Students and alumni reported what CSUF instructors did that facilitated their learning.
*****1******
The
teacher who helped me most is Professor Offner who teaches Engineering
Thermodynamics. When I took his class
he was highly motivated to help his students learn. He showed the class that most of the books have unnecessary
derivations and filler material to make them big. He told us to rewrite the book.
By that he meant take notes (from the book) that get to the meat of the
subject. Doing that in my other courses
has helped me tremendously, especially the math and engineering related courses.
Bill
Ambrose
Civil
Engineering
Class
of 2001
*****2*****
I once had a teacher for
Pre-calculus who was new and very helpful.
He spent the time with me so I could learn the material. I consider him a friend, though I haven’t
seen him since the class ended. In
contrast, I have had other teachers (mainly tenured professors) that made me
feel like it was a burden on them to answer my questions. They were helpful, but only to a point.
I believe new teachers are
enthusiastic and still in the mindset where they want to teach and help
students learn, as opposed to "hardened" teachers who want to teach
but are set in their ways: "I’ll teach you, but if you don’t learn it
when I teach it, then YOU need to get with it."
Also, I had a teacher who gave a
test on which I received a fairly high score.
Most of my classmates did poorly; because of this he threw that test
out. This had an adverse effect on my final score; I felt ripped-off and spoke
with the teacher. I asked if he would,
instead, throw out the lowest score of all tests, but he would not. He made up his mind; it was unfair and
ruined my grade for the class. He was
tenured and bragged numerous times about being at CSUF for 25 years; he told us
about his pre-teen son who was doing the work we were struggling with . . . all
with the condescending air that he knew better than anyone what we were about.
If CSUF wants to improve teaching
performance it needs to not only find the good teachers, but also identify the
bad. Re-train the bad ones or get rid
of them! Look for continuous
improvement, don't sit back and let things run their own course (some teachers
get mean, nasty and non-caring at this point), set goals and achieve
them.
Bluedun
Business/Finance
Class of 2000
*****3*****
I think it's very important for students to have
hands-on experience, and while sometimes difficult in academia, some instructors manage it. For instance, Dr.
Mori has guest speakers come to her abnormal psychology classes. They are
real people with real disorders. They talk about their disorders and how
they cope. They share their perceptions of how their conditions
developed. Having a broad understanding of one's field of concentration
is important, but practical experiences tremendously help students understand
general ideas.
Dr. White, who teaches Pharmacopsychology gave us
homework that dealt with the drugs we were learning about. She used case studies to help us better
understand the difficulty of prescribing drugs. She designed the cases so we would run into key problems.
This made us think about the material we were learning.
It is easy to succeed in school just by learning
the material, but that does not mean that we are right for the careers that we
are preparing for. Practical experiences challenge us; they make us aware
of the difficulties we may encounter in the professional world.
Thank you for asking for feedback from students.
Catherine Brouillard
Psychology
Class of 2001
*****4*****
I have gained a great deal of knowledge from Dr. McLaren. His teaching style is unique. He is very inspirational because he is
content, unlike most college professors.
He is also inspirational because he has insights into some answers to
life.
Robert Brunier
Psychology
Class of 2004
*****5*****
I really enjoyed having Dr. Miller as a professor for two
classes--despite the horror stories from other students (e.g., you have to
study or you fail--a novel concept!).
Dr. Miller has a great way of cementing concepts with examples so that
we won't forget them. He will explain
the concept briefly, e.g, purchase orders.
Then he will say, "For example, the accounting department gives
each instructor one packet of dry erase markers for the entire semester. If I
need another packet, can I just walk over to the bookstore and buy one? No!
I have to . . ." and then he will show the absurdity of how it
takes a purchase requisition, purchase order, act of God, etc. to get an extra
packet of markers. His examples are
always funny and usually exaggerated to get the point across, but I've heard
alumni quoting him a decade after they took his class, "For example,
suppose you had a 1974 Datsun B210 with four bald tires . . ."
Carolyn Bryant
Accounting
Class of 2002
*****6*****
One of my most influential teachers is Dr. Kathleen Brown who
taught Honors Psychology 101. I came
into her class thinking that since this was an Honors class all we needed to do
was read more pages than the average student in a Psych class. That was not the case. We did read more, but Kathleen was amazing at teaching us complicated
material. Her exams weren't just
objective; her essays allowed us to give our subjective views and thus learn
more. Also, she was laid back and
didn't seem like a Dr. I'm sure all the
students loved her . . . even if they didn't get a high grade. Basically, we all LEARNED. I took this GE class two years ago, but
remember vividly all the assignments and psych information. Dr. Brown may not know my name, but I will
always remember hers.
Jamie Chung
Entertainment Arts
Class of 2002
*****7*****
Mr. Leuthesser is truly a distinguished professor. He took time to explain concepts
thoroughly. It was obvious that he
really wanted his class to do well in the business world. He deserves to be honored as an exemplary
educator. I believe the best practice
by my instructors who have really helped me learn is that of offering real-life
examples.
Winn Davis
Business/Marketing
*****8*****
This is my first semester at CSUF and everything is going well. I don't really have that much exposure to the styles of teaching of the professors yet. However, I would like to see instructors incorporate business work experiences into their seminars/lectures, to give us something realistic and applicable to use after graduation. I have heard from CSUF graduates saying that only 20% of what they have learned in school can be applied to the business world and the rest is based on luck. When I was in high school, CSUF was ranked as the second well-known and largest undergrad business school in the nation, but now it is ranked the fifth. Anyway, that's my input . . .
Thousandk Duong, Business/Finance, Class of 2002
*****9*****
The best teachers are "project oriented"
teachers. These teachers don't rely
solely on book-based
lectures, etc . . . they guide students through hands-on
projects. For example, I took a website
design class with Mr. Patterson. He let
us take full charge of a website project; although it was our first time using
the web design software, the class was a success.
I took another class in
which the teacher assigned us to do a campaign for a non-profit
organization. I had to call and ask if
they could use my services . . . I ended up doing a full campaign for them,
creating a logo for their new program, creating a website from scratch,
generating press releases, etc.
Teachers like Mr. Patterson encourage us to actually "work"
and not just read and memorize chapters.
I learned a lot from these classes.
I hope this helps you communicate better teaching techniques.
Carol Eustace
Communications/PR
Class of 2001
*****10*****
I appreciate the education that CSUF provides to students. I strongly agree with Professor Walgren, (Finance 320) who helped me to better understand the material. He is friendly and has a great sense of humor. On the other hand, Professor X (identity deleted by Editor) is rude and does not thoroughly go over the material. When asked questions he is sarcastic and makes students feel dumb. He discourages asking of questions both in and out of class. Professor X needs to take a few classes with Professor Walgren.
Fernando Gonzalez, Business Administration/Management Information Systems
*****11*****
The best practice of instructors who have helped me learn is
that of providing real-life examples. I
am an accounting major and have taken all my lower-division and several
upper-division courses. The problem I
see is when teachers become boring by simply following the text; when we
graduate and become professionals we won't see many of those text
examples. Students need something real,
something to grasp on to . . . it's difficult to get that from merely following
a book.
This semester I took Dr. Miller for Accounting 301B. He taught us what we needed to know for the
CPA exam and the business world; he avoided many of the text's ludicrous
examples of decisions that no right-minded professional would make. Beyond that, he provided examples that would
stay in our minds for a long time because they were hilarious and real. He also gave examples that may have been
offensive to some, but students realize when they walk out of his class that
they will remember those examples for a very long time--that is something
special about his course.
Jason Hovey
Accounting
Class of 2001
*****12*****
I
have one professor that lectures and projects pictures for students to better
understand the material (Biology class).
In order for us to remember certain details he uses mnemonics. Also, he emphasizes the importance of
certain information and hints that it might be on the exam.
Adeline
Kim
Director
of Public Relations
CSUF
Associated Students Inc.
*****13*****
My
Math 303A class was team taught by Professors Michael Clapp and Susan
Kasparian. That was helpful because we
got the information from two perspectives.
One had a structured logical approach while the other had a visual,
hands-on approach. This same teaching
team helped us learn with the following lesson format: 1) a brief quiz on the concepts covered the
previous lesson, 2) a brief discussion and demonstration on how a new concept
works, 3) an in-class assignment to practice what we just learned, and 4)
homework. I appreciated this approach
because I was able to use what I'd just seen demonstrated, thus providing a forum
where I could practice the lesson learned and ask questions where I lacked
understanding before facing homework.
Another
approach that served my learning was that used by my CAS325 instructor,
Professor Willmer. She gave us lengthy,
in-depth tests to complete at home.
These required thoughtful application of the concepts to
situations. I was pleasantly surprised
to find on the day of the final I still clearly remembered and understood the
concepts I responded to. Professor
Willmer also had us write question cards (with correct answers on the back of
the card) for every chapter and every lecture.
This approach was very useful to me in learning the class material.
A
big "thanks" to these teachers!
Noemi
Lewis
Child
and Adolescent Development
*****14*****
Professors
Valachi (Intro. to Real Estate) and Creco (International Finance) talked about
"real life" situations from the newspapers and from what was going on
in their jobs. This made the textbook
material much more interesting and pertinent.
Also, Professor Norby (Business Writing 201A) is very organized and
leads by example. Because she was
always on top of things there was no excuse for her students to not be. Teachers that remember what they assign (and
when it's due) and are generally "together" inspire me to be a better
student because I know I can't get away with being a slacker.
Nicole
Minnameyer
Finance
Class
of 2000
*****15*****
I would like to say something about a former professor's
teaching style that made me really want to stay in her class. She clearly wrote on the board what she
said, and she always smiled at her students when they had questions. Also, she answered students' questions and tried
to help. The course was hard (anyway, I
thought so), but most of the students, including myself, liked being
there.
Hanh Le
Child and Adolescent Studies
Class of 2001
*****16*****
I am responding to your letter in hopes that selection of
professors hired in the future will be thought out and taken seriously. I hope change is on the way. I have high expectations. My learning experiences on campus will
effect what I choose to tell my friends and clients within my industry. One unhappy student has the ability to
persuade ten people against an institution.
I am currently enrolled in a writing class taught by Professor
Webb. He is, by far, the best teacher I
have had at CSUF. I love his style of
teaching. His patience and passion for
teaching has helped many excel, including myself. The ability to reach out to students takes a very special person,
and that is exactly what he is. He sets
an example at our university for what every teacher or aspiring teacher should
want to be.
A happy student.
Catherine Nguyen
Communications/PR
Class of 2001
*****17*****
One of my professors, Ms. Quinonez (Chicano Studies) uses her
experience in the Chicano Movement to teach her classes. I think that it is very important for
professors to have firsthand knowledge in what they are teaching, it makes the
class much more interesting.
Pinpadilla
*****18*****
The
following is a teaching wish list generated by students visiting the
Intercultural Development Center.
ATTITUDE:
Be
friendly, yet fair
Be
patient with students
Be
available for questions
Always
be available during office hours
Make
an effort to understand students
Accept
all petitions for registration
Know
how to make jokes during lectures to keep students from falling asleep
Be
nice when addressing students' questions
Encourage
students to use your office hours
Be
courteous to students and other professors
Do
not talk behind others professors' backs
Treat
students with respect and expect the students' respect in return
Be
lenient to students in special circumstances
Show
that you care for students' academic achievement by being aware of their
progress.
Develop
rapport with students
TEACHING:
Know
your material well
Have
a sense of humor
Write
clearly
Use
interactive learning
Offer
extra credit
Focus
on one topic at a time
Assign
homework and give credit for it
Review
before giving tests or quizzes
Make
class interesting to students
Don't
make things too hard
Allow
students to make up exams or quizzes under special circumstances
Explain
material clearly
Do
not overload on homework
Discuss
homework in class
Do
not give "killer" exams (avoid tricks)
Don't
be picky on grading exams
Create
a comfortable classroom environment for students to interact with professors
and other students
Communicate
effectively with students both in and out of class
Coordinate
lectures with the progress of the class
Be
organized
Consider
students' levels when selecting texts, worksheets, and assignments
Update
knowledge with recent developments in your field
Clearly
define your grading scales
Avoid
political involvement in students' activities on campus
Firmly
stick to the objectives of the syllabus; notify students in writing of any
changes