[teaching] A student’s perspective on course selection

I stumbled across this article while waiting for a meeting to start. It is a bit "inside baseball", in this case "inside brandeis" but it was revealing to me at least. Students can "shop" for courses for the first two weeks of the term, attending classes and adding and dropping at will during that time as they settle for their choices. I guess when I went to college they had that too, but I wasn't aware of how it worked, so I never did it.

It makes for odd dynamics in the class room as for the first two weeks you don't really know who to expect to see, who will show up next time, and whether they are keeping up or not. This writer does not seem to be enjoying his college experience as much as I did 🙂

The Brandeis Hoot » Course selection shopping period: the honeymoon is over:

Not so this semester. At final tally, I had signed up for five classes and audited seven more only to realize that I did not enjoy the class. So what was the problem? What do I look for in a class? The first consideration I take into account is whether it fulfils course requirements. The truth is that I don't particularly enjoy 90 percent of the classes I join, and I am frankly confused when I hear of someone taking a class "for fun".