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We all know that good study habits can make or break your college career but how a professor teaches and conducts a class will also shape your college experience. Large lectures, small classroom discussions or workshop-like environments are all different types of teaching styles that professors employ in their classrooms.
I go to a very small school where there are never more than 25 people in a class so I am used to discussions being an integral part of almost every class I take. My sister, however, goes to Cal State San Bernardino; large lecture halls are the norm here and her classes have anywhere from 30 to 300 people depending on the subject and level.
Classroom discussions are intense: They ensure that every person has done the homework and reading because at any moment, your professor could call on you to discuss the assignment. Larger lecture halls allow for more leeway because there is often very little interaction between the professor and individual students so how hard you prepare for each class depends on your own motivation.
So, what type of teaching style works for you? For me at least, small classroom discussions help me learn best but for my trouble subjects (anything science or math related), lectures tend to be better. What I would recommend for any new college student is to test the educational waters; regardless of where you go to school, you can always find small classes with no more than 25 students that will allow for discussions or classes that are nothing but weekly lectures. Find what works for you and stick to it...your GPA will thank you!
Jacquelene Bennett is a senior at the University of Redlands where her areas of study are creative writing, government and religious studies. When she is not studying or working, you can usually find her eating frozen yogurt or blogging about her day. She has a cactus named Kat and believes that Stephen Colbert is a genius. Jacquelene works hard, laughs hard and knows that one day you’ll see her name in lights.