Engaging Professors

by Travis Rocha

Today, I played tag in class. Yes, in a 200-level college class, I played tag. And I loved it. It was in my theater class, and it was an exercise to help us get comfortable with the space as we ran lines for some scenes we were working on. The lengths Christopher Newport professors go to engage their students never ceases to amaze me.

It’s not just my theater class, plenty of my professors design their curriculums around fun and worthwhile activities that get us out of our seats. For example, in my leadership class last year, my professor would put us into groups every few weeks and we would have to solve a puzzling situation or be forced to make hard decisions that directly applied to the coursework we were learning. It was so much fun to be removed from the traditional learning atmosphere and discover the implications of our findings firsthand.  It’s an alternative style of learning, much more entertaining than a simple lecture.

Lectures are a necessary evil. No matter the class, there will likely always be a fair amount of lecturing. And that’s OK. Christopher Newport faculty lecture just as any other professor would. Though, what they do differently is they also ensure that there is more to the class. There’s always more than just sitting and taking notes. Group projects can be a pain, but at least they inspire collaboration and creativity among peers. Professors at CNU engage us, they want us to apply what we learn and explore the subject in a different way than just lecturing.

Everyday at Christopher Newport, I’m always excited to go to class. I’ve had my share of “boring” classes in high school, and I haven’t had anything close to those experiences now that I’m at Christopher Newport.