By Bryan Ling
The second entry in our ongoingly breathless coverage of LSE professors and what’s on their desks.
Dr James Abdey, Department of Statistics (ST102)
B: What’s one item on your desk that you couldn’t go without?
The second monitor is a boon. Not for recordings — I use my touchscreen laptop for that — but for general work, since it saves so much time from switching between different applications often! (My real secret is my Nespresso machine, which you can see in the photo. Caffeine gets me through anything!)
B: How far in advance do you record your lectures? Is there an editing process/ reshoots, or do you usually nail it in the first take?
I record my lectures the week before release, usually in the evenings when ambient noise is minimal. I’m a pro, so it’s all done in one take — well, at least students never see the bloopers with occasional strong language if there’s a verbal slip!
B: How did you come up with the idea for the ST102 Wall of Fame? How many people respond to it every week?
With the switch to blended learning and some students studying entirely online, the key is to sustain student engagement. In previous years, when we would have 2-hour, in-person lectures every Tuesday, we would do the “five-minute challenge” — students could either ponder a brain teaser or enjoy a stretch break. This year I thought it would be good to introduce a competitive but fun element, hence the ST102 Wall of Fame linked to the five-minute challenge. Submission rates vary, although there have always been at least 10 correct(ish) responses each week!
B: Do you have any messages for your ST102 Superstars?
Remember a degree is a marathon not a sprint! Oh, and I wish my ST102 Superstars happy holidays and all the best for the January ST102 exam – which only counts for a maximum of 0.9259% of your degree, so keep a sense of proportion!
