Cathy Small, a.k.a. "Rebekah Nathan"

Professor 'transformed' by life as a student

Professor Cathy Small knew the only way to really understand her students at Northern Arizona University was to become one of them. What she learned from students opened her eyes—and made her a better teacher.

She had been auditing a couple of classes while a professor, and found that because she was acting as a student would—asking questions, taking notes—she became one by default. "I found out quite unwittingly that if I walked like a duck, and quacked like a duck…then people thought I was a duck." That was when her idea for a research project gelled: To better understand the students she was teaching, she would immerse herself in their culture.

As a cultural anthropologist, Small knows from immersion—she lived in a remote village in Tonga for several years, living as the people there live. "You have to be in the culture if you want to learn about it," she says.

So in 2003-04, Small enrolled as a full-time student at NAU, taking a full course load, living in a dorm, eating meals with 19- and 20-year-olds. Her book documenting the research, My Freshman Year, has garnered much media attention this week, including an article in USA Today

"I thought I knew the culture, but what I learned was how little I knew," Small said. As a student, she had to navigate a maze of choices. "I didn't know how to get advising, I didn't know how the bus system worked…about the meal plan. I hadn't learned these things because of my own culture—a subculture."

Small availed herself of peer mentoring-"savvy upperclassmen" who guided her through the system. She also recalls concerned resident adults and professors.

She and her colleagues had often wondered why students behaved as they did, not taking advantage of office hours to talk with their professors, not doing the assigned reading, why they seemed indifferent to learning.

What she learned is that students don't take advantage of office hours not only because they have to cut class—or "ditch," as they say now—to accommodate them, but also because they didn't seem to know they were welcome without an invitation.

Students don't do the assigned reading because, if it won't be discussed in class or won't be on the test, it moves down on their list of priorities.

"Students have so many options, so many organizations and activities they're trying to make room for, including jobs, that time management has become 'college management,' " she said. "So we need to be more flexible with our office hours, invite students informally, and we should assign reading that counts, that's relevant," she said.

"Living in another culture makes us more sensitive to that culture. Policies should be more sensitive to the culture, so we're going with it, not against it."

Small, who was named Teacher of the Year in social and behavioral sciences in 2004-05, decided to be anonymous writing her book, to protect students. "Anonymity was critical," she said. "My fellow students began sharing opinions and news with me that I would never hear as a professor." Such discourse was key to not only understanding the culture but also to learning that she and others could better serve students.

Small only reluctantly revealed who she was because there was so much media speculation while she tried to remain anonymous. A reporter 's article identifying her prompted her to come out.

My Freshman Year-What a Professor Learned by Becoming a Student is already in its third printing. NAU President John Haeger has said it should be required reading for college administrators.