Comments on: A Student Who Needs a Teacher http://www.teachingprofessor.com/articles/student-support/a-student-who-needs-a-teacher A teaching and learning conference. Mon, 23 May 2011 15:28:01 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 By: Richard Young http://www.teachingprofessor.com/articles/student-support/a-student-who-needs-a-teacher/comment-page-1#comment-1017 Richard Young Sat, 22 Aug 2009 17:05:59 +0000 http://www.teachingprofessor.com/?p=952#comment-1017 This is just so timely as well as salient because there are so many issues being woven into this theme. First, it's part of my advice to new faculty that they figure out how to "connect" with students. Once you connect in the classroom then students will clearly seek out instructors. A number of years ago there was a book called the "Human Side of Enterprise". I don't recall the author, but the title seems to be appropriate here to think that there is a human side of higher ed. So what makes a prof approachable? A sense of humor for sure, but also knowing students by name. Caring about their career interests to even ask. Approachability is built in many ways, but often students have their own network so they know "who to take" and also who they can talk to. As faculty we have spent many years honing our expertise in a specific field and some start to think of themselves as dispensers of knowledge. I prefer not to think of myself as a teacher, but as a facilitator of learning. In order to understand whether learning in occurring, I have to connect. In my industry years I came across a sage who asked just four questions that seem appropriate here. I've made a couple of subtle changes for academia: 1. Who is our student? 2. What are their expectations? 3. Are we fulfilling them? 4. How do we know? This is just so timely as well as salient because there are so many issues being woven into this theme. First, it’s part of my advice to new faculty that they figure out how to “connect” with students. Once you connect in the classroom then students will clearly seek out instructors. A number of years ago there was a book called the “Human Side of Enterprise”. I don’t recall the author, but the title seems to be appropriate here to think that there is a human side of higher ed. So what makes a prof approachable? A sense of humor for sure, but also knowing students by name. Caring about their career interests to even ask. Approachability is built in many ways, but often students have their own network so they know “who to take” and also who they can talk to.

As faculty we have spent many years honing our expertise in a specific field and some start to think of themselves as dispensers of knowledge. I prefer not to think of myself as a teacher, but as a facilitator of learning. In order to understand whether learning in occurring, I have to connect. In my industry years I came across a sage who asked just four questions that seem appropriate here. I’ve made a couple of subtle changes for academia:
1. Who is our student?
2. What are their expectations?
3. Are we fulfilling them?
4. How do we know?

]]> By: chris monikowski http://www.teachingprofessor.com/articles/student-support/a-student-who-needs-a-teacher/comment-page-1#comment-975 chris monikowski Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:12:58 +0000 http://www.teachingprofessor.com/?p=952#comment-975 Perfect activity for the top of my "things to do" list....if everyone of us would make an effort to find ONE student like this, imagine what we could do!! I promise to make an effort to take the time to make contact with this young woman/man, look for her/him coming down the hall, getting a cup of coffee, arriving early for class to sit in the back; I promise. Who else will? cm Perfect activity for the top of my “things to do” list….if everyone of us would make an effort to find ONE student like this, imagine what we could do!! I promise to make an effort to take the time to make contact with this young woman/man, look for her/him coming down the hall, getting a cup of coffee, arriving early for class to sit in the back; I promise.

Who else will?

cm

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