Teaching acoustics as an engineering elective

Acoustics is a wonderful elective subject to teach because interested students arrive on the first day of class with two or more decades of experience operating an acoustic source (their voice) and utilizing multiple acoustic receivers (their ears). Thus, their curiosity and intuition are ripe for exploitation and can even be used to motivate the development of mathematical skills. My path to research and instruction in acoustics does not include any formal training in the subject. Instead, I encountered and learned acoustics at a pace and in manner of my choosing through research, consulting, and teaching. Thus, this lecture begins with a graphical retrospective of my career path punctuated by relevant dates and numbers. This career summary is followed by the statement and description of three main concepts that have guided my 30 + years of engineering science instruction: (i) let the truth be your only story, (ii) know your students and what motivates them, and (iii) engage in student-centric teaching. Descriptions, explanations, and examples related to these three concepts are presented and include: setting the tone of the course on the first day, surveying the students to determine their interests, and review of a few of my favorite homework problems.