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WOW Team Leader Spotlight: Peter Dent

June 19, 2019

WOW Team Leader Spotlight: Peter Dent

Photograph of Peter Dent

Featured below is one of our WOW Team Leaders, Peter Dent. Peter is majoring in Chemical Engineering at The Ohio State University. After he graduates, he hopes to find a job in industry, probably in polymer processing/rheology in some form, and continue to enjoy life as a young adult.

Peter has been with the WOW Program for 2.5 years. Learn more below about his positive experiences with the WOW Program! 

Photograph of a volunteer teaching 5th graders about sound using cups to play telephone
Here is Peter teaching 5th graders about sound and vibrations using plastic cups as telephones.

 

What is your favorite part of WOW? The challenge of how to present a topic to young minds in an exciting and relatable way so they will remember the experience/learn something. I enjoy how for each class I visit, the first group or two that I work with I am constantly adapting my teaching style and content to see what gets the students engaged and what is a boring turnoff. It provides for some fascinating behavioral observations, especially when working with different classes from different schools at different grade levels K-5, each group seems to respond to some things better than others. 

Photograph of Peter Dent talking to 4th grade students about water quality
Here is Peter teaching 4th grade students about water quality and the importance of water testing.

 

What have you learned from WOW and how might this be applied to your future career? Similar to what I described above, the ability to "read a room" is essential in any role in society, whether you should be casual and fun or professional and serious, or a combination. Especially during workplace discussions/debates, the ability to present your case in a way that resonates with your audience is essential. Some people are very receptive to almost any rhetoric but for some you have to recognize that you need to walk on thin ice to get your point across effectively, and know where that line is. Understanding behavioral patterns and what makes people tick is definitely a big part of effective teaching in WOW I have found, although of course K-5 students behave drastically differently from adults, the principles are the same. 

Anything else to add about WOW? WOW has been the most rewarding experience for me in college and I would highly recommend it to anyone who was considering joining. The smiles you see on students' faces when they get excited about science is one of the most enjoyable things to behold.