Job Description: The Good, The Bad and The Reality...

Coordinate the universe around us in such a way as to demonstrate, in action, the nature of a single phenomenon being discussed in theory. (The physics always works!)

The trick is to control the variables!

Practice! Do the demo before class! Other guidelines Dean Hudek and Wolfgang Rueckner have covered

Audio video and multimedia specialist

Electronic technician and small machine operator

Educator with an understanding of teaching pedagogy

Physics Roadie and Stage Manager: Setting up the demos in a way visible for a class. Quick scene changes. You usually have no more than 10 minutes to remove and set-up a demonstration in a lecture room.

Along with the duties mentioned above, the person in this position is usually assigned other duties such as teaching, running the machine shop, being the web master, coordinate outreach activities, set-up laboratories, run errands, etcetera

Highly personable: Able to work with egocentric smart people!

High Stress position: Very similar to being a short order cook!

Learned Attention Deficit Disorder

Always learning. Always something new. Hopefully, the demonstrator can work towards academic benefits such as attending meetings and sabbatical leave! Tenure?? Sometimes protected by a classified staff union, but even that is changing.

ALL universities and small colleges should have one! In Great Britain, even the secondary schools have a person to set-up labs and demonstrations used in instruction. Imagine that!

TEACHING IS THE MISSION. If the instructor must worry about course content, homework, exams, office hours, etc., AND get a physical demonstration down to one variable, something suffers. It is unfortunately, the lecture demonstration...because it takes time to get it working right.

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