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 "I
think the secret to my technique is variety,” says anthropology
Professor Pam Moro. “If a student can predict how a class
is going to unfold, because the instructor always follows the same
formula, then that’s not good. You need a certain amount of
variety and unpredictability to keep them looking forward to class.”
Moro combats predictability in her classes by making discussion
the central vehicle of learning. Everyone shares their opinion in
Moro’s classes – including Moro herself. “I’ll
share my personal ideas so they know that I’m someone who
has values. I may have more knowledge and can contextualize some
intellectual debates better than they can, but I’m not always
the authority with the right answer. The important thing is not
our particular views on an issue, but rather, the fact that we have
them.”
 All
of that close, personal contact with students greatly appeals to
Moro because she gets to play a unique role in their cognitive and
critical development. “Every year I see a student and I think,
‘Oh wow, that’s someone that I knew as a freshman and
look at them now. They know how to work. They’re insightful.
They’re critical. They’re creative. Their writing has
improved and I can see that.’ I know that wouldn’t happen,
or would rarely happen, at a larger institution.”
Those critical qualities become particularly apparent in students
who participate in study abroad experiences. “It’s such
an incredible growing up experience,” says Moro, recalling
how her own travels to Southeast Asia to study Thai music traditions
have shaped her world perspective. “I can’t look at
a day of life here without also remembering how it’s different
in some other places. When I see our students embarking on that
journey, it’s important to me and it makes me feel closer
to them.”
Another special advantage Willamette offers students is the chance
to really get to know and interact with all of the peers in their
field. “By the time they’re in the more advanced anthropology
classes, they know each other and they’ve had other classes
together. They’re constantly taking ideas and inspiration
from one class to the other. They’re a peer group who goes
through the learning process together, and that’s just great
from the instructor’s side.”
But probably the biggest reason why Willamette students get along
so well with their classmates, notes Moro, is they see professors
engaging in productive, collegial relationships with their colleagues.
“I think the faculty here work really well together, and we
model that professionalism constantly for our students.”
That is a pattern Moro does not mind following.
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