Having to wake up at 6:15 a.m. every day and rush to catch the first CapMetro bus at 7 a.m. makes early morning classes unappealing to most students. However, economics freshman Nathan Velte and business management freshman Mariam Olayemi appeared on an educational podcast, “The Ludicast,” on Jan. 4 hosted by Rich Little to discuss the students’ unusually positive experience with the professor of their 8 a.m. class.
“We talked about the value of a high-quality instruction style, especially for college professors, because it’s not something you see a lot (of),” Olayemi said.
The podcast episode, “Student Perspective: Fun at 8 a.m. in a 450 Seat Lecture Theatre,” details how the two students managed to remain focused in their early microeconomics class last semester. Though the podcast typically focuses on educators, the students provided their insight on how a professor can be effective and overcome the disinterest that most students have toward early lecture classes. The students said their economics professor, Wayne Geerling, significantly influenced their enthusiasm to attend the class. The two students’ unique passion for the class prompted Olayemi to post her gratitude toward Geerling on LinkedIn.
“I was basically like, ‘Give (Geerling) his flowers,’” Olayemi said. “(The host) on the podcast had done an episode with Mr. Geerling … (and) he reached out to me.”
Geerling focused on ensuring his students were engaged by allowing the class to flow as a conversation to help students better grasp the content, making the large classroom feel much smaller.
“Implementing that kind of (engaging) teaching style can be very impactful to different kinds of students,” Olayemi said.
From in-class food-eating competitions to making paper airplanes, Geerling found unique ways to engage his students at such an early hour. Vetle now works as a teaching assistant for the class. He said he would not have made the same amount of effort for the class without professor Geerling.
“I would still be there (in class), but I wouldn’t have been as engaged or as motivated to want to learn,” Vetle said. “It would be kind of half-hearted. (I would just sit) on Wordle every day.”
Syriah Enriquez, an English and Mexican American studies sophomore, also said that having an engaging professor influenced how successful she was in her 8 a.m. class.
“Being the third Spanish class that I took and not (liking) how it was taught by the professor really tied into why I would skip (class),” Enriquez said. “I wasn’t as motivated to go.”
“The Ludicast” episode also discussed how students can be more active with their learning even when they are outside of their class time. The podcast suggested going to office hours, working in a productive environment and asking professors or teaching assistants more casual and free-flowing questions.
“We (the students in Professor Geerling’s class) were all rooting for each other and trying to help each other understand everything,” Olayemi said. “That’s super cool to me that a teacher can have that impact just by choosing to do small things differently.”