Dear Professors: We Have a Few Requests

As students, we do our best to learn and know that you as professors, do your best to teach. However, things need to change. Here are a few requests that will help students learn more easily and more deeply. Thanks for caring enough to read these nine tips!

1. Follow-up with students after class. Check in with the class (or individuals) at the end of class (or other times while around campus) to hear how we are doing, where questions linger, or concerns exist about the relevance or significance of the material being presented. This will invite our input in the class and show deep respect for our role in our personal learning journey.
2. Invite students to engage in a variety of ways with the content to be learned. We are all wonderfully unique – different learning preferences, interests, multiple intelligences, introverts and extroverts – and the diversity of engagement should reflect this both inside and outside the classroom. Just inviting a Q&A at the end of class is not enough.
3. Use the classroom to test, try, compare and analyze new content. We should be expected to read the content outside of class and then you can use class time to synthesize and work with the content to help us better understand it. Students read a lot of content, but we don’t always know what they think or feel about it. Class time should be protected for this.
4. Begin the course before Day 1. Meet with students before class to learn our hopes and expectations, and to answer questions. Professors, you will be amazed at what you learn, and we will feel more respected and welcome. Sending out a pre-course survey, having a phone conversation, or arranging a “get to know each other” gathering is about community-building, maximizing the learning experience and being an learning institution that cares.
5. Offer choice. Courses and programs are for students and to help ensure we have the skills, knowledge and attitudes we need to be positive agents of change in the world. How about inviting us to help determine which assignments and activities that will be most meaningful and helpful to us in our learning journey. All students are unique, and so should be our assignments.
6. Arrange the classroom or space to maximize learning. When students can see the professor, the content being presented and each other, we will more easily engage in dialogue and sharing. The room set up can enhance or detract from learning; please come early and intentionally arrange it for our class and what we will be doing together. We’d love to help with this if you invite us in.
7. Teach new content in a variety of ways. Of course, there is a place for lectures or presentations. However, students ask that professors keep it short, ensure time for us to interact with what you teach, and use visuals. Lecturing only engages one learning style – auditory – so offering information in different ways can be helpful.
8. Manage time well. Professors need to be realistic about how much content can be taught in one course. All too often, the first few weeks of class go extremely in-depth into a single topic, but then students are forced to go at break-neck speed to get through the remaining course material. This challenges learning, threatens safety, and can feel disrespectful. As professors and colleges increasingly make the shift from “covering” content to “learning” content, adjustments are needed in course volume and the use of classroom time.
9. Include a variety of visuals. Having pictures, maps, resources or things that students can hold and engage with is extremely useful for learning. This is crucial for both visual and kinesthetic learners and can help us connect with the material and how we understand it. Visuals and props are not just for fun, they should help learning.