Marc Gurrisi: Webinar explores learning outcomes beyond the classroom
What exactly is a professor these days?
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Marc Gurrisi – Webinar explores learning outcomes beyond the classroom
When I started my undergraduate program in 2007 I thought that the lecture halls and seminar rooms were the sites in which I would learn the skills needed to succeed in the world. As a result, I opted not to take part in many extra-curricular activities in my early years, focusing my energy towards academics rather than student affairs. However, as I became more experienced and I started pursuing a graduate degree, I found myself drawn to the events, activities and services that took place outside of the classroom; the resume-writing workshops, student conferences and intramural sports teams to name a few. It was in these spaces that I developed most of the transferable life skills and higher-order cognitive skills that I still carry with me to this day, as well as the ones that had the biggest effect on my employability.
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What exactly is a professor these days?
There is an air of mystique (and kudos) surrounding the title “Professor”. On the one hand, it conjures up tired stereotypes (think eggheads and batty scientists), and on the other, those elite, high-flying scholars soaring through the academic stratosphere (think Richard Dawkins, Stephen Hawking or even Brian Cox).
A professorship is widely seen as the pinnacle of achievement for staff in higher education. But what – in 2015 – should a professor be?