underqualified teachers

[August]

anyone had a mildly or strongly underqualified teacher in any subject?

i have different teachers for my biology lab and lecture classes. my lab teacher has a strange teaching style. during the 3 hour class, he makes everyone get up and stand in the front of the room while he talks. this usually takes up about 2 hours of class. he does lots of "kinesthetics", where he waves his hands around to illustrate a concept and makes us do it along with him and repeat everything he says. he doesn't allow us to write any notes. obviously, he has a preferred learning style that he forces upon all his students. that aside, he's an excellent teacher, makes every subject interesting, and knows almost as much as God. he's a devout atheist or agnostic (depending on the day of the week) and frequently goes on tirades against religion that most find offensive, but i, as an agnostic, find completely true and hilarious. for example, he asked the class why religious people say it's a miracle when someone overcomes cancer, but not when someone gets over a cold. both incidences are the result of the immune system doing its job, and one is a "miracle" while the other is not.

my lecture professor, however, doesn't belong in the teaching field. she's a field biologist that works with frogs and i'm pretty sure that she has a government job and has to teach for her grant money or whatever. she's a nice lady and all, but for god's sake, she calls her blood type "zero positive". she's from argentina and her english is still a work in progress, but i'm quite certain that "O" is not "zero" in spanish either. during our test reviews, she frequently gets corrected by her students.

what about you all?

 

[Byrdie714]

anyone had a mildly or strongly underqualified teacher in any subject?

i have different teachers for my biology lab and lecture classes. my lab teacher has a strange teaching style. during the 3 hour class, he makes everyone get up and stand in the front of the room while he talks. this usually takes up about 2 hours of class. he does lots of "kinesthetics", where he waves his hands around to illustrate a concept and makes us do it along with him and repeat everything he says. he doesn't allow us to write any notes. obviously, he has a preferred learning style that he forces upon all his students. that aside, he's an excellent teacher, makes every subject interesting, and knows almost as much as God. he's a devout atheist or agnostic (depending on the day of the week) and frequently goes on tirades against religion that most find offensive, but i, as an agnostic, find completely true and hilarious. for example, he asked the class why religious people say it's a miracle when someone overcomes cancer, but not when someone gets over a cold. both incidences are the result of the immune system doing its job, and one is a "miracle" while the other is not.

my lecture professor, however, doesn't belong in the teaching field. she's a field biologist that works with frogs and i'm pretty sure that she has a government job and has to teach for her grant money or whatever. she's a nice lady and all, but for god's sake, she calls her blood type "zero positive". she's from argentina and her english is still a work in progress, but i'm quite certain that "O" is not "zero" in spanish either. during our test reviews, she frequently gets corrected by her students.

what about you all?

Are you attending a community college?

 

[VamPyroX]

I would rather a teacher allow me to take notes. After all, shouldn't we be allowed to take notes? How else do we expect to remember what was said in class... bring a video camera?

I have had a few professors at RIT that were very kinesthetic.

In high school, most of my professors were boring... except for a few.

 

[jillio]

It has been my experience that a lot of professors teach the same way they learn. For example, a professor who is an auditory learner will rely alot on lecture. One who is a visual learner will use PowerPoint presentations to supplement lecture, or write key points on the board. One who is kinesthetic will do alot of group activity. I think its probably pretty natural to teach the way one learns.

 

[August]

Are you attending a community college?

yes

It has been my experience that a lot of professors teach the same way they learn. For example, a professor who is an auditory learner will rely alot on lecture. One who is a visual learner will use PowerPoint presentations to supplement lecture, or write key points on the board. One who is kinesthetic will do alot of group activity. I think its probably pretty natural to teach the way one learns.

natural to teach it, but not to force it.

 

[deafbajagal]

There are two aspects of teaching - content knowledge and knowledge of instruction delivery - a good teacher has both. Most don't. For example, a person who majored in English (like me for example) will have vast content knowledge to teach the subject area of English. However, that doesn't mean the person knows how to teach - using various instructional strageties to meet students with diverse needs and learning styles, etc. So that's why it is a good idea for the teacher to also have formal training in the field of education where they learn HOW to teach the subject that they have content knowledge in. Unfortunately with No Child Left Behind, the schools are being pushed for teachers who are certified in content areas and not necessarily who have education backgrounds. A good example of this would be the numerous fast-track, non-traditional teaching programs that are sprouting all over the country.

 

[jillio]

There are two aspects of teaching - content knowledge and knowledge of instruction delivery - a good teacher has both. Most don't. For example, a person who majored in English (like me for example) will have vast content knowledge to teach the subject area of English. However, that doesn't mean the person knows how to teach - using various instructional strageties to meet students with diverse needs and learning styles, etc. So that's why it is a good idea for the teacher to also have formal training in the field of education where they learn HOW to teach the subject that they have content knowledge in. Unfortunately with No Child Left Behind, the schools are being pushed for teachers who are certified in content areas and not necessarily who have education backgrounds. A good example of this would be the numerous fast-track, non-traditional teaching programs that are sprouting all over the country.

Couldn't agree with you more. In the case of this poster, though, she is in college. College professors across the board have no teacher training unless they have been education majors. Its all about content knowledge. Especially at the community college level. A Ph.D. is not even required. At least, with a Ph.D., they will have gotten some hands on teaching experience as TAs. At the community college level, all that is required is a masters level degree in the content area. Most will require additional field experience in the form of having been employed in the content area. But teaching experience...nope.

 

[Chase]

There are two aspects of teaching -- content knowledge and knowledge of instruction delivery -- a good teacher has both. Most don't.

I disagree. Most teachers do have good content knowledge, which they take pride in updating. Most teachers do work hard at methods and materials of instruction and to learn more.

Unfortunately, it’s the few who don’t that students remember and whose stories make the rounds, embellishments constantly added, with the SUB sobbers.

Just one invariable complaint of the best teachers is too much repetition. “I got it, already! <<eyes roll>> Why does he say it over and over?”

It's because good teachers know different students learn in different ways. Thus, you say it, write it in a handout, write it on the whiteboard, pantomime it, give an example, ask Socratic questions of several, ask for a paper on the subject, and review it later.

I certainly understand why August’s lab instructor gets students off their butts and following experiments. If some have immediate note-taking needs and there are no breaks for three hours, there are procedures to receive accommodations and address comfort. He has supervisors who will speak to him about comments for or against religion. Sounds like a very new teacher who would be so callous.

Not every teacher has decades of seasoning. That’s why entry salaries are small and most colleges base tenure and pay increases on student and peer evaluations, career enhancement studies, etc.

While it’s possible to get a first-year Ph.D. without a day of teaching under his or her belt, as Jillio said, it’s a rarity and can be a disappointment. Another perk of the college system is you can drop and add classes.

Lots of college teachers, as I did, teach years in between degrees and earn degrees under TA systems and fellowships requiring teaching. Even so, students have hated my teaching style, looks, name, clothing, voice, difficulty with hearing, sexual orientation, diet, service record, handwriting, bad breath, name, etc. But the majority struggled through to learn.

Like the teacher from Argentina, I’ve taught in different countries and sovereignties. I sympathize with my students' frustrations and always laughed along with them at my funny diction.

The worst teacher I had in college taught a mandatory economics class to the clock in back of the room, never looking at anyone who might interrupt his 50-minute lecture. Students kept track of his trite phrases repeated dozens of times each. No intelligent person is ever bored, so I read from the text (ha ha ha, he often did, too). So I did well on his tests which were word-for-word out of the book . . . but my most valuable lesson was how not to teach.

 

[August]

actually, he's been teaching here for about 15 years and told us he makes $106,000 a year.

 

[VamPyroX]

The worst teacher I had in college taught a mandatory economics class to the clock in back of the room, never looking at anyone who might interrupt his 50-minute lecture. Students kept track of his trite phrases repeated dozens of times each. No intelligent person is ever bored, so I read from the text (ha ha ha, he often did, too). So I did well on his tests which were word-for-word out of the book . . . but my most valuable lesson was how not to teach.

I've had a few bad professors before.

One of them never gave a lecture in her own words. She just typed up the full lecture and then read it word-for-word while sitting down at the front table. She told the class that if they wanted to learn, they should write down everything she said, word-for-word. :roll:

I tried getting copies of the notes and she told me that I would never learn if she just handed me the notes. She said that I would learn better if I wrote it all down myself. But, this was extremely difficult considering how I had to look up and down with the interpreter.

I've had a few professors who would lecture through the class and finish early. They will then check their watch and then keep repeating a few things until the full class period was over. That extra time could have been put to better use by talking about our homework, assignments, or anything else new instead of trying to stretch the old lecture. :roll:

 

[jillio]

actually, he's been teaching here for about 15 years and told us he makes $106,000 a year.

Hmmmm....tenured? That would explain a lot.

 

[jillio]

I've had a few bad professors before.

One of them never gave a lecture in her own words. She just typed up the full lecture and then read it word-for-word while sitting down at the front table. She told the class that if they wanted to learn, they should write down everything she said, word-for-word. :roll:

I tried getting copies of the notes and she told me that I would never learn if she just handed me the notes. She said that I would learn better if I wrote it all down myself. But, this was extremely difficult considering how I had to look up and down with the interpreter.

I've had a few professors who would lecture through the class and finish early. They will then check their watch and then keep repeating a few things until the full class period was over. That extra time could have been put to better use by talking about our homework, assignments, or anything else new instead of trying to stretch the old lecture. :roll:

PowerPoint has been the downfall of many a professor. I had a few undergrad profs that would type a presentation straight from the text, and then stand in class and read it to you. GAWD!!!! I can freakin read the book myself.

 

[Jiro]

actually, he's been teaching here for about 15 years and told us he makes $106,000 a year.

ouch.... 15 years and still at $106,000 a year.... My high school teacher makes $120,000 a year and I've been to community college a few times during summer for cheap intro-level courses to transfer to my college. Most of professors there have ph.d and I was very impressed with their quality of teaching. They make over $120,000/yr. as well. But I understand your point.

No class every semester is same because you will have different type of people from different time. The best professor can do is to stay updated with the trend. More importantly, professor will have to use his best judgment to gauge the class and adjust his teaching style to be in sync with the class. Some respond better to visual form, some to kinesthetic, so on. I think we all can agree that we would LOVE to have a professor who is VERY updated with technology such as - his lecture in mixed form of multimedia - podcast/IPOD format, pictures, powerpoint, websites, etc. Handful of my college courses were like that and I particularly enjoy it.

 

[CrzyMeg]

I do, in ASL Class. 5th period. I have to correct almost daily.

 

[VamPyroX]

PowerPoint has been the downfall of many a professor. I had a few undergrad profs that would type a presentation straight from the text, and then stand in class and read it to you. GAWD!!!! I can freakin read the book myself.

For my professors at RIT, most of them make good use of their Powerpoints. I did have 1 or 2 that ended up putting so much information in their PPT that they ended up with 100 slides per class. Ugh!

The ones that make good use of their PPT follow the 3 x 3 rule and put 1/3 of their presentation in PPT... while 2/3 of their presentation is by voice and/or action.

Here's a good funny PPT video...

[yt]cagxPlVqrtM[/yt]

It's not subtitled or captioned, but you should be able to figure out what's going on.

(I actually had a class where they emphasized on good PPT presentations.

 

[jillio]

For my professors at RIT, most of them make good use of their Powerpoints. I did have 1 or 2 that ended up putting so much information in their PPT that they ended up with 100 slides per class. Ugh!

The ones that make good use of their PPT follow the 3 x 3 rule and put 1/3 of their presentation in PPT... while 2/3 of their presentation is by voice and/or action.

Here's a good funny PPT video...

[yt]cagxPlVqrtM[/yt]

It's not subtitled or captioned, but you should be able to figure out what's going on.

(I actually had a class where they emphasized on good PPT presentations.

Absolutely. The majority of my professors do the same. But you will run into those that think they are writing a book when they do a PPT.

The rule of thumb I was taught was 8-10 slides for an hour and 50 minute class with a 10 minute break.

Good video! LOL.

 

[VamPyroX]

Absolutely. The majority of my professors do the same. But you will run into those that think they are writing a book when they do a PPT.

The rule of thumb I was taught was 8-10 slides for an hour and 50 minute class with a 10 minute break.

Good video! LOL.

I usually do one slide every 5 to 10 minutes depending on the material.

I had a professor who had 50 slides and had them all printed (one slide per page) for all the students in class. Ugh!

 

[jenni-m]

Couldn't agree with you more. In the case of this poster, though, she is in college. College professors across the board have no teacher training unless they have been education majors. Its all about content knowledge. Especially at the community college level. A Ph.D. is not even required. At least, with a Ph.D., they will have gotten some hands on teaching experience as TAs. At the community college level, all that is required is a masters level degree in the content area. Most will require additional field experience in the form of having been employed in the content area. But teaching experience...nope.

Well I think at that 'level' it is more about the student knowing how to learn than it is about the professor knowing how to teach. I'm not saying teaching experience wouldn't help, I'm sure it does. Just making a random point...

 

[jillio]

I usually do one slide every 5 to 10 minutes depending on the material.

I had a professor who had 50 slides and had them all printed (one slide per page) for all the students in class. Ugh!

That's overkill!

 

[jillio]

Well I think at that 'level' it is more about the student knowing how to learn than it is about the professor knowing how to teach. I'm not saying teaching experience wouldn't help, I'm sure it does. Just making a random point...

I agree. Which is exactly why college professors aren't required to have education degrees.