Teaching Students To Ask Questions, Take Risks

Mine Dogucu was far along in her job search when she heard New College of Florida was seeking a statistics professor, but she visited Sarasota anyway.
“I came here for my job interview, and I fell in love,” she says. One reason was that New College students stood out: “One thing that really affected me was that students asked me questions.”
“In statistics, usually students are hesitant” – they’re afraid to ask what they fear is a silly question, she says.  “Here, students here are always engaged and they are always curious. They are not afraid to ask questions.”
That benefits teachers as well, because it encourages them to teach in new ways, she says: “Risk-taking is welcome here.”