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I have been taking quite a few courses in management and business communications and have noticed that most teachers are not able to communicate well to each and every member of the class. They like to lecture and speak to the class as a whole but rarely attempt to make a connection to individual members of the class.
Most of my teachers are aloof to the individual members of the class. They slip into the classroom at the last minute and then go straight into their lecture. No small talk or individual conversations about the class topics occurs. The teachers in this college setting tend to talk at the class as a whole rarely making any eye contact with an individual member of the class. They face the center part of the class room and keep looking at that spot.
What is wrong with some role playing, case studies and question and answer with the instructor? Is it against the rules? This is in college level business management and communications classes.
Last edited by Weekend Traveler; 06-21-2009 at 05:17 AM..
What type of classes are you talking about? It makes a difference. For example, in my high school chemistry class we do the molecule dance and act out the behavior of molecules. I would NEVER do that with a college class. In high school, I'd do way more stopping to assess whether or not my students were getting the material. In college you expect students to go home and study and come see you after hours if they don't get it. I'd stop a high school lecture because a few students were struggling but I would not stop a college lecture.
There are a lot of variables here. What type of class and what level are we talking about? If you're in a psychology class and training to be a therapist, role playing would be integral. If you're talking college physics, no role playing is needed.
I agree with Ivorytickler re: appropriateness and level of study. College classes are usually lectures, in which you sit and listen to someone who is very learned. If you have a question about the material, or want more personalized instruction, you go to office hours. I never had an instructor involve us in role playing b/c it is not considered an age-appropriate learning strategy among college-age students.
With regard to the profs' attitudes, you should realize that college professors are under a lot of scrutiny and must adhere to a strict code of ethics and conduct re: their students. Personal r-ships (or any r-ship with a student that appears individualized) would be deemed completely inappropriate and would jeopardize the prof's job.
Moreover, the main priority of a lot of professors is doing research and getting published, as this contributes to the college's rep; it also has a lot to do with securing tenure. For a lot of professors, teaching classes is secondary, almost an afterthought. These are not teachers who spend their weekends coming up with new and exciting lesson plans to make the material more interesting for their students; these people are researchers who are oftentimes making major breakthroughs in their respective fields of study. Their focus is usually on that breakthrough, not on how Timmy from Business 101 is handling Chapter 16.
Of course, this varies from college to college. Some colleges are smaller and more-student centered, and emphasis is placed on teaching rather than research, while larger institutions usually follow the above model. But if you want a more personal approach re: the material, I would just go to office hours.
Interesting points but these are instructors and teachers who work full time during the day, and teach at night. Not tenured college professors.
Quote:
Originally Posted by StarlaJane
I agree with Ivorytickler re: appropriateness and level of study. College classes are usually lectures, in which you sit and listen to someone who is very learned. If you have a question about the material, or want more personalized instruction, you go to office hours. I never had an instructor involve us in role playing b/c it is not considered an age-appropriate learning strategy among college-age students.
With regard to the profs' attitudes, you should realize that college professors are under a lot of scrutiny and must adhere to a strict code of ethics and conduct re: their students. Personal r-ships (or any r-ship with a student that appears individualized) would be deemed completely inappropriate and would jeopardize the prof's job.
Moreover, the main priority of a lot of professors is doing research and getting published, as this contributes to the college's rep; it also has a lot to do with securing tenure. For a lot of professors, teaching classes is secondary, almost an afterthought. These are not teachers who spend their weekends coming up with new and exciting lesson plans to make the material more interesting for their students; these people are researchers who are oftentimes making major breakthroughs in their respective fields of study. Their focus is usually on that breakthrough, not on how Timmy from Business 101 is handling Chapter 16.
Of course, this varies from college to college. Some colleges are smaller and more-student centered, and emphasis is placed on teaching rather than research, while larger institutions usually follow the above model. But if you want a more personal approach re: the material, I would just go to office hours.
Even if they are not tenured profs and are only teaching at night, everything that I said still applies--just replace "research" with a day job. Everything else still applies--these profs are not full-time teachers.
Last edited by StarlaJane; 06-21-2009 at 12:12 PM..
Depends on the class. If I'm teaching 50+ students in an auditorium, I don't have time to individualize instruction. If I'm in a smaller classroom of 15-20 and/or it's a higher level class, as in, I don't have to dumb it down for them, we can focus more on a more intimate level and I can actually learn your name!
And let's be honest. Some professors consider teaching a chore; their real work is in research. Others are just terrible lecturers plain and simple.
I hate it when the professors tries to be everybody's friend. Ugh. So annoying.
Just keep it neutral, get up there and lecture, answer a few questions, and ask a few questions, pass out quizes, exams, etc. End of story. How hard can it be?
I think being published is overrated. A lot of academic research is trite, inapplicable, or underused in professional settings. I heard about that recently.
Quote:
Originally Posted by StarlaJane
I agree with Ivorytickler re: appropriateness and level of study. College classes are usually lectures, in which you sit and listen to someone who is very learned. If you have a question about the material, or want more personalized instruction, you go to office hours. I never had an instructor involve us in role playing b/c it is not considered an age-appropriate learning strategy among college-age students.
With regard to the profs' attitudes, you should realize that college professors are under a lot of scrutiny and must adhere to a strict code of ethics and conduct re: their students. Personal r-ships (or any r-ship with a student that appears individualized) would be deemed completely inappropriate and would jeopardize the prof's job.
Moreover, the main priority of a lot of professors is doing research and getting published, as this contributes to the college's rep; it also has a lot to do with securing tenure. For a lot of professors, teaching classes is secondary, almost an afterthought. These are not teachers who spend their weekends coming up with new and exciting lesson plans to make the material more interesting for their students; these people are researchers who are oftentimes making major breakthroughs in their respective fields of study. Their focus is usually on that breakthrough, not on how Timmy from Business 101 is handling Chapter 16.
Of course, this varies from college to college. Some colleges are smaller and more-student centered, and emphasis is placed on teaching rather than research, while larger institutions usually follow the above model. But if you want a more personal approach re: the material, I would just go to office hours.
I would say this is typical of college level instruction. It really depends on what model of teaching they are using. There is a movement in today's education world to move teachers away from this and more into the style of teaching which would be more interactive. This is evident in the fact that instead of being called the "teacher", they are now called the "facilitator". The idea is that teachers are not to just lecture at you but rather should facilitate learning by moderating more group discussion and interaction. These are all just different philosophies in education. If you strongly prefer a more interactive atmosphere then there are colleges that advertise this sort of thing as part of their programs. I had a friend who went to a very liberal college where they had classes outside hanging from trees . This is the truth! In my undergrad classes I had a college prof (psychology) who removed desks in favor of beanbags. That wasn't my cup of tea. I'm old fashioned and don't mind a good lecture However everyone is different. I would say to determine what your best learning style is and try to go from there.
I think being published is overrated. A lot of academic research is trite, inapplicable, or underused in professional settings. I heard about that recently.
While this may be true, the fact remains that if someone wants to keep their position they have to publish. My father is a college professor and it's pretty much expected (if it's not an actual requirement)
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However everyone is different. I would say to determine what your best learning style is and try to go from there.
