Take a bow, New York! Our state has nabbed the title for most professors included in a new book about the country’s leading undergraduate college professors.
The Princeton Review’s newest book, “The Best 300 Professors,” (Random House / Princeton Review, $19.99) published in partnership with ratemyprofessors.com, a highly trafficked US college professor rating web site, includes 43 professors from 20 NY area colleges.
More than 42,000 professors were identified for the rating project, and from this, a base list of 1,000 candidates was narrowed down. Classroom experiences, teaching ability and accessibility were all assessed as part of the data collection. Here’s how a few of them made the grade:
n From CUNY Brooklyn College’s Graduate Center, associate professor of biology Jennifer Basil, Ph.D., says the secret to connecting with her students is “Trying to teach a concept in at least four different ways to accommodate different learning styles,” including visually and through storytelling.
Basil is a member of a local improv troupe, which helps “make my lectures interesting,” she says. “I can make them funny and I’m a good storyteller. Throughout history, humans have learned by telling stories. It helps students remember what you’ve said.”
In Basil’s classes, which include Zoology and Animal Behavior, she also encourages students to be curious and take risks.
“Science is about discovering how something works. I try to loosen [students] up, instead of focusing on providing the right answer,” she says.
While she’s enthusiastic about her course subject matter — “I think animals are cool and they can humble us,” she says — it’s her students who really drive her each day to be at the top of her game.
“The kids at Brooklyn College are so hungry to learn. They work so hard. Many of them are the first generation in their family to attend college. I was too, so I can relate. It’s an absolute joy to teach them,” says Basil.
n Employed at Hunter College since 1982, currently in the economics department, professor Avi O. Liveson teaches accounting majors about tax and business law. A love of his subject matter energizes him each day. His popularity among his students stems from his “Jokes and stories,” he says.
“The logic and fairness of tax law is what I love and making sense of these complex rules,” he says.
One of his teaching goals is for his students to gain “Clarity of thought. A lot of this stuff is complex. But if they can see the underlying principles, it can be usable and enjoyable.”
Connecting with his students is another key to his success.
“If it’s just you lecturing, it’s one-dimensional. Learning is a two-way street. I’ve taught business law 50 times, and I still get observations that are fresh and lively,” says the professor.
Nothing is more rewarding for Liveson than when “After they’re [the students] gone, perhaps in law school or going for their Ph.D., they reconnect with me.”
n For Susan Croll, associate professor of psychology, neuropsychology and neuroscience at CUNY Queens College, there’s an intellectual high that comes from the “ah-ha” moments her students have when they’ve discovered something new.
“I’m really focused on getting students to use their minds, not memorize things,” she says.
Inspired early in life to teach by her father, who was also a psychology professor, “As a little girl, he brought me to his classes. I watched his students get excited and thought it was really neat,” she recalls.
She uses a multifaceted approach to her teaching, which includes visual and board aids, and verbal instruction and problem-solving in groups as well.
“Sometimes I’ll have them watch a movie or read a novel to get stimulated,” she says. Another key to her winning teaching style is that she treats her students with “unconditional positive regard.”
“I don’t have to like everything they do, but I believe every student is inherently good, and that he or she chose to be in school. Once you feel that way, you learn about [your students] and they trust you and open up to you,” says Croll.
To stay energized about her curriculum, “I revisit it a lot. I don’t do the same thing every year. Once every five years in fact, I recreate the whole course from scratch and create all new lectures. I also take on a new class every so often. When you get too comfortable, you can burn out,” she says.
n As a little girl, Kathleen A. Bishop had a strong connection to the Middle Ages. “I organized little boys with garbage cans and sticks, pretending they were knights. I always had a love for this time in history,” she says.
Today, the professor of humanities at New York University’s Liberal Studies Program has a dream career by her own standards. “I really love what I do,” she says.
While she emphasizes writing in her classroom since the skill is important in the real world, she also believes in the importance of having passion for your work.
“Many of these kids haven’t chosen their majors yet. I try to be a role model for them. I’m a person who is really into what I do. I encourage them to find their path in life — what they’re meant to do. I hope they remember this,” she says.
In her small classes of 25 kids each, Bishop tries to show students how Shakespeare and other epic writers share the issues and plots of contemporary stories.
“Some of the stories are about two guys fighting for a girl, which happens every day at NYU,” says Bishop. “I also watch the shows my students like, including ‘Gossip Girl’ and ‘Glee.’ I try to relate the material to what my students are interested in.”