Coming into college, there are several worries a collegiate must face. What happens in the classroom shouldn’t be one of them! Here are some tips that give you the 411 on everything that happens in the classroom here at Bryant.
Professors
Based on movies, stories, and stereotypes out there, college professors come off as scary, old, boring men. They drone on with lectures that are less desirable than a root canal and give exams that require years of studying. While some professors actually may fit this description, it is rare.
A majority of professors are here because they actually enjoy working with students. Some may have been professors their entire careers, and some may only teach one night class a week on the side, but they wouldn’t be there if they didn’t want to be. They have different styles, as well. Some may like to stick to lectures while others are very interactive with their classes. Some are friendlier and more helpful than others but they are all required to hold office hours. A good amount of Bryant professors even hold more hours than are required of them because they want to assist students as frequently as possible.
Rules set by the professor are also different in each class. Some professors keep a strict class and don’t let anyone in after it starts, or leave to go to the bathroom. Others don’t mind if you’re a little late and understand that sometimes you have to use the restroom. Professors like to go by different names. Some will prefer to be called by their first name while others like to be called Doctor. Professor is usually the safest bet. They are all different and like any other human, it just takes a little while to get to know them.
Class Structure
At Bryant, every class is different. There are many different structures of classes; while one may be strictly lectures, another may be strongly discussion based. For example, in one collegiette’s Anthropology class the professor would go from beginning to end giving notes and speaking. Her Global Foundations of Character and Leadership class was always a discussion on one topic or another. While both were very different, they were both manageable and actually enjoyable.
Homework
In high school, teachers loved to say, “Homework is optional because next year in college, it will be up to you to do it or not.” They assume that no homework is graded and everything outside of class is up to the student. This is not necessarily true. While that is common among classes at Bryant, we have had many classes that assign graded homework. Others teachers say to do problems in the text and read sections from the book but they will never know if it actually gets done. When the exam comes around, already being familiar with doing outside work for the class will be extremely helpful.
Exams
An exam can be anything from a short test to a paper to a two hour final. Exams are the main assessments for the class that usually count for a majority of the grade. Some professors give two, others give three or even four. It is based upon the class and they are worth doing well on. While it may seem like they need weeks in study preparation, the reality is each of them are different. Math exams might need only a few hours of reviewing old homework assignments while a psych exam might need an hour of studying a night for a week before so that all the material sticks.
No matter which classes you take and what professors you have, you will make it. At Bryant especially, you will be in smaller class settings which will feel more comfortable. Professors will know your name and your questions will always be answered. The classroom experience is one of the better aspects of Bryant and make it stand out when compared to other schools. Putting in effort and being respectful go a long way, especially in the classroom.