How insightful that misery is inversely related to standardized processes and yet the educational system subjects our young school goers to the same standardized processes…

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This is similar to a mindset we use heavily in our research group called phenomenology. In short it is the use of previous experiences to engage to the world around us through systematic exploration. As I think of it, this could work well with more humanistic educational styles, but still would serve the general classroom well.

I will also echo much of what others have said, and and one more tidbit: These teachers whose classes we found so interesting, often take interest in your future goals and make these topics relevant to your potential future needs. They become more than educators and rise to being mentors when needed.

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I agree about thinking about ourselves as students. Something my advisor always mentions is that we are experts because we are one day ahead. The material we cover is not impossible, and if we frame it right, students can have fun, or at least me interested, in what we have to share.

Great point Aakash! I definitely agree with you on the fact that at some level in undergraduate studies and in graduate school, learning has shifted towards learner centered environments where the teacher mainly facilitates the learning process! However I would like to see this happen in elementary school, middle grade, and high school since the strict and teacher centered environment of school might impact students (alike myself) in a negative way and make them loose interest to pursue their education! I was lucky enough for my parent to help me throughout school and once I made to the university, I liked it a lot more since it was not as standardized, and boring as my school years…

Thank you so much for sharing! I definitely identify with you since I, myself was a “miserable child” during grade school, middle grade and even high school! My parents always tell me that they never thought that I could make it this far! Throughout my academic journey I learned to be more patient and focused… I was never a fan of standardized processes, tests, etc. For this reason as I went from grade school to middle grade, high school, undergraduate and graduate school, I was less and less miserable since there was less standardized processes and more open ended, learner centered activities…

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Great points Abdelrahman! I definitely feel the same way and agree with you… I took two courses in the Industrial Systems Engineering department with the same professor last semester and this semester. He is an assistant professor and I can confidently say that he is a much better teacher than some of the full professors. He is always open to ideas thoughts and suggestions. This makes the course very interesting, exiting and relatable! In one of our classes he explained a concept wrong and once he understood that he has made a mistake he said “I take that back, that explanation was wrong”. That stuck with me and made me realize that owing up to our mistakes will make us better and more trustable and relatable teachers…

Great points Atiyeh! I definitely agree with you on the fact that students tent to study for exams and that large classes are harder for designing learner centered activities, etc. However I think that we should reduce the weight of the exams by adding group projects (in large classes we can have larger groups), assignments, in class quizzes/assignments where students can grade their own quiz (assignment) at the end of the class, etc… I think that breaking down the final course grade between various activities will also work for large classes and will keep the students engaged. This will make the class fun and exiting and lead to a learner centered environment… What do you think?