Best Course at UMBC

Sun, 09 Feb 2014 18:25:00 -0500
craigs-personal-stories, thought-experiments

by Craig Berger

As the student shared their thought regarding the day's assigned reading, I looked to the left, watching the professor begin to smile and nod. "Your point is discerning. It makes me think about..." the professor continued, spontaneously using the student's contribution to frame a question for the class, aimed at moving the discussion forward.

As a sophomore in college, I remember feeling surprised after attending the first few classes in this course (American Political Thought). Questions began to form in my head: Why doesn't the professor use the chalkboard? Why are we all sitting in a square, including the professor? Why isn't the professor looking at his notes? How does the professor know that we are going to say the things we need to say so that we know the stuff we're supposed to know? And why does he want us to call him "Bruce" instead of "Professor Smith"?

As the course went on, though, my experience answered these questions. I realized I was paying more attention not only because I was actually learning about the course content and understanding the reading material, but also because I felt more engaged; as the weeks passed, I was realizing that anything could happen in any given class session--it was up to us. The spontaneity of the discussion led me to read and listen better. And it also made me respect Bruce that much more. While I first wondered if he relied so much on student discussion because he didn't know the material that well himself, I recognized at the end of the course that he was able to center his course on student participation because he knew the content so well.

When I think about the style of the course, my engagement in it, and what I learned, I believe it is the best course I experienced. I also recognize that I probably have this opinion because of my own strengths and skills. As someone who enjoys thinking about big questions, reflecting, reading, and writing, it's not surprising to me that I valued this experience so much.

If you're a UMBC student now, what's the best course you've taken here? What made it so great? And if you're not a student at UMBC, what's the best class you've experienced, and why? Leave a comment below.