Why I Teach
I always had a strong desire to contribute to students’ success in the workplace. This was reinforced when I worked in public accounting and supervised new staff from other universities. That experience made me realize the importance of giving our students a competitive advantage. I aspire to teach students how to use learned fundamentals to address new and more complex issues they will face during their careers.
What I Teach
Primarily, I teach Intermediate Accounting (ACCT 327) to junior accounting majors. It is the first course they take after declaring their major. It is also the first course many students take that requires a significant amount of study time. For many students this is the course that challenges them to move from memorization to mastery.
I also developed an Energy Accounting course (ACCT 403/603) in spring 2010. The course had not been taught at A&M in quite some time. Given our proximity to Houston, many of our students will have clients in the industry or will work for energy corporations.
I also mentor student instructors, as the instructor of record, on two BUSN 302 courses designed to increase students’ awareness about a variety of topics. The two courses for which I mentor students are an energy awareness course and a course on using advanced Excel skills.
How I Teach
Every class period, I use interactive activities to encourage critical and creative thinking. I have developed this teaching style through the Center for Teaching Excellence courses and independent research. One book, in particular, has helped me develop a more effective teaching approach, How Learning Works, by Ambrose et al. Those resources provided me with practical tools I use to engage students in critical thinking. The following are a few examples of how I achieve this.
Provide practice that develops mastery:
In intermediate accounting, I accomplish this through assignments which require student preparation before class. Prior to the first class of each week, students complete a guided review of the text and watch a video (which I created). The video walks them through the more complicated topics for each chapter, which they cannot master through reading alone. Students are then quizzed on these concepts using a relatively easy quiz to ensure their preparation for each class. During class we are able to work harder problems. During this time, students teach each other and ask me questions. Using this teaching method of preparing students in advance of class I am able to implement two teaching methods proven to be successful through extensive research - scaffolding and modeling (Ambrose et al, 2010). In order to move students from novice to expert we have to move them up to that level slowly (scaffolding) and model to them how an expert would solve a problem (modeling). By exposing students to material before class through simpler problems and then working harder problems in class I am able to bring them up to a higher level step by step for each chapter. By removing coverage of fundamental material from class time and having the students cover the material in advance I am able to use class time to achieve more depth in concepts during class and to show them the way I know how to solve advanced problems. I can also allow them time to work problems in class so I can immediately correct errors or misunderstandings and provide them immediate feedback on homework problems.
Additionally, students complete a more challenging online quiz at the end of each chapter. The quizzes are substantially more challenging than what I could give them for an in class quiz. I allow the students two attempts to master the quiz. Only their second attempt is graded. Students are not given the correct answer after their first attempt, but are shown which items they missed. I have had many students tell me they would not have been motivated to determine what they missed and how to do the problem correctly without the second attempt. Since implementing these quizzes, students are able to master more challenging topics on tests and projects.
Incorporate practical applications that will be used when students start working:
I use cases/projects in all of my courses that simulate what students will face in their careers. In the energy course, I developed projects for the students based on my experience in public accounting. All projects are completed in Excel and give the students hands-on practical application of topics they will face working in the industry. The projects are also further tailored to what each individual student will be doing upon graduation. For example, a student who completed an audit internship and will be working in audit after graduation can serve as an auditor of a project. Instead of completing one of the projects they must find all errors in the project and document them using proper audit documentation. The projects are challenging and require assistance, so I act as the students’ supervisor and provide them with support.
Additionally, Halliburton sponsors an annual case competition for the students, with executives from the company acting as judges. In addition to being a great opportunity to interact with executives, this is also a great learning experience for issues the students may face in practice. This year, the students were given the scenario of a company expanding their operations to Africa. Students had to explore all business issues related to that expansion, even considering political instability and cultural differences. For example, students had to determine whether to hire local employees or expatriates. If they decided to hire local employees they had to develop a training program. If they decided to hire expatriates they had to consider where they would live. They had to develop a supply chain plan to move equipment to their sites and move products to their customers. Students had approximately thirty-six hours to develop their solutions and learn a great deal in that small time period.
Maintain a positive course climate:
It is important to me to maintain a positive course environment. I achieve this in several ways. For example, on the first day of class I have the students take a picture and complete an information sheet. On the next class day, I know each student’s name and try to remember one interesting thing about each of them. This is just the beginning of getting to know the students on a personal level as well as a professional level that I continue through the course of the semester.
Measuring Effectiveness
Several times over the course of the semester, I ask students for feedback. I adjust what I am doing in class based on those evaluations. Some feedback is more formal and provides me with specific details on the effectiveness of notes, cases, activities, and discussions. Other forms of feedback are brief such as a “Minute Paper” asking students to write for a minute stating what is still unclear to them after class. This type of feedback helps me determine topics needing further coverage. It also helps me reevaluate the way I address a topic to improve in the future. I make sure students know I value their feedback and am willing to adapt. My courses are constantly evolving to incorporate the most effective teaching methods.
I always had a strong desire to contribute to students’ success in the workplace. This was reinforced when I worked in public accounting and supervised new staff from other universities. That experience made me realize the importance of giving our students a competitive advantage. I aspire to teach students how to use learned fundamentals to address new and more complex issues they will face during their careers.
What I Teach
Primarily, I teach Intermediate Accounting (ACCT 327) to junior accounting majors. It is the first course they take after declaring their major. It is also the first course many students take that requires a significant amount of study time. For many students this is the course that challenges them to move from memorization to mastery.
I also developed an Energy Accounting course (ACCT 403/603) in spring 2010. The course had not been taught at A&M in quite some time. Given our proximity to Houston, many of our students will have clients in the industry or will work for energy corporations.
I also mentor student instructors, as the instructor of record, on two BUSN 302 courses designed to increase students’ awareness about a variety of topics. The two courses for which I mentor students are an energy awareness course and a course on using advanced Excel skills.
How I Teach
Every class period, I use interactive activities to encourage critical and creative thinking. I have developed this teaching style through the Center for Teaching Excellence courses and independent research. One book, in particular, has helped me develop a more effective teaching approach, How Learning Works, by Ambrose et al. Those resources provided me with practical tools I use to engage students in critical thinking. The following are a few examples of how I achieve this.
Provide practice that develops mastery:
In intermediate accounting, I accomplish this through assignments which require student preparation before class. Prior to the first class of each week, students complete a guided review of the text and watch a video (which I created). The video walks them through the more complicated topics for each chapter, which they cannot master through reading alone. Students are then quizzed on these concepts using a relatively easy quiz to ensure their preparation for each class. During class we are able to work harder problems. During this time, students teach each other and ask me questions. Using this teaching method of preparing students in advance of class I am able to implement two teaching methods proven to be successful through extensive research - scaffolding and modeling (Ambrose et al, 2010). In order to move students from novice to expert we have to move them up to that level slowly (scaffolding) and model to them how an expert would solve a problem (modeling). By exposing students to material before class through simpler problems and then working harder problems in class I am able to bring them up to a higher level step by step for each chapter. By removing coverage of fundamental material from class time and having the students cover the material in advance I am able to use class time to achieve more depth in concepts during class and to show them the way I know how to solve advanced problems. I can also allow them time to work problems in class so I can immediately correct errors or misunderstandings and provide them immediate feedback on homework problems.
Additionally, students complete a more challenging online quiz at the end of each chapter. The quizzes are substantially more challenging than what I could give them for an in class quiz. I allow the students two attempts to master the quiz. Only their second attempt is graded. Students are not given the correct answer after their first attempt, but are shown which items they missed. I have had many students tell me they would not have been motivated to determine what they missed and how to do the problem correctly without the second attempt. Since implementing these quizzes, students are able to master more challenging topics on tests and projects.
Incorporate practical applications that will be used when students start working:
I use cases/projects in all of my courses that simulate what students will face in their careers. In the energy course, I developed projects for the students based on my experience in public accounting. All projects are completed in Excel and give the students hands-on practical application of topics they will face working in the industry. The projects are also further tailored to what each individual student will be doing upon graduation. For example, a student who completed an audit internship and will be working in audit after graduation can serve as an auditor of a project. Instead of completing one of the projects they must find all errors in the project and document them using proper audit documentation. The projects are challenging and require assistance, so I act as the students’ supervisor and provide them with support.
Additionally, Halliburton sponsors an annual case competition for the students, with executives from the company acting as judges. In addition to being a great opportunity to interact with executives, this is also a great learning experience for issues the students may face in practice. This year, the students were given the scenario of a company expanding their operations to Africa. Students had to explore all business issues related to that expansion, even considering political instability and cultural differences. For example, students had to determine whether to hire local employees or expatriates. If they decided to hire local employees they had to develop a training program. If they decided to hire expatriates they had to consider where they would live. They had to develop a supply chain plan to move equipment to their sites and move products to their customers. Students had approximately thirty-six hours to develop their solutions and learn a great deal in that small time period.
Maintain a positive course climate:
It is important to me to maintain a positive course environment. I achieve this in several ways. For example, on the first day of class I have the students take a picture and complete an information sheet. On the next class day, I know each student’s name and try to remember one interesting thing about each of them. This is just the beginning of getting to know the students on a personal level as well as a professional level that I continue through the course of the semester.
Measuring Effectiveness
Several times over the course of the semester, I ask students for feedback. I adjust what I am doing in class based on those evaluations. Some feedback is more formal and provides me with specific details on the effectiveness of notes, cases, activities, and discussions. Other forms of feedback are brief such as a “Minute Paper” asking students to write for a minute stating what is still unclear to them after class. This type of feedback helps me determine topics needing further coverage. It also helps me reevaluate the way I address a topic to improve in the future. I make sure students know I value their feedback and am willing to adapt. My courses are constantly evolving to incorporate the most effective teaching methods.