Ryan Pini

On March 21, Oakland University’s Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) held a student panel, discussing how to create a more active and collaborative classroom relationship. Lance Markowitz, Andrew Cadotte, Mena Hannakachl and Clarence Sanders led the panel. The four students discussed the distance between professors and their students, and how to close the gap in a healthy way.

Every gap comes from somewhere. Markowitz believes the gap between students and teachers emerged once students stopped going to classes to learn, and started to attend for the grades alone.

“I felt like there wasn’t actually a desire to learn anymore from my classmates,” Markowitz said. “There was a desire to get a piece of paper when you’re done with your college experience, but there wasn’t a desire to learn. That desire to learn, I think, was replaced by this extrinsic motivation to get good grades so you can get that piece of paper.”

One suggestion Markowitz recommends is to create student surveys.

“I’m a big fan of student surveys and getting to know your classes,” Markowitz said. “Because I think it also makes me feel heard as a student when my teacher asks questions like, ‘Is there anything going on outside of class that you think would be important for me to keep in mind?’ I think that it goes a long way in developing rapport early.”

To understand a positive relationship between professors and students, knowing what type of professor students are looking for is important. Cadotte explains what he looks for most in a professor.

“A lot of times I was looking for mentorship more than anything,” Cadotte said. “I was looking for someone that I could look up to. Someone that I could learn from, either both in life and in my career.”

Hannakackl explains how supporting students inside and outside the classroom can go a long way for them.

“I am a huge advocate of being involved and making sure that I am showing up for my professors and they also show up for me,” Hannakackl said. “Whether that’s a meeting, whether it’s for an opportunity for me to participate in or be involved in, I think that shows that they are like being an advocate for me.”

While it can be intimidating for some students to reach out to their professors, Sanders observed that supplemental instructors (SI) are more connected with their students. Sanders explains how professors can utilize their supplemental instructors to bridge the gap between them and the classroom.

“What I’ve noticed is students have more engagement in their SI than in their actual classroom,” Sanders said. “That’s what an SI does. It’s a student teaching their fellow peers, so they have more of a connection to their students, not that superiority over them. I think it would help if professors asked their supplemental instructors to help them see, what are they talking to you about, or what their issues are in the classroom.”

For more information on CETL and their upcoming workshops and events, please visit their OU webpage.