What is the best approach to take towards a poorly taught course?
I am a graduate Electrical Engineering student and throughout my career as a student I found that there were a few classes that provided less than satisfactory learning experience and I've always felt unsure about how to approach such classes. I feel that I tend to be uncertain about who to talk to and whether I should voice my opinion at all about the class and how to do so. An expert advice would be beneficial on this topic. #professor #student #counseling #college-student #student-counseling #academic-advisor #student-affairs #student-engagement
3 answers
Troy’s Answer
Incredible thought, I can relate as I had a course called Research on Communication Theory that I had to repeat 3 times and finally found an equivalent at a nearby University and got a B+ in it! That was my worst case scenario and definitely recommend it as an option, also I'd recommend office hours with some Professors that are actually good and are able to help you, the same goes with your friends or others in the class. It's basically like self teaching, and of course going online and to the library trying to help yourself. I know the feeling, it's like you're running into a wall and I truly side and know you'll be able to get through it this semester, my best! :)
Thanks for your insights! I truly appreciate them. Finding an equivalent course is definitely a great idea that I have yet to try. I was lucky in some of these courses since I received the help I sought from tutors and friends, I cannot imagine how bad it would have been without them!
Mohammad
Greg’s Answer
I think it is great that you are wanting to learn enthusiastically! I had a few classes in electrical engineering where I felt the same as you. In my situation, the teachers were not very approachable. In retrospect I would have gone toy advisor and asked for their advice on what to do or say.
Thank you very much for the reply! It's nice to hear from someone who had similar experiences. I used to always try to get through the course and learn it on my own but seeing the replies here now I feel I should have tried to talk to people who can help rather than remain silent about it.
Mohammad
Ken’s Answer
Hi!
You asked a very interesting question.
The first step that I would suggest would be talk to the teacher to express your concerns about the course and the difficulty you are having; then if you are not satisfied, go to your academic adviser. Discuss with him/her the problems that you are having with the course and together determine what part of the difficulty might be your interpretations of the material and the teacher, what part might be due to the course layout and content, and which might be due to the delivery by the teacher. Together you could then determine which might be the next step to take to improve the situation.
Thank you very much! The strategy you suggested here seems to be very safe and reliable. I will definitely give it a try next time when that happens!
Mohammad