SUNY Online Teaching Ambassador 2024: Dutchess – Renee Lathrop

Renee Lathrop is a Full Professor and has been working as a physics professor at Dutchess Community College since 2003.  She currently splits her time between teaching Physics courses and being the Engineering Science Program Chair. Renee has a Masters Degree in Physics from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a Masters Degree in Educational Psychology from Marist College, an award winner of the SUNY Excellence in Teaching, and author of A Little Bit of Physics.  She is also an active member of American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) and is currently involved with OPTYCs which is an NSF grant funded group that provide support for two-year college physics teachers in their ability to deliver high quality education that is based on physics education research ideas and pedagogy.

Over the past 20+ years she has spent numerous hours working on educational materials for her classes that will make physics accessible and available for all different types of learners. Prior to the pandemic she was focused on how to offer physics courses with different modalities so that students who have family obligations or just people with greater flexibility needs can complete their science requirement and still stay on path to graduate.  While at DCC she has taught all levels of physics courses from conceptual to calculus-based courses.

For too long, physics education has been stale and not-inventive enough.  I really enjoy changing that and helping a wide range of students see that they too belong in physics. I try to model to my students that sometimes the greatest learning opportunities are the ones we fail at.  I encourage them to see failure as not the end of the road but a part of the success journey.  I make sure that my students see me as more of a guide or a partner.  Learning is very much at the cornerstone of everything I do with my students.