Students and Professors Meet to Share their "Mutual Expectations""

On Tuesday, Oct. 20, students and faculty alike streamed into the Russell House Ballroom, but it was not for class.

"Mutual Expectations" is a program that kicked off last spring to help facilitate communication between professors and students outside of the classroom. Put on by the Office of Student Engagement, in partnership with Student Government and the Center for Teaching Excellence, this session was entitled "A Dialogue for Teaching and Learning." There was round-table discussion, laughter and, of course, food. Jennifer Powell, who teaches a section of University 101, was one of the masterminds behind the event.

"We wanted to give students and professors a chance to interact outside of the classroom," said Powell. "We're not looking for answers, just to get a dialogue started."

According to Jimmie Gahagan, assistant vice provost for student engagement, they are trying to grow the program and have had reports of interest from many campus groups, including Capstone Scholars.

"It's a model for other departments," said Gahagan.

The session involved small round-tables filled with a mixture of students and faculty, and two table facilitators (one student and one professor). The session started with introductions, followed by a debate about what each group "expected" of each other. The discussion was then opened up so that all of the tables could compare. Some common themes were that students expected teachers to respect them, be concerned with students understanding the material, and be open and flexible. The professors in turn wanted students to be engaged and interested, to participate more and use their office hours. One professor talked about students having the will to be successful and doing what they need to in order to accomplish their goals. Another faculty member said that they are not mind-readers, so students need to tell them when something is wrong.

In the second half of the session, they discussed the most surprising revelations. Students found out that getting to know each other is a two-way street, and that most professors are eager to get to know students on a personal level. They also found that professors really want them to utilize office hours. Freshman Alexa Nugent was surprised by this.

"I'm a shy student, so it's nice to know I can go after class and use their office hours to ask questions," said Nugent.

Faculty members were made aware that students want them to be on time and engaging with the material. Students also wanted more feedback on homework to better understand key concepts.

Finally, the groups talked about what they would take away from the session. There are many different styles of students, and they talked about how more communication would help both groups in interacting in the future. Powell pointed out how there were many pair-ups on the lists, as both students and faculty wanted essentially the same things: the other to be respectful, polite, on-time and adaptable.

Nugent said that this session has encouraged her to make the extra effort and go meet her professors at the beginning of the semester.

"I didn't before, but now I will," said Nugent.

Powell said that the biggest benefit of the session is the chance to hear the other side's perspective, and that everyone can get something unique out of it.

"The take-away is different for everyone," said Powell.

Look out for another "Mutual Expectations" session in the spring!