When comfort disappears, it's a sign of trouble, says popular educator Jan Řiháček

Jan Řiháček’s office at the Institute of Manufacturing Technology at Faculty of Mechanical Engineering BUT is overseen by Apache chief Winnetou. In the lectures and exercises that Jan Řiháček leads, he tries to create a relaxed atmosphere himself. And he seems to succeed because in this year’s student poll (link in Czech languade), he became the most popular teacher at FME BUT for master’s studies. What does he think makes a good teacher? And how much does he bridge the gap between the podium and the desks?

What do you enjoy most about teaching?

Smiling faces of students. Because the worst thing is when you scan the classroom and see that half the students are fiddling with their phones and the other half look at you like you’re crazy and they don’t understand anything. On the other hand, when at the end of a lecture or exercise I see students smiling, it is a signal to me that they were engaged. That always warms my heart.

How much does the award for best teacher according to students mean to you in this context?

Honestly, I wondered where the mistake happened. (laughs) There are teachers in our department whom I look up to or who are my role models and deserve it more than I do. But I have to say I take it as a great honor and a sign that I am not doing this in vain.

Do you have a recipe for successful teaching? Is it empathy with the mood in the classroom or something else…?

Empathy is certainly good. And above all, I have found it helpful not to keep too much distance from the students, to narrow the gap between the podium and the desk a bit. To come down from the pedestal and be a teammate to the students. Which doesn’t mean students should decide what I teach, that I’d go out for drinks with them, or use informal language with them—that’s not the case. There has to be a healthy distance, but it’s always paid off when students understand they can ask anything. A question can never be stupid, only the answer can be. If they understand they can ask freely, it’s part of creating a certain comfortable atmosphere in class that matters to me. When that comfort disappears, it’s a sign of trouble.

Being a university teacher is specific because unlike school teachers, you don’t have special training in pedagogy, didactics, or andragogy… Often as a PhD student you are just thrown into the deep end and have to figure it out yourself. How do you actually “learn to teach”? Where do you find inspiration for your teaching style?

You’re right, exactly that happened to me when I started my PhD studies. Unfortunately, the colleague who taught numerical simulations in manufacturing technology was long-term ill and they were looking for someone to step in, at least for exercises. I knew almost nothing about it and they told me: “You have two months of holidays to prepare to lead the exercises.” It was hard self-study, but it proved effective and I do the same with my current students. Because what they figure out themselves, no one can take away from them. When you overwhelm students with too much information, they stop paying attention. I try to explain the basics and then nudge them in the right direction so they find out or ask more if interested.

By the way, numerical simulations are great for this. I always tell students in exercises that they are on a playground, so they should play: either they enter something wrong and get an error, or it’s right and on the screen they get – simply put – a colorful picture with the results they need. I let them do what interests and excites them, that’s how they learn best.

Do you have any teaching role models?

In elementary school it was my Czech language teacher, a very elegant lady, a role model of a First Republic teacher. She gave me the most in life; we all admired her throughout elementary school. And here at university, it was several teachers right in my first year. For example, I hated math. But everything is about people, and here I met a teacher thanks to whom I started liking math. She didn’t force anything on us, explained everything, everyone could ask and she never refused anyone. And that’s the foundation, I think.

Later at our department we also had colleagues we looked up to. I remember one professor with whom we had three-hour lectures until the evening. You’d think it would be awful. But he always took a break in the middle, unpacked his sandwich for a snack, and started talking about life. And we sat spellbound listening; nobody thought of leaving early…

What do you enjoy teaching the most? Are those the numerical simulations you mentioned?

Basically yes, I teach them the most and also research them. Numerical simulations are great because they teach you the essence of technology. You don’t have to learn formulas or some rushed theory, but thanks to the “colorful pictures” you understand how the technology works. “Ah, this part is under the most stress, that force is big because this and that happens…” Basically, you go inside the technology. And often you understand more than in long theoretical talks.

The main thing is the group I have in the classroom. When it’s a good crowd that can joke with each other nicely, doesn’t mock anyone, and there’s a good atmosphere, I enjoy coming back, even if the classes are “from eight to eight.”

They say that to understand something well, you have to start teaching it. Has that been true for you?

That’s true, especially when questions multiply like “why” or “I found it on the internet and it’s completely different there.” I have also been backed into a corner a few times and had to say: “I don’t know, I’ll study it by next time or ask colleagues who know better.” At university, teaching really is about students asking why things are the way they are, whether something is wrong or different, and so on. It forces you to constantly improve and learn.

Do you recall a moment when students really surprised you?

I do, and it was quite recently. One of the subjects I teach is special manufacturing technologies, where students are expected to derive relations or parameters for the technology to better understand the essence. When preparing, I copied a derivation from the scripts and started explaining it. Suddenly a hand went up and a student said: “You are missing a minus sign there.” At that moment I thought: “Wow, great that someone thinks that deeply.”

I see you have Native American decorations here, even a headdress. Have you ever given a lecture as Winnetou?

No. (laughs) It’s a gift from colleagues at the department; they know I like May stories. I always mention this relaxed attitude, it’s my life motto. That’s why I feel so good at our department because of the relaxed atmosphere. And similar gifts, birthday or anniversary celebrations, belong to that atmosphere.

Themes