I studied for my AeSI from GIE and among all the faculties, one that influenced me most is Mr. Natrajan sir, from principles of flights, to thermodynamics to propulsion to aerodynamics he took all the classes and what a marathon he did.
A typical class of Natrajan sir was filled with the subject, some practical tips and wisdom of his long experience. One common thread in all his lectures was his witty small, jokes that he inserted in his lectures. His slides were the rage and have his notes and then hear is explanation, he made the whole topics crystal clear.
So what are the 3 things that i took from him and that every AeSI students should consider implementing in his or her studies and life?
- The first thing had to be the problem solving techniques he applied. His funda was simple begin from fundamentals. Begin from the root. Given a problem he always began from the basic and this is what he practiced and preached in all his classes. Be it a theory question or numerical problem, he went to root and came up with the answers out of those fundamentals. So apply that in your all studies. Efficiency of Brayton cycle. Don’t just mug up the formula. Know how it is coming from the fundaments and you will see the value of his teaching. Same way in principles of flights you are being asked about the question of reasoning… go to the basics. Root your answer from there.
- The second thing that I learnt from Natranjan sir was his jest for teaching and learning. As I pointed in my previous post, he is the most energetic and enthusiastic teacher I have seen in my life. When he at his age can be so enthusiastic and energetic about his teaching and work, then I guess we AeSI graduates and students should take this quality from him. He is the perfect example to me of the person who enjoyed his jobs so much that he was one with it and the long hours didn’t sip his energies. This was one other thing that Natrajan sir teaches us. His attitude was positive to his teaching and I guess we all need to emulate that and we will be much happier in our careers if we can get this quality in our lives.
- The third point has to be the related to the way he taught us. His style was informal and the use of imagination was immense. His notes were littered with example and his lectures had the vivid, memorable instances and examples so that the topic he was teaching become etched. He concreted his theories in lectures by giving solid in the world example. While teaching propulsion-1, I remember, he began all his topics with some of or other mentions of bikes and that really intrigues us. We all can use these techniques; relate what you are studying with the things that you have around you. Make the connections and see them on your mental black board. This is what Natrajan sir did. Paint a mental pictures of the concepts, make them large, life-size and see how clearly you understand the topic and how long lasting that particular topic will be .
- Another tip in his teaching was that he always progressed from the known to the unknown. Always began the topic with the things we knew and then connected this known things to the unknown concepts of topics that he was lecturing us. This technique was very effective as this connected and made pictures in our mind. So take that from him and next time you are studying a new topic, begin from the known, connect, find path to the unknown and connect and see how that particular topic is understood more easily.
These were some of the things I could remember right now. I know they are not the all. I will publish other if I remember. I hope you apply this tips in your daily life in your studies and in your job. They are as applicable to the studies as in your jobs. Please do share your learning experiences with your lecturers here. ? Let’s make this post more informative by sharing your thoughts?
