CV_DU_2019.doc

I love college! I feel so fortunate to have a job teaching that requires me to continue my education every day. The marketing classroom environment is changing and so too is the content. Learning is exciting and energizing for me, and that seems like a great trait for a professor. Maybe that is true in some ways, but it could be the source of some difficulties too. Traditional learning, with lectures and notetaking, fit me perfectly and I excelled at acquiring knowledge. But the world has changed, and demands on today’s students are different. The old paradigm may not deliver, and maybe it didn’t work for quite a few students anyway.

An early sign to me occurred when I taught a month-long Algebra class at another university. With five semesters of advanced math under by belt for my engineering degree, I imagined teaching Algebra was going to be a piece of cake! I’ll just show them how my math teacher in high school showed me. We’ll go through the problems step by step on the board, and students will try it, and they’ll do some homework and – voila – they’ll get it! My frustration and theirs was obvious when it didn’t work out that way. One student frankly told me, “You can’t just keep teaching us the same way when it obviously is not working. You have to try something else.” I was annoyed at the time, but now I see how true it really was. I wish I had had more skill to offer students in that moment.

In reflecting on it now, there is a clear takeaway. Not all students are like me, loving my college course! They have varying levels of preparation for my class, and varying levels of interest in the subject. They are busy with life, and may not be inclined, or even able, to devote a lot of energy to the work. Additionally, we all just learn differently, something that really hit home for me as I’ve been dealing with my son’s disability and its impact on his schoolwork. And therein lies my challenge. I have found it easy to reach some of my students and appeal to them in a traditional way. Others are more elusive, and part of my journey is trying to discover how to engage with them to maximize their learning. I have made real investments in my teaching in order to broaden my abilities and strategies, and I continue with that process all the time.

The issue is not easily solved, as students respond to classroom methods in such different ways. What one student loves is easily the worst part of the course for another. My ongoing experiment has been to include a lot of variety, encouraging students to excel where they can and keeping the other parts in perspective. I try to evoke a growth mindset, helping students believe in their efforts. And I try to solicit feedback often, on the many methods I try.

Effort is very central to my teaching philosophy. I have had a wide variety of college experiences myself, and I know I got a lot more out of them when I put more in. When I really had to work hard, sometimes I surprised myself with the outcome, and I am gratified when my students express the same thing to me. My courses are rigorous and my grading holds students to account. But I believe students find me to be fair and straightforward in that approach. And importantly, I try to express that I will do whatever I possibly can to support them as they work towards mastery of the material. Students that have indicated a desire to improve find in me an enthusiastic partner.

I care a lot, about my work and about my students. I am open to change as I try to discover the teaching style that best fits me and my courses. Candidly, I have not totally figured it out yet, but there is earnest effort on my part to do what is best for my students. Working in the high-touch environment at DU has given me a special opportunity to see and try alternatives to traditional educational methods, and my quest to be a great professor continues.