Teaching and Mentoring

My teaching philosophy

E-riched classroom

In my view, an ideal classroom environment should encompass the three Es: engagement, excitement, and encouragement.

Engagement:

Engagement entails fostering a sense of curiosity and inquiry among students, creating an atmosphere where they actively participate in their learning and fostering meaningful dialogues between teachers and students.

2. Excitement:

To make instruction exciting, it is crucial to establish connections between the subject matter and students' lives outside classroom, employing relatable examples and employing analogies to elucidate complex concepts, especially in subjects like chemistry that delve into the intricate realm of the unseen.

3. Encouragement:

Lastly, creating an encouraging classroom environment entails perceiving students' emotions and considering oneself as a catalyst for learning rather than a mere source of information. By recognizing each student's unique needs and tailoring teaching strategies accordingly, educators can empower students to learn and develop a positive attitude towards the content. Ultimately, this leads to students eagerly anticipating each class session.

My teaching style

Classroom and the life outside:

From my experience, relating classroom material to real-life examples significantly enhances students' grasp and interest in the course. For instance, incorporating chemistry in everyday activities including baking, cooking, or in important monuments such as city sculptures and ancient structures can make the subject more engaging and relatable for students.

Innovative teaching methods and technological integration:

Incorporating innovative teaching methods such as flipped classrooms, activity-based lectures, trivia games, team projects, lyric writing, and the use of technology like molecular shape simulators has proven to be highly effective for my first year undergraduate introductory chemistry course at UAB. I plan to continue using these approaches to enhance student engagement and learning outcomes.

Respect, diversity, inclusion and adaptive teaching:

As an educator, I believe in the importance of continuous reflection and growth. I strive to stay abreast of new research and pedagogical approaches, seeking opportunities to enhance my teaching practice. I value feedback from students, colleagues, and professional development activities, using them as opportunities to refine my teaching methods and improve student outcomes. One of my students expressed in anonymous feedback that they appreciated my ability to remember their names, which created a sense of connection and approachability. This feedback inspired me to make a concerted effort to learn the names of all my students and discover more about their individual hobbies and interests. The result was a significant increase in both the enjoyment and anticipation among the students, with many expressing their excitement about attending my class.

I applied these strategies to my classes with great results. A struggling group in my general chemistry lab felt disheartened and believed I disliked them. I reassured them, regularly checked on their progress, and had encouraging conversations. Their enthusiasm grew, and they all achieved 'A' grades. One student's feedback, "Parma is AWESOME. Quite literally the ONLY reason that I found any joy in this lab at all," epitomizes my teaching joy and fills me with pride.

Courses I taught/am teaching

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Columbia University in the City of New York

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Outstanding General Chemistry Graduate Teaching Assistant Award, April 2023

Excellence in Graduate Research Award, April 2023

First Place, Three Minute Thesis Competition, Department of Chemistry, UAB, Nov 2022

Alabama Section American Chemical Society Outstanding Graduate Student Fellow Award, April 2022

Testimonials

Ellen A. Humphreys

Instructional Laboratory Coordinator

UAB Chemistry

"Our lab sections typically have 40 students in the lab space at one time, and each graduate teaching assistant is responsible for three sections of lab. That’s 120 students to keep motivated, and Parmanand makes a point of learning every single one by their names. He makes sure to learn about them and determine how to best help them learn chemistry and grow their confidence in their chemistry knowledge. As one of our most experienced TAs in the department, he is always willing to help the new graduate students find their teaching style as a TA and helps them learn how to develop pre-lab lectures and classroom management skills. He has a unique way of nurturing the small seed of chemistry interest in his students into saplings, and it is a talent that enables him to connect to every single one of his students and his undergraduate TAs at a profound level."

Bradley Thigpen

Former Undergraduate Research Trainee

Velu Group, UAB

"Parmanand was a great research mentor. During my time working with him, he always would take the time to show me how to do something the right way. He also allowed me to have a lot of freedom run experiments by myself and learn on my own. For someone who was very busy themselves, he never cut corners and went above and beyond to help me reach my goals."

Students' Anonymous Feedbacks

"His knowledge and patience makes him an amazing TA, and I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to learn from him and to have his guidance. Parma also took time to learn about all of our post-college plans, hobbies, and interests, which is something that I know many students in our section appreciated. I also have friends in other lab sections who have Parma as their TA, and we often talk about how wonderful he is."

"Parma greatest strengths is that he loves chemistry, so he was always energetic and fun in lab. He also made sure that we all understood the lab and did a good job explaining what to do. Parma is a great TA and teacher, and I would wish he could be my TA for every class."

"Parma is AWESOME. Quite literally the ONLY reason that I found any joy in this lab at all. He is one of the kindest, most genuine people I have ever met. He knows how to give tough love and he knows how to teach. I wish him nothing but the best in all of his endeavors because he is one of the all-around best people I know. He is very well rounded, very approachable, very well-spoken. And, you can tell he really cares about his students. He believed in me when I did not believe in me, and he encouraged me when others and myself were discouraging me. He deserves utmost recognition and pay."

"He was more than helpful and extremely patient with his students. He was eager to assist students and made sure everyone felt confident in conducting the experiments. He was seriously the best TA and everyone (including various labs) praise Parma for his great patients and eager helpfulness."

"I really respect how Parma tries to get us students to really understand the concepts and reasoning behind our experiments. Parma tries to connect the concepts to real world examples and breaks it down to the layman. I think he is really good at explaining things to us and tries to give us room to correct our mistakes."

"Parma is probably one of the most helpful and respectful teachers I have ever met. He is extremely knowledgeable on chemistry and is always willing to help wherever he can, whether it be helping with checking calculations or helping setting up the equipment."

"Parma is the best TA I have ever encountered. He is very knowledgeable about the topics presented in the lab. His lectures before the experiment are very helpful and they clear up any confusion prior to attending the lab. During the lab, he walks around to ensure that everyone understands the procedures and he answers all questions very thoroughly. He is a joy to work with and he often likes to crack jokes to keep the mood light. If Parma was the TA for every lab section offered, the lab would be ten times more enjoyable."

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