Rate My Professors is dedicated to, well, rating professors. You can read what others have said about thousands of teachers across the country, and you can rate them yourself.
Scores for helpfulness and clarity are averaged together to give the professor an overall score. A third score, for easiness, is not part of that average — nor is the optional “hotness” score.
Each year, the site (www.ratemyprofessors.com) lists the top teachers. Metro asked four of the 2011 superstars what makes them good teachers.
Nicholas Irons
(overall score: 4.9)
Criminal Justice, County College of Morris
“I think it’s the students. I like to encourage them through humor and vivid examples. I’m very approachable. The students really respond to that. We’ve just become the second-largest program on campus, after business.”
Soha Abdeljaber
(overall score: 4.9)
Mathematics, N.J. Institute of Technology
“I’m working on my doctorate in educational leadership and looking at how students learn, so I try to apply that in my classroom. Just knowing the material is not enough. My classes are about half lecture and half practice — students work together in groups and help each other.”
Susan Croll
(overall score: 5.0)
Psychology, Queens College
“I get students to think critically and make connections. I think through both the information and the goal of the lecture and find engaging, impactful examples. Students learn to integrate new ideas and concepts. They need to remember the information, but they can’t just rely on memorization.”
James O’Keefe
(overall score: 5.0)
Criminal Justice, St. John’s University
“I attribute my success to practice. My background is in law enforcement. I spent 10 years as the head of the New York Police Academy. If you can teach a room full of police officers, you can teach anyone. I’m glad that the rating is about being clear and helpful, which I try to be.”
Follow Judy Weightman on Twitter @JudyWEdu.
