Dr. Kelly Sultzbach

Have you ever wondered what you would be like as a professor? How would you teach your students? What would your style be? As busy and hardworking students, we know how important it is to have a great professor in the classroom, one with a clear, interesting teaching style—it really makes all the difference. Recently, I had the pleasure of sitting down with a truly wonderful professor and person, and she told me all about her teaching style.

Dr. Kelly Sultzbach is an English professor who teaches College Writing (ENG 110), Literature in the Human Experience (ENG 200), and 20th-21st century British Literature. Her teaching style combines lecture with small group discussions to encourage students to get involved with their peers. In all her classes, Dr. Sultzbach asserts that "active learning is crucial" in motivating and inspiring her students in the classroom.

I was lucky enough to have Dr. Sultzbach as a professor last year, and the classroom environment made a significant difference in how I learned the material—even the placement of round tables in the room allowed me to speak more and gather ideas from other classmates. What is unique about Dr. Sultzbach's teaching style is her use of "productive resistance" in the classroom through encouraging debate and opposing points of view. This lets students learn more efficiently and gain a better understanding of the topic at hand. Further, Dr. Sultzbach stresses how literary interpretation is the basis for classroom discussions, requiring a certain kind of engagement.  "There is no right or wrong answer; rather, there are valid interpretations we can justify." And this, as Dr. Sultzbach and I would agree, is the real beauty of literature.  

 More than anything, she hopes students will take valuable things from her classes that will help them with their future endeavors, such as "an ability to exercise a way of thinking versuses being a bank of information." She stresses the importance of voice and active participation in classes, stating that "this is how we learn." Finally, Dr. Sultzbach told me her favorite part about teaching is learning from students—showing her something she hadn't seen before (in poetry, literature, etc.). For her, the beauty of teaching is that it is "an orchestral movement that we are all creating together."  

A professor could change the way we think, or simply change who we are and Dr. Sultzbach did that for me. Any English major or non-major would highly benefit from her teaching style, and what she brings to the classroom every time she teaches.