My Professor Can't Teach! What Should I Do?

Like it or not, you will have professors who can not teach or teach in a way that you learn best.  What are your options? 

If you attend the first day of class, you might find some hints on how well the professor teaches.  Be sure to look at the syllabus.  Is the syllabus clear?  Is it organized?  Do you like how you will be graded?  Is the final grade calculation clear?  Are homework assignments included?  Who is the Professor?  What are her/his credentials?  When you walk out of the first day of class, you should have a clear understanding of the course requirements and how to be successful in the class.  If you dislike something, you should consider withdrawing from the class and looking for an alternative Professor in the future. 

Unfortunately, you may find yourself in a position where withdrawing from the class is not an option (the Professor is the only one who teaches a course and/or your schedule will not allow you to take the class at a different time).  If this is the case, it will be up to YOU to learn the material independently.   This might require you to read the course text/material and additional material suggested by your readings.  I recommend that you take notes on your readings and identify difficult concepts/ideas.  Work on developing specific questions for your Professor to answer in class (you should continue to attend class!).  If this fails, you might be able to further clarify difficult ideas by seeking out reputable websites on the topic.  Sometimes a University/College will have tutoring labs.  Can you locate a tutor?  Other Professor's might be able to help you to understand difficult material -- just be sure to make an appointment.

Remember, Professors are not often trained on how to teach.  In higher education, it is your responsibility to make certain you are learning the material.  It will mean extra effort on your part, but it can be rewarding! 

How should I Address a Professor?

Understanding how a professor wants to be addressed can be difficult to determine. If you are uncertain, you should address your professor as Professor LastName. You will always be correct in using this form of address.

If you know your professor has a doctorate (e.g.,PhD or EdD), you can refer to her/him as Doctor LastName.

If invited, you can refer to your professor by her/his first name.

You can usually find clues on a course syllabus regarding the professor’s preference. If you see your instructor is “Dr. So and So” or “So and So, PhD,” it is my recommendation is that you refer to her/him as Doctor. If her/his name is simply “So and So,” your best bet would be to refer to her/him as Professor.

If the syllabus indicates they are a graduate student, graduate teaching fellow, teaching assistant or so on, he/she will probably be ok with being addressed by her/his first name.

The underlying theme is to be respectful, always. It generates positive feelings and behavior between people.

Why a Professor is Not a Teacher!

Most people teaching in higher education institutes consider themselves professors, not teachers. Teachers are usually associated with K-12 educational settings. Teachers have been specifically trained in the methods of teaching and learning. Most of the curriculum teachers take in higher education prepares them for teaching many subjects. For example, if someone becomes an early childhood educator (K-3^rd grade), they have been trained to teach a variety of subject matters – reading, writing, mathematics and so on. If they are becoming a secondary education educator, again, they tend to take a limited number of classes in their specialty areas – natural science, mathematics, and so on, in addition to courses on educational theory.

In contrast, professors have not been formally trained as educators. They have not been specifically trained in teaching methodologies or educational theories. Instead, professors have spent many years being trained in a specialized field. Most professors will have advanced degrees (Master’s or Doctorate) in a specific area – Biology, Political Science, Sociology, Psychology, English and so on. They are professional biologists or professional political scientists. Furthermore, professors may have specialized in a specific area within a field. For example, a biologist might have specialized in zoology or anatomy and physiology or marine biology. Professors are considered Experts within a field of study, very much like medical doctors who have been specifically trained in the field of medicine.


Do not refer to a college-level instructor as a teacher. Refer to her/him as a professor.

A Very Old Problem!

A professor’s frustration with students is not a new problem.  I hear the same complaints from professors’ year-in and year-out.  It is often the little mistakes that a student makes that lead to bigger misunderstandings with professors.  Usually, these mistakes occur because the student is acting out of habit based on prior experience in the education system.  Certainly, higher education uses the same props as primary and secondary educational institutions – classrooms, textbooks, teachers/professors, tests/exams, papers, and so on.  Thus, students new to higher education enter the environment in much the same way they approached all other educational settings.  They do not make a distinction between a professor and a teacher.  For professors, this is an important distinction!   

Every year professors have the same complaints regarding students.  Professors wonder why students do not read the syllabus – because they don’t understand why it is important.  In order for students to succeed, they need to be introduced to the Mind of the Professor! 

This blog explores some very old complaints that professors have about students.  I will explore complaints and explain why the professor has this complaint and what students can do to make interactions with their professors more successful.

I hope if you are having difficulty with a professor, you will post to this blog and I and my colleagues will try to assist you in resolving the issue!

Welcome to My Mind

Any student entering higher education is required to make a transition. Part of successfully making the transition is to understand the expectations of professors. Unfortunately, this information is not readily available to students. Information that is available is not comprehensive and offers mere glimpses at the mind of a professor. Often times, information is passed from student to student without the underlying reason for a professor’s behavior/expectations being explicit. Students understand that they should go to class, take notes, pass exams, read the text, write papers. This blog explores the many idiosyncratic behaviors that are exhibited by professors and the logic behind these behaviors. Hopefully, this will help students avoid misunderstandings with their professors.