Although part of a professor's job is to instruct students and give them basic knowledge, a much larger part of the job is to show students how to learn on their own. By being enthusiastic about education, a professor can motivate students' natural desired to learn. The most important part of teaching is encouraging students to take an active role in their own leaning. To achieve this goal, I try to teach my students to apply the material to their own lives and be good critical thinkers. I believe that learning material requires that the student comprehend the material and also be able to apply their knowledge.
College students are already capable of memorizing facts for an exam.
I want my students to learn how the abstract concepts in psychology are relevant to their own experiences. Another important aspect of my job as a professor is to give students the tools to help them critically think about and understand psychology. I want my students to consider not only the results of research but the methodology and biased assumptions that may be present. I hope my students learn to question what they read rather than taking it at face value. In sum, I believe that education is not something that can be handed to students during the course of their college careers.