We asked professors what they really think about us

Every year at JMU, some thousand students or so embrace a new chapter in their lives and migrate to college, freshly graduated. They join the mixture of upper-classmen who transverse campus with an easy, confident gait. Making the transition into college is not easy, but is often exciting as students start to memorize the layout of campus and the classroom setting.

In college, the classroom and, more specifically, the professor,represents one of the most important structures of education.  The type of relationship between the professor and the student conveys a strong impression to the student and the value of their education.

Here, students and professors provide an idea of what they expect of the professor, and it means to be a professor, from the perspective of the faculty.

Professors: 

Professor Fiorello, Italian

“For me being a professor, it’s a way, especially for me that I’m an Italian professor, it’s a way to show my culture and talk about my home country, at the same time being a professor is important because you’re teaching other people so there’s a bunch of things that I don’t know about but it’s cool to share my knowledge with other people so that’s what being a professor means for me.”

“Having students tell me that they enjoy the class, that’s all it really matters for me. I’m not trying to go up the ladder or be called professor, for me all that matters is that students enjoy and learn a little about my knowledge, that’s all.”

Dr. John Scherepeel

“My goals as a professor as someone who teaches undergraduates are basically the same regardless of the level of the class that I’m teaching. I want students to be critical thinkers, I want them to be problem solvers, I want them to have the ability to confront new information and new situations to view that, that information critically and to be able to make good decisions and to make informed decisions and to better understand the world and to make the world a better place. But, that goal, I think is, is depending on the class setting. There’s a big difference between a class of 10 or 15 people on one hand, a class of 30 people on the other hand, and a class of 150 people on the third hand, and I teach students in each of those situations. So, I think that, just because the nature of the space and the nature of social interaction, you pursue that common goal differently depending on the size and layout and also the level of students in the class.

Dr. Keith Grant, Political Science

“I think the base thing is that the course itself should be well organized, there should kind of a point behind everything that’s being done, I think it might not always be apparent at first to the students, but upon asking, the professor should be able to elaborate why they’re doing what they’re doing, the approach taken, etc. Standard professionalism I think applies, everyone has their own style, I tend to be a bit relaxed, I joke a bit, but at the same time it’s kind of all geared towards helping people understand the material. To the greatest extent possible, there should a plan laid out in the syllabus that is adhered to. Of course, things pop up, you know, snow days, others, that require us to make changes but it’s really, I think, just about a professional, timely delivery of the material and kind of leading up to whatever goals are set up in the syllabus.

Dr. Kirsztina Jakobsen, Psychology

“My expectations of the professors in the classroom that they have clear learning objectives, that they share with the students so that the students know what the expectations are, which clearly means that the professor knows what the expectations are for the class, to try to engage students with the material rather than just talking at them, those are my two primary expectations.”

“I think a lot of students realize that professors don’t just teach so we have other responsibilities including doing research as well as service activities, so I think it’s important for students to understand that we do things other than the teaching and I think that’s important for them to know.”

Students: 

Teresa Cummings, Freshman, WRTC major

“I expect professors to be professional, respectful, and trustworthy. In particular with the trustworthy part, I expect them to keep their word, especially with the syllabus because that’s a contract between the student and the professor. There’s an expectation that should be in every classroom of respect between the student and the professor because it is a learning environment. So, I suppose, what I expect when I first meet a professor, a sign of her class is respect and, you know, help.”

Jeannine Rossi, Freshman, Accounting Major

“Mostly, I expect a lot of availability because I really rely on both class time and being able to go to their office hours. It’s like, I don’t have that availability, it’s a big crunch for me because I just, I just think the way I learn, it’s really important for me to have that one-on-one and you know, even just clarify that getting, that what i’m doing is correct and to be able to go and see and have that mutual respect but also that availability is really important to me.”

Brett Joseph, Sophomore, Religion and Psych Double Major

“So my expectation for a professor when I first walk into a classroom is that they will not take themselves too seriously, they will be relaxed, calm, and comfortable in their own skin; they’ll demand respect from the class while taking respect from a class. And they’ll be able to laugh at themselves and with other people at themselves.”

Corinne Jenkins, Sophomore, Communications Studies Major with Public Relations Concentration

“I expect teachers to be helpful, and I like it when they’re funny because it keeps me interested in class, and I like it when they’re open for people to come in and ask questions.”

Greer Guncheon, Sophomore, Health Science Major, Pre-Physical Therapy

“I expect a professor to be able to understand what they’re teaching and be able to explain it in a very simple way and be able explain to the students in a way they understand and be on time and to not run over time, unless it’s extremely important, but still no running over. And I expect them to try to stay on topic, and teach, I guess it depends on the class, but teach meaningful things I guess.”