- #1
Simfish
Gold Member
- 823
- 2
Do you think that they are better at teaching the course or worse at teaching the course, as compared to newer professors who might have taught the course for only a couple of times?
Obviously, I realize that there is no clear-cut relationship. *But*, there are certainly patterns to look for. Exceptional professors with years of experience are often exceptional for reasons *different* to exceptional professors who haven't taught the course before. Do the years of experience actually add up though? Many professors simply re-use the same problem sets from year to year, and don't seem to learn from their years of experience. Others lose their enthusiasm for teaching. And others don't even bother to use the latest technology since they have no incentive to improve.
Another pattern to look for is this: if the professor developed the course himself or if he is simply relying on the course structure that another professor developed. It seems that professors who rely on someone else's course structure tend to be worse teachers (it takes enthusiasm to actually develop your own course structure). Perhaps this is the precise reason why I've often felt that a disproportionate number of "amazing" professors are the ones who teach the course for the first time, since they're the ones who developed the course material (of course, they're often more disorganized, but Internet technology makes it much easier to correct disorganized material). Has anyone else noticed this?
Obviously, I realize that there is no clear-cut relationship. *But*, there are certainly patterns to look for. Exceptional professors with years of experience are often exceptional for reasons *different* to exceptional professors who haven't taught the course before. Do the years of experience actually add up though? Many professors simply re-use the same problem sets from year to year, and don't seem to learn from their years of experience. Others lose their enthusiasm for teaching. And others don't even bother to use the latest technology since they have no incentive to improve.
Another pattern to look for is this: if the professor developed the course himself or if he is simply relying on the course structure that another professor developed. It seems that professors who rely on someone else's course structure tend to be worse teachers (it takes enthusiasm to actually develop your own course structure). Perhaps this is the precise reason why I've often felt that a disproportionate number of "amazing" professors are the ones who teach the course for the first time, since they're the ones who developed the course material (of course, they're often more disorganized, but Internet technology makes it much easier to correct disorganized material). Has anyone else noticed this?