Teaching Philosophy

“Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.” ~Rudyard Kipling.

An eloquent phrase about the seemingly never-ending disagreements between Great Britain and its former colony, India. Unfortunately, this phrase may also be asserted about some students’ perspectives of how the theories learned in the classroom will be applicable in their careers. As a teacher, I want to transform this perspective into one that connects theory and practice, equipping graduates of my class with the tools needed to provide new perspectives to practical management issues.

Students in my classes are expected to move through three levels of Bloom's Taxonomy over the course of the semester: knowledge, understanding, and application. Assigned readings, and in class lecture are the media through which I help students attain the knowledge level. To help students move to the understanding level, I interject questions and solicit discussion of concepts throughout the class period, providing students with opportunities to extend their understanding of the materials beyond the confines of the formal definition. I also try to complement this with in-class activities, multimedia, games, and other interactive methods of instruction to solidify students' knowledge and understanding of the materials. Finally, to facilitate student's ascension into the application level, I incorporate a team project and several case studies/discussions into my courses to allow students to apply the concepts learned in my course.

I measure my students' progress from the knowledge to the application level using several assessment mechanisms. At the end of each class, students are required to submit a 3x5 note card answering the following questions:

What did I learn today that I did not know before class?
How can I apply the materials discussed today in my future career?
What contributions did I make to the class today?
What concepts am I still unclear about?

These notecards help me assess the depth of my students' understanding, their level of engagement in the session, and if there are any materials needing more attention to facilitate the students' learning. I also administer a number of formal examinations over the course of the term. These examinations are primarily designed to assess students' knowledge and understanding of the material; however, approximately 20% of questions on each test are designed to have students apply their knowledge to a realistic business scenario. Finally, team projects and presentations are used to assess the students' mastery of the material at all three levels.

I feel that the atmosphere of the class plays a large role in students' willingness to step outside their comfort zone and make significant jumps in their learning. As such, I take several steps to foster an environment where questions, experimentation and creative thinking are encouraged. To encourage candid feedback, I have implemented an online form for students to pose questions and comments to me anonymously. This tool also allows me to make particularly relevant comments and questions as well as my responses visible to the entire class. To encourage diversity of thought and active participation, I also encourage students to contribute to the in-class discussion regardless of whether they agree with my point of view. In doing this, I have on several occasions learned from my students' viewpoints, improving my and the other students' understanding of the materials.

When students walk into my class at the beginning of the semester with a perspective similar to that of Rudyard Kipling, I try to help them leave with a perspective more akin to that of Kurt Lewin: "There is nothing so practical as a good theory". Seeing this transformation in students is rewarding to me as a teacher and truly makes this aspect of my career enjoyable.

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