Last semester, I really liked my classes because there wasn’t any bullshit in the way of learning. We could just show up, listen, and learn. It was wonderful. And after my second class of this semester, I realized what makes the difference. In my first class, most people were taking it as a Gen. Ed. (it’s actually in my major), so they didn’t care about the subject. The class was structured with this in mind, with lots of busy work and other needless projects that will not foster any learning. In my next class, the professor sat down in front of the class, and talked with us, encouraging us to contribute our ideas to the class. There is one test in the entire class, one large paper, and two small papers. That is the extent of the work we need to submit in the class. The rest will be reading and discussion in class.
The difference is between making students learn, and assuming they want to. In the latter, there is no work challenging students to prove that they’re actually trying, it is assumed. This makes class much more enjoyable, and makes a lot of sense.