Jim Talamo, a senior lecturer at Ohio State, has used a variety of inspirations, including the piano, to influence his teaching style. Credit: Courtesy of Jim Talamo, Graphic: Lily Pace | Managing Campus Editor
Jim Talamo is just as happy talking about bowling, gourmet cooking and his collection of math T-shirts as he is discussing the classes he teaches at Ohio State.
But when Talamo, a senior lecturer at Ohio State, talked about how he redesigned one of Ohio State’s most challenging courses, Calculus II for Engineers, he had a story to tell about another passion: the piano.
“I remember watching a video, one of my favorite pianists in a rehearsal for a piece, and the conductor said, ‘OK, start on measure 51.’ The pianist sits down and just immediately goes for measure 51,” Talamo said, of watching concert pianist Yuja Wang. “So I took that approach to a piece that I knew well, and I tried to start somewhere in the middle of the piece, and I couldn’t do it.”
That challenge inspired Talamo to rethink how he learns.
“How much of what I know is muscle memory?” Talamo asked. “And if it’s muscle memory, how much better do I get if I start at measure 51?”
Those questions would eventually reshape how Talamo designs his lectures. In the process, he’s won awards for his lecturing and course design, and also praise from his students for making math more approachable.
“He was a genuinely fantastic professor. He took a difficult class with hard content into manageable-to-learn lectures,” Matthew Young, a second-year in mechanical engineering who took one of his classes, said.
Young did not respond to emails for further comments.
Talamo earned two undergraduate degrees in mathematics and physics from the University of Notre Dame in 2007, followed by a Ph. D. in mathematical physics from Ohio State in 2015 and has been a senior lecturer in the Department of Mathematics since 2018.
At the start of his lecturing career, courses in the mathematics, chemistry and physics departments were going through major redesigns.
“I feel like I graduated at a very opportune time because there was a very strong focus on improving education,” Talamo said.
It was through the process of these redesigns that Talamo began to collaborate with people involved in Calculus I and found a way to adapt regular Calculus II and Calculus II for Engineers into courses that would feel like parts of a cohesive whole.
Over the years, he polished his teaching approach to identify what students may struggle with.
“Initially, I thought, if I explained things well, everyone would understand,” Talamo said. “I’ve gotten more experience, I’ve become a little bit better at seeing what the challenges [students] would face would be. And I’ve tried to design course content around that.”
Talamo emphasizes a dual perspective in his teaching. When researching mathematical physics, he found that a deep understanding of math can inform unique insights into physics and vice-versa.
“With engineering calculus, we are focusing on a lot of applicable problems,” Talamo said. This perspective encourages his students to look beyond the calculations and understand the concepts and then how those concepts are reflected in the calculations.
As a recognition of his innovative approach, Talamo received the 2022 Provost’s Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Lecturer.
The award stemmed from his teaching during the pandemic, a time he found discouraging, in part because he was disconnected from students. So, when he had learned many of his students had nominated him for the award he said he felt proud.
He said that it felt validating to know his students appreciated his effort.
That same year, Talamo, as part of a team of professors across all Ohio State branch campuses, developed a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Technology degree for the branch campuses.
The team designed a program in which math, physics and engineering interplayed after researching what companies that hire Ohio State engineers, such as Whirlpool, Worthington Industries and Honda, look for in graduates.
The program’s success earned the team the 2022 Ralph L. Boyer Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Engineering Innovation.
Most recently, in 2023, Talamo and colleagues earned an around $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education Open Textbook Pilot Program to help expand free resources for students.
Despite the recognitions and awards Talamo acknowledges the importance of constantly reimagining what the classroom looks like.
“We do students a disservice if we aren’t working technology into our courses, especially in mine, where they’re engineers and will be using a lot of technology throughout their careers,” he said.
In his classroom, he will use Top Hat or the chat feature of his simulcasted lecture to let students ask questions, because he said it keeps students engaged.
“Sometimes I feel like I say the same thing five or six times,” he said. “And then students ask and someone [in the chat] is like, ‘bro, he already said that,’ which I love.”
