Meet Zaria

Inspired by the premise of Ken Bain’s What the Best College Teachers Do, I wanted to talk to students about their best college teachers. The goal is to reflect on their experiences in a variety of college classrooms to find key actions that a college teacher displayed toward them or for them, so that we can learn how students believe they are best supported for learning. 

In this format, I sit down with a college student to ask a few simple questions about what they think makes for an effective college instructor. I’m curious if we can learn just one thing from each student, that might help us try something new, or double down on an activity or approach that students like and that they know helps them to learn. 

In this conversation, I talk with Zaria about being a college student and what she thinks makes for an effective college teacher. She talks about being a woman of color, and often times the only person of color in her classes, and how she thinks teachers may form initial opinions, as well as the ways in which she likes it when teachers take the time to learn more about their students as young adults.