FORT WORTH, Texas (Jan. 27, 2015) — Joseph Maestas, a Physical Education instructor at Tarrant County College Northwest Campus, was ranked second internationally on the list of Highest Rated Junior and Community College Professors of 2013-2014, issued by mtvU’s RateMyProfessors.com.
“I think any student-driven accolade is the highest compliment a teacher can get,” Maestas said, “When students of their own will have been so moved by your teaching that they are motivated to tell others — well, I’m not sure there is a stronger validation for the work you do … I’m humbled and flattered by this inclusion.”
Based on students’ input, each individual professor’s rating is weighed, with more emphasis on recent scores than the past. Professors are evaluated on clarity, helpfulness, easiness and rater interest level before attending the class. Each professor’s overall quality rating is calculated by weighing the clarity and helpfulness rating, although easiness and rater interest levels also were tabulated.
Professors are rated from high to low, and only professors with 30 or more ratings are included, with 5 being the highest rating and 1 being the lowest for each category.
Instructor Maestas was ranked among 1.4 million professors from colleges and universities across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
Student Reviews:
- “Mr. Maestas genuinely cares for his students and will give you all the tools necessary for success in his class. He has a great sense of humor and made class fun…”
- “Great, great, great teacher, is super involved and cares about each of his students on an individual level….Would highly recommend.”
- “Awesome, funny, caring and did I mention funny? Very attentive to every student, always has time to help you, very understanding, will work with you if you ask, and you really do learn some important life lessons.”
- “Mr. Maestas is truly a great man. He cares about each one of his students in a way that other teachers never do. He makes the class laugh multiple times each period and makes learning this information fun. I would suggest him to anyone and everyone.”
Maestas was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He received his bachelor’s degree in Psychology from The University of New Mexico and earned his master’s degree in Sports Psychology at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he was also a teaching assistant. Maestas began teaching part-time at TCC in 2000 and became a full-time instructor in 2008.
As TCC’s only educator to make the list, Maestas said, “I go into every semester with the intention of learning and growing from the interactions with my students. Ultimately, it’s all about your relationship with each student, your ability to meet them at their model of the world so that you can explain things with examples that make sense to them.
“If you are passionate about the subject matter that you teach, it comes across in your lectures, your preparation, your mannerisms all culminate in a learning experience I think students appreciate.”
Additional Reviews:
http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=878618
Complete List of Rankings:
http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/blog/toplist/top-jr-college-professors-of-2013-2014/