"BEING A TEACHER IS, WITHOUT A DOUBT,
THE BEST PROFESSION IN THE WORLD".

Javier Novo, Full Professor of Genetics at the University of Navarra

What advice would you give to a teacher who has just started his or her degree program?
First of all, a lot of enthusiasm because it is a long but exciting journey. It will require patience, learning to change things, trying things out, asking questions, seeing how innovations work, how students respond... all of this takes time but it is fascinating.

It has always helped me to think about what I liked or disliked when I was student, what subject from teaching I would have liked to experience. It is something staff, logically, but there are aspects common to most people, which help to avoid making the same mistakes.

What has helped you as a teacher in the years you have been teaching? What activities, attitudes, advice...?
Obviously, at the beginning, committee from veteran teachers was essential. staff Although everyone has their own way of approaching teaching, the most important thing is to learn from the experience of others who have gone through a similar status , to see how they have evolved, what they have learnt.

Over time, I found useful some seminar about new technologies (Peerwise, Socrative, Active learning,...), but I think that you get more out of this when you already have some experience and try these tools little by little.

Perhaps what I found most useful result were the students' evaluations. Regardless of whether they are right or wrong in what they say, it is very enlightening to see their perception, which sometimes contrasts with one's own. It makes you realise that what seemed obvious is not so obvious, that you have to try other things, etc.

What do you think is the secret to a good teacher's teaching ?
First and foremost, the content must be of high quality and up to date. But this will not reach student unless the transmission manages to make them think. In addition to quality content, quality transmission is also essential; this means arousing the students' interest. In order to do this, it is very important to identify the messages, few and clear, that you want to transmit, and to look for suitable examples to present them on classroom. In my experience, this is the most difficult thing to do, since students listen to us who before (or after) our class have attended (or will attend) classes in other, equally interesting, subjects, without allowing them time to rest on their laurels.

What experience professor do you think works well in your classes?
In recent years, I have found active learning to be effective : trying to get students to draw their own conclusions rather than giving them ready-made conclusions. In the subject of subjects I teach, this is relatively easy: present a figure and ask them to interpret it and draw conclusions on their own or in groups, then we share what they have seen and I summarise the most relevant message. I could have given them the content directly, but they would have copied it and studied it from report; the difference, in terms of learning, is tremendous. The problem is that it takes much longer, so it is crucial to identify very well the basic messages you want to convey.

Motivation of student. How do you think this is achieved?
It is very difficult, for the reasons I mentioned earlier: several classes in a row on different subjects, together with practical classes and other activities. This sometimes makes them dizzy and they lose steam as they see that they don't get everything done and don't really understand what they are doing. Some students are highly motivated, because they are passionate about their degree program; others are not so motivated, for a variety of reasons, and you have to be aware that in these cases it is very difficult to motivate. It is important to identify those who are less motivated in order to try to minimise the negative effect they may have on the rest of the class.

In my experience, students respond enthusiastically to messages or stories about the knowledge gaps in the subject taught, and how they will be the next generation to move the field forward, the immense and exciting task ahead of them.

In your experience staff, what is the best and the worst thing about being a teacher?
Being a university professor is, without a doubt, the best profession in the world. The opportunity to teach dozens of students every year, to see how they learn to think and mature as people, is unique. It also requires constant study to keep up to date and this leads to learning new things; at the same time, one has to think about how to convey this content in an accessible and attractive way, which means facing new challenges every day.

For me, the worst thing is everything related to management, especially in the case of large groups of students. And the most frustrating thing is the experience of that small percentage of unmotivated students who do not appreciate the effort that has been put into preparing the classes and organising subject, and come to class to "hang out" or "pass the time". But the enthusiasm and interest on the faces of most of them more than makes up for their displeasure.

What importance do you attach to coordination with other course teachers?
This depends on the subject of subject and the subject of curriculum. For example, in the new integrated curricula this is already given. In general, I think that all teachers of related subjects talk to each other in order to coordinate content and avoid repetition. Where more dialogue is lacking is precisely between teachers of subjects that are taught at the same time but belong to areas of knowledge that are further apart. In such cases it is not a matter of avoiding repetition or contradictory messages, but above all of trying to coordinate the examples used, so that students can see the same problem (or story) from different perspectives. This is very enriching and financial aid gives a more global view of the problems, which is fundamental in any learning subject .