Effective teaching involves motivating students to teach themselves and to instill in them a sense that learning is an incremental and life long pursuit. Both directed knowledge and breadth of knowledge are integral to business school education. Specialized knowledge gives students the technical know-how to break into the workforce and during the early stages of their careers. Breadth and depth of knowledge help students deal with issues in their personal lives and assists them as their careers progress and they are faced with more abstract and ambiguous challenges such as motivating employees, negotiating with key clients and suppliers, and formulating corporate strategy.

My teaching approach involves couching directed and specialized knowledge, or ‘theory’ in terms of problems and issues which students need to confront and resolve. In my classroom, no theory is presented without discussing alternative explanations. I ask students to consider the strengths and limitations of  particular theoretical approaches and most importantly to assess a theory’s face validity. In doing so, we ask,

• Does the theory make sense?

• Can we think of real examples in which the theory sheds insights on problems that individuals and businesses face?

• Can we think of real examples in which the theory does not seem to apply?

• Can we think of real situations where application of the theory would lead to dysfunctional outcomes?

• When and where can the theory be most usefully applied to real world problems? Can we identify contingency factors which help us understand when and where a particular theory is most usefully applied?

By definition, being a manager means that you are both responsible to, and responsible for individuals and groups other than yourself. How one deals with these responsibilities depends in large part on one’s core beliefs, or one’s personal philosophy. As a ‘manager’ in my classroom, respect for the individual lies at the core of my teaching philosophy. At the most fundamental level, a teacher who respects his/her students,  signals to them that they are important as individuals and an integral part of the learning experience.

Teachers who respect students have the following characteristics.
 

• Teachers who respect students,  believe students want to learn and be challenged. As such, they continually develop, update and revise their courses to meet this challenge. They use examples and discuss situations their students can relate to.

• Teachers who respect students, come to each and every class prepared so as not to waste their students’ time. They keep their office hours and appointments and respect and value their student’s time as much as their own.

• Teachers who respect students, respect differences in classes and individual students and adapt their course content and pedagogical style as appropriate. They understand that students have their individual strengths and weaknesses which need to be considered. As such, teachers who respect students, structure their classes so that students can both develop and excel. They provide an opportunity for students to evaluate themselves by both individual and group standards. Teachers who respect students, do not teach soley for  the “best and brightest’, or the ‘lowest common denominator.’

• Teachers who respect students, encourage students to ask questions and express their opinions. They understand that student participation reflects their interest in the subject matter and their desire to learn and share their thoughts. Teachers who respect students, never ridicule, or demean students with questions or opinions which differ from their own. They realize that such actions create an intimating atmosphere for the entire class and discourages free thinking and intellectual risk taking.