Saturday, October 24, 2009

Problems in academia: Solved at TC

Those of you who have been out of the classroom for a while possibly don't remember what the average college professor is like. Many schools put pressure on their professors to conduct research and publish a set number of articles/books in a given time period. Most professors are also required to serve as advisors to students. It's understandable, then that many are not good teachers; they are juggling a lot of priorities, and staying up late to read about classroom methods is not at the top of their lists. Add to this the fact that some are interested only in the research side of things and teach a class or two because that's the only way the university will keep them on staff, and you get a recipe for, well, the stereotypical college professor. It's been my experience that the ones in the sciences are particularly bad.

Not so at TC. Just like (mostly) at Peabody, Vanderbilt's school of ed., the professors know how to teach because, well, that's what they teach. My advisor, mentor, and professor Dr. Masullo, for example, has a knack for pausing right after she's said something important, and has yet to start making another point until the very instant I've finished writing down the gist of her last comment. I'm not the only one whose note-taking timing matches up with her lecture style either apparently, because she's hardly ever asked to repeat what she just said. She somehow manages to be both light and informative at the same time, and backs up her lectures with useful study guides and relevant video clips.

Just one more thing to like about TC.

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