Faculty Forum

Abstract

We investigated students' perceptions of the distinction between ideal and typical teachers using a 40-item survey that solicited responses to professors' personal characteristics, course design and policies, and classroom behavior. Compared to their Typical professor, students' Ideal professor was, in some ways, more lenient, but also more accessible, personable, open to variation, and clear about course policies. We suggest that Ideal teachers capitalize on a subset of behaviors that strengthen the investment, and thus presumably also the rewards, of both teachers and students in the educational process.