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Teaching Methods Re-Examined

What approach encourages you to learn the most?

by Published: Sep 30, 2011

Why do some teach­ers feel the need to be referred to as doc­tor or professor?

We all under­stand that every edu­ca­tor is dif­fer­ent; how­ever, thoughts about the learn­ing expe­ri­ence and teach­ers around cam­pus dif­fer­en­ti­ate between each stu­dent. Some enjoy the very warm and invit­ing pro­fes­sors who have per­sonal attach­ments to stu­dents and oth­ers may learn best by a strict busi­ness approach to a class and to learn­ing the mate­r­ial. This begs to answer a big ques­tion: What type of teach­ing by an edu­ca­tor is the most efficient?

Throughout cam­pus there are the typ­i­cal pro­fes­sors who need to be called doc­tor or pro­fes­sor because of the num­ber of years they have put into a spe­cific study, earn­ing the right to become some­thing a lit­tle bit more than a “Mr.” or a “Mrs.”. Years upon years of per­fect­ing the craft gives some pro­fes­sors the enti­tle­ment of feel­ing a notch above every­one else. They have that right, but how does it affect stu­dents to feel below a pro­fes­sor instead of on equal foot­ing? After all, shouldn’t every­one through­out cam­pus be con­sid­ered an adult?

For every “pro­fes­sor” there is an equal num­ber of teach­ers — the teach­ers who allow one to call them by first names, and even­tu­ally through­out the semes­ter tend to have more of a per­sonal con­nec­tion with stu­dents other than the typ­i­cal busi­ness approach to school­ing. The ones who under­stand what stu­dents are going through and the amount of stress put on them. Overall though, can stu­dents learn as much from a teacher as a pro­fes­sor? Of course they can; how­ever, it feels as if more learn­ing occurs by using the busi­ness type of class model.

Honestly, the pre­ferred teach­ing method for me at least is more of a “teacher” approach to a class, one where the stress doesn’t build up inside to a boil­ing point. The busi­ness type of class model gets stag­nate and bor­ing after the first cou­ple of weeks; you take notes, do home­work and take tests. Nope, can’t han­dle it. I end up get­ting a lot more out of each class when I actu­ally like the teacher and can under­stand where he is com­ing from. I mean, you have to spend a cou­ple hours a week with them…might as well be socia­ble with them, right?

There is more to class than learn­ing the mate­r­ial; it is using the mate­r­ial in the every­day world and suc­ceed­ing from what infor­ma­tion has been gained.