Knowing the student as an individual allows the professor to recognize students' learning styles and interests and in turn conduct classes in a manner most conducive to student understanding. Further, when students know that their professors see them as more than mere faces in the crowd, they invest more in the class and consequently get more out of it. I, therefore, am committed to getting to know all of my students as individuals. I work diligently to learn and to use every student s name during the course of the semester. Students appreciate an instructor who is approachable, respectful of their concerns, readily available, and above all personable.
Organization is also crucial to students' understanding and integration of course material.
Effective professors communicate course-related information in an organized fashion. Students like to know not only what is expected of them, but also what they can expect from their professor. The outline of topics and expectations that I provide in the syllabus gives students a coherent overview of how the course will proceed, and hence gives them a sense of what they may anticipate during the semester. Additionally, I provide students with an outline on the overhead projector at the start of each class. This gives students an idea of where we concluded in the previous session, what to expect during the present session, and how to organize their notes.