |
| Judy Swartz: | I teach in two disciplines, philosophy and psychology. These subjects complement each other, and I sometimes will briefly "switch hats" in a class, bringing in a philosophical issue in a psychology class (like that of the status of consciousness), or a psychological viewpoint in a philosophy class (such as social science data on capital punishment). I am a licensed clinical psychologist who practiced for many years, and this provides a strong practical basis for teaching psychology. But the philosophical issues in psychology are intellectually important, and being able to address these provides a certain amount of academic balance between the practical and the abstract. One course that I teach quite often is Intro to Psychology. It is an exceptionally important course and covers a vast range of topics about people and how we can understand them. I teach this course almost every term and think of it as the single most important course a university student can take. You would think I might get tired of teaching it, but it seems to be a never-ending source of new material and new insights for me. Thinking intelligently, accurately and critically about people is so important, and the student who can engage with this material will definitely benefit. Philosophy is also a discipline that gives the student the big picture as well as improves his ability to deal with details, particularly the details of evidence and argumentation. Many of our students are excited by the chance to study some philosophy, and see it as a counter-weight to an education that has become increasingly practical and career-oriented. |
| Interviewer: | How would you describe your teaching style or philosophy? What experiences or person(s) have influenced your style or philosophy? |
| Judy Swartz: | My teaching style is organized, interactive, funny, intellectually demanding, and lively. I think class should be both demanding and very, very interesting. As much as possible, I mix lecture/discussion with group-based tasks that apply the material that has been presented in a lecture. After my students get used to my teaching style, I very seldom get a chance to lecture for very long. There are always questions, comments and testimonials that students contribute as I present material. Unless students care about the material, see the importance of the ideas that are presented and have some personal stake in understanding them, I think little learning occurs. |
| Interviewer: | Please explain if you do something special or unique in your approach and how you developed that approach. What do you think it is about your approach that appeals to students? |
| Judy Swartz: | I don't think I do anything special or unique. I have no tricks or special procedures. In my experience many teachers teach as I do. |
Faculty Excellence at UMUC Home
