Rohit Kannan

Excellence in Teaching Spotlight by the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Virginia Tech

The Excellence in Teaching Spotlight, presented by the center to approximately nine Virginia Tech faculty members each academic year, recognizes a faculty member's effective, engaged, and dynamic approaches and achievements as an educator.

Among the goals of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning are advancing experiential learning at Virginia Tech and improving student learning through research-based instructional practices and student-centered design. According to Kannan, his approach to teaching focuses on conveying his passion for the subject and his commitment to student success. He shared some of the specific teaching methods he employs in the classroom: “I emphasize critical thinking and problem-solving through well-designed examples, assignments, and projects, and I balance course rigor with practical applications. In-class exercises allow me to gauge understanding and address any confusion early on. I set a high standard in my preparation and materials to encourage students to aim for excellence, and I actively seek feedback to refine my methods. I also try to make video recordings of my lectures available so students can review materials at their own pace. For students interested in exploring topics further, I provide optional readings and resources.”

Kannan’s former student, Hyunwoo Lee, expressed his appreciation for Kannan’s commitment to teaching excellence: “Dr. Rohit Kannan's ISE 6514 course on conic programming has been a transformative experience for me as a student. Despite this being his first teaching course at Virginia Tech, his dedication to crafting detailed and insightful course materials and his thorough preparation were evident from the start. I, along with my colleagues, was truly touched by the immense effort he put into making the course both engaging and impactful.”

Akshay Bansal, another former student of Kannan’s, highlighted Kannan's talent for simplifying complex topics and his openness to receiving feedback from his students: “During my graduate studies, I had the privilege to attend Rohit’s Fall 2023 offering on advanced mathematical programming which coincidently had a substantial overlap with my research on semidefinite optimization in quantum information theory. I think his pedagogical approach in simplifying complex mathematical proofs and working out most of the calculations immensely helped us in grasping the course content better, and in a way that I could even use some of these ideas in my own research. By the end of course, I started cherishing his adoption of the age-old style of ‘teaching on board’ and his desire to constantly improve his teaching prowess by seeking regular feedback from the students.”

Kannan provided the following advice for new college teachers: “My advice to new college teachers is to communicate clearly with your students, particularly regarding your expectations for the class, and to seek regular feedback from them to adapt your teaching approach. Setting clear expectations helps students understand their goals, while early feedback allows you to adjust to their needs and learning styles, creating a more effective and engaging learning environment. Additionally, using resources from CETL or seeking peer evaluations can provide valuable insights to help refine your teaching methods.”