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TEACHING EFFECTIVENESS/PHILOSOPHY
Learning keeps us young.
This is the philosophy I keep in mind every day that I go to
work. I am not just go to teach, but also to learn from my
colleagues as well as my students. After all, teaching and
learning go hand in hand.
It is a fact that most faculty members (besides
those who studied education) did not get formal training in
teaching methods and techniques. I try constantly to learn
how to improve my teaching and to become a more effective
professor by reading journals, attending seminars, talking
to my peers, etc. I believe there are no good or bad
instructors, some professors are just more effective than
the others. So, teachers should continuously search for
innovative ways to improve their delivery methods & provide
a conducive learning environment for the students.
I have taught a variety of students in different
programs. They include full-time day students who are
usually inexperienced and young, continuing education
students who are mostly working adults, and graduate
students who are usually full-time professionals. Although I
have very rigorous standards, my courses are popular with
the students and I have a reputation of being a fair
professor.
I have been instructing different subjects which
require completely different teaching styles. For example,
on the one hand, International Business is basically a
straight-forward lecture course with minimal amount of
student involvement. On the other hand, International
Management & Export/ Import Management require a large
degree of student participation.
I lecture my students on how to become better
writers & presenters. The students study and analyze real
businesses in groups and as individuals. They prepare
written reports & make oral presentations to the whole
class. This case study approach will make them ready to
successfully enter the real business world. They also
evaluate each other's performance. As a result, my students
learn how to effectively communicate with each other, as
well as with outsiders, in written and oral formats.
I require my students to read the assigned
material before coming to class. I tell them in the
first session of each term that we are going to discuss
the topics in class. By lecturing in question/answer format,
I make my students think, comprehend, analyze, and respond
to major issues being discussed.
I try to make the best use of audio-visual
equipment and computer technology. I prepare transparencies
and slides of my lecture outlines, charts, figures, etc. I
have a good collection of video tapes which I use in
addition to those that are available at the College and
other libraries. I also invite guest speakers and take my
students on field trips.
In international business courses, I devote
about 5 to 10 minutes in the beginning of each class to what
I call "What's Up?" The students and myself bring current
business news in reference to the topic of discussion to
class. The students receive points toward the class
participation portion of their grades when they bring news
of importance and value. I also encourage my students to
subscribe to different business periodicals and magazines or
to read them in the library or online. I always use outside
material to augment and update the text. In my Export/Import
Management class I don’t use any textbook. Instead, I use
many handouts and my own material that I have developed
through the years. In spite of the fact that it is very
difficult and time consuming to teach a course without a
text book, I have had very good results and feedback from my
students.
I am quite familiar with teaching under
different conditions, from traditional 15 week classes to
intensive one week, all day, to weekend courses. I have
taught in different countries with diverse traditions and
have taken our students abroad to gain exposure to other
cultures and ways of doing business.
I have been utilizing modern techniques and
different, effective delivery methods such as Blackboard and
Web CT in my classes.
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