Teaching in Higher Ed

A lifetime of influence

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It is that time in the semester when most college freshmen forget about their professors' feelings (if they ever remembered them at all) and they begin openly discussing how much pain we are all causing in their lives, even if all we're doing is engaging them in dialog in class. They're overwhelmed… exhausted… sleep deprived… and lacking perspective…

I find it encouraging at this point to remember the professors who taught me in college and the impact they still have on me today. I went to Chapman University from 1989 – 1993 and still vividly remember so many of the faculty from my university years.

Drbooth

Dr. Booth is one of those memorable teachers. He just celebrated his 50 year anniversary at Chapman and has stuck in the minds of my parents, who also attended Chapman for their undergraduate years in the late '60s. I wish I could tell you I was a brilliant economics student, but that was hardly the case. I ended up with a C in his class and that was only after getting some help from a roommate and from Dr. Booth, himself.

What I can tell you is that he had an impact on me that goes well beyond the subject of economics.

DISCIPLINE

I remember being scared to death of being late to Dr. Booth's class. He was one of the professors who would lock the door prior to starting class – and if you ended up catching him on a day when he neglected to lock the door and thought you would slip in un-noticed, you were in for an unfortunate surprise.

Despite my lack of economics knowledge, I knew how to get myself places on time, thanks to my Mom's influence. However, there have been many times when I have thought back to the discipline Dr. Booth commanded and that he most likely gave all who encountered him during their college life a gift that went well beyond knowing who Adam Smith is or how supply and demand work together to set prices in perfect competition.

He gave us the gift of self-discipline.

ENCOURAGEMENT

Dr. Booth was not without encouragement, however. I went to see him during his office hours once and remember being really intimidated. He asked me my last name at one point and looked off in the distance for a few minutes. Suddenly, he rose from his chair, walked across the room, and opened a dusty file cabinet that appeared to have been decades old.

His eyes squinted at the old grade book he removed from the cabinet. Then, they lit up and he said, “Ah ha. I thought so… Follow me!”

He took me to a wall full of plaques and awards. Hanging on the wall was a plaque for business students of the year from the 1960s. There in 1967 was my Dad's name: Jim Frazee, hanging on a gold-colored name plate. My Dad never had told me about being awarded such an honor. I'll always be so grateful to Dr. Booth for giving me this glimpse into my Dad's college experience and for showing me how much care was behind his tough exterior. That he remembered my Dad from more than twenty years prior to my coming to Chapman meant so much to me.

He gave us the gift of encouragement

Legacy

I've only been teaching in a university setting for five years now, so I'm not sure the kind of impact I'll have on my students decades after they graduate. However, Dr. Booth gives me the hope that it is possible to have a life-long influence over our students' lives, even if they are quick to remind us at this point in the semester of how much grief we're inflicting on them now.

Thank you Dr. Booth.

When it isn’t quite what you meant to say

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Whoops

I have had quite a month for slips of the tongue…

In front of 50 business professionals a couple of weeks ago, I was talking about a means for measuring an organization's culture, in terms of where it falls on a continuum. I intended to use the word spectrum to discuss the method of assessment, but instead uttered the word ‘speculum.'

During a short devotional in my introduction to business class, I was quoting Albert Einstein and said, “Significant problems that we face, cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” “You must learn to think in a new way – you need a “paradigm shit” (what a difference an F would have made in that word).

After each incident, there were quite a few chuckles. My statements were not intentional, of course, but resulted in more of a sense of my humanness.

DANGEROUS WORDS

The Chronicle had an excellent article called “What Not to Say in Class During an Election Season” about a more serious type of classroom foible. I felt better about my mouthful of marbles after reading about some awful examples of hateful statements made by faculty at other institutions. After the September 11 attacks, an academic from New Mexico said, “Anyone who attacks the pentagon gets my vote.” An English professor at another university accused Muslim students of being terrorists.

OUR RESPONSIBILITY

Our role as faculty comes with an immense responsibility. Many argue that the most important skill we can teach students during their college years is critical thinking. Being too overt about our political beliefs one way or another endangers this type of intellectual development on the part of our students.

At a recent dinner with a group of students I have known for years, one of the individuals and I did get into quite a political debate. Anyone who was present might be surprised to read this blog posting, wondering if there wasn't some element of hypocrisy in my giving advice about refraining from spouting off about our political opinions to our students.

My intent with this student was to sharpen his arguments and to get him to go beyond the opinions of the news commentators he watches and to include facts in his analysis of who will make an effective president for us these next four years. The Chronicle warned about students who drop out of classes of professors with opposing views and this particular student is still quite engaged in my classes and as a leader in the student organization I advise. My respect for this student is extremely high and the additional challenge for him to have considered multiple angles of his views will be an asset to his ability to lead teams both now and in what I have no doubt will be a successful career in business.

It is a delicate balancing act. We must grow our students' critical thinking skills, being mindful of the need to argue both sides of an issue, so our nation's future leaders and voting public have the ability to do so, as well.

When it isn't quite what you meant to say

By | | | XFacebookLinkedInEmail

Whoops

I have had quite a month for slips of the tongue…

In front of 50 business professionals a couple of weeks ago, I was talking about a means for measuring an organization's culture, in terms of where it falls on a continuum. I intended to use the word spectrum to discuss the method of assessment, but instead uttered the word ‘speculum.'

During a short devotional in my introduction to business class, I was quoting Albert Einstein and said, “Significant problems that we face, cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” “You must learn to think in a new way – you need a “paradigm shit” (what a difference an F would have made in that word).

After each incident, there were quite a few chuckles. My statements were not intentional, of course, but resulted in more of a sense of my humanness.

DANGEROUS WORDS

The Chronicle had an excellent article called “What Not to Say in Class During an Election Season” about a more serious type of classroom foible. I felt better about my mouthful of marbles after reading about some awful examples of hateful statements made by faculty at other institutions. After the September 11 attacks, an academic from New Mexico said, “Anyone who attacks the pentagon gets my vote.” An English professor at another university accused Muslim students of being terrorists.

OUR RESPONSIBILITY

Our role as faculty comes with an immense responsibility. Many argue that the most important skill we can teach students during their college years is critical thinking. Being too overt about our political beliefs one way or another endangers this type of intellectual development on the part of our students.

At a recent dinner with a group of students I have known for years, one of the individuals and I did get into quite a political debate. Anyone who was present might be surprised to read this blog posting, wondering if there wasn't some element of hypocrisy in my giving advice about refraining from spouting off about our political opinions to our students.

My intent with this student was to sharpen his arguments and to get him to go beyond the opinions of the news commentators he watches and to include facts in his analysis of who will make an effective president for us these next four years. The Chronicle warned about students who drop out of classes of professors with opposing views and this particular student is still quite engaged in my classes and as a leader in the student organization I advise. My respect for this student is extremely high and the additional challenge for him to have considered multiple angles of his views will be an asset to his ability to lead teams both now and in what I have no doubt will be a successful career in business.

It is a delicate balancing act. We must grow our students' critical thinking skills, being mindful of the need to argue both sides of an issue, so our nation's future leaders and voting public have the ability to do so, as well.

How to create good first impressions in the classroom

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Tomorrow is the first day of school. Each semester, I am reminded of the importance of creating a good first impression and setting the stage for learning to occur.

GOALS

I desire for the students to:

Have a sense of gratitude: My hope is that they will be reminded of the sacrifices that were made for them to be where they are. Family members, donors, teachers, tax payers, and politicians likely made some contribution to their having access to all that higher education has to offer.

Excited about what's ahead: while it isn't easy to accomplish, having a sense of adventure about what will occur in a class is something I aspire to give students

Be challenged, yet to possess self-efficacy: Vroom's theory of motivation states that the degree to which we will be motivated is the amount of valence (how much we value potential rewards) times the level of expectancy (how much we believe we can achieve the goal).

Motivation

I want students to value the learning they'll experience in the class, yet I realize that sometimes this may not come until much later in their lives when they're able to apply it in a less theoretical way (like when they begin their career, for example). The better I can do at describing why what they're learning will be important, the more likely I can increase the valence. I also want them to perceive that they will need to work hard in this class, but that the goals will be clear and so will what it will take to achieve the class learning objectives.

TECHNIQUES

Below are a few techniques I use to begin to create a culture of learning:

Give a five-minute explanation of why this class matters. To create a sense of excitement about the learning, I strive to let them know why their investment of time and effort will be rewarded and not just when it comes to calculating their GPA.

Start on time and end slightly early. While the first day always presents all sorts of reasons why not to start on time (at our school, a varied schedule for the first day of class and the never-ending opportunities for students to get lost, confused, or otherwise not make it on time to your class), it is worth the effort to start out with a culture that says things will get started with or without them… and they'll miss out if they're late. Ending early gives the students a chance to catch me a few minutes informally after the formal class time and makes sure that I don't try to cram too much into the first class session.

Avoid reading the syllabus, but give a three-minute description of why it will be so important for them to digest. My syllabi follow the ‘course packet' format, with detailed course learning objectives, grading rubrics, and a thorough course schedule. Other colleagues follow the less-is-more approach when crafting their syllabi, but I have found it more efficient to have all the information in one place and to get it in their hands as early as possible.

Begin learning names early. Even before I arrive to the class, I print the roster and practice reading aloud the students first and last names. I circle the names of any students I have met before and write down a few things I remember about them to help reinforce opportunities to connect with them. Our school has small photos on the rosters that can be printed, though I never cease to be amazed at how quickly the students will change their looks, even over the course of a semester. I find it helps if I focus on their eyes, nose, and smile, because those things don't tend to change, despite their ever-altering hair, tattoos, piercings, hat choices, and so forth. 

Please include your suggestions for ‘first impressions' in the comments section below.

For Students: So You Say You Want a Reference?

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Reference

A student once asked me if I would provide a reference for her on a job that was her dream opportunity. She had always wanted to be an interior decorator and now had a possibility of working directly for a woman who had a large design firm in Newport Beach and learn from her first-hand. The woman was quite nervous about hiring a recent grad, since she had been burned by more than a few in the past. However, she was impressed with the young woman and wanted to at least speak to someone who knew her well.

I ended up spending an hour and forty-five minutes on the phone with this woman, talking about her needs for the position and giving examples of ways that I had seen the candidate demonstrate those skills and character traits in my interactions with her over the years. My background in human resources was helpful as we discussed her business goals and need for specific talents related to her firm. She ended up taking the risk and the young woman got her dream job… and the chance to gain valuable experience she would take with her throughout her career.

You will be asked to provide references on a pretty regular basis, during college and beyond. People you ask to be a reference for you are the individuals who will influence the decision makers about whether you should get that internship, go on that missions trip, or be offered that new job.

BEFORE

I hope some of you will be reading this post before the time you need a reference, because thinking about the aspect of building solid relationships in advance will have a big payoff for you. Here are just some of the ways that I’m influenced about the nature of any reference I will give for a student:

  • Do they show up on time and are fully present for classes?
  • Do they take responsibility for their choices and actions?
  • Are they curious?
  • What type of energy and passion do they show for learning and for life?
  • Are they respectful of the people around them?
  • How have they demonstrated that they want to help others succeed?
  • What is the level of quality of work that they submit for classes?
  • Have they gotten involved in organizations that help them learn experientially (such as SIFE or ASB) in addition to taking classes?
  • What level of maturity do they demonstrate on a consistent basis?

Along with any reference I provide for a student goes my reputation. I don’t take lightly the integrity that I think is crucial, anytime I talk about how effective I think someone will be in a given situation. I’ve been working, professionally in Orange County for over 15 years and have built a reputation for someone who knows quality people who will excel in a given job. Now is the time for you to start getting to know your professors and other professionals who can ultimately make a big difference in your ability to achieve your goals.

DURING

When you ask someone to be your reference, there are a series of questions you should answer for them in the process, so they can assess if it makes sense for them to be the person to represent you:

  • What is it that you’re pursuing that requires you to get a reference? Talk about the opportunity and the organization associated with the possibility.
  • What knowledge, skills, and attitudes are being sought?
  • What do you have to offer in terms of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes? Be specific in your answers and provide an example of how you’ve demonstrated that you have acquired the competencies thus far.

Occasionally, you’ll be asked to provide a reference before you have had an opportunity to build strong relationships with your professors at school. The better you do at presenting yourself and at addressing the questions outlined above, the more likely they will be to believe you’ll be a good fit for the opportunity.

AFTER

Remember that once your reference has agreed to help you, does not mean that his or her possibilities of influencing whether or not you get the job are over.

‘But email is so much more convenient,’ you might argue. Yes, that is true. However, you want that person to be willing to go out of his or her way for you, so it makes sense that you’ll go to the extra effort to thank thank them properly and sincerely. Not many people write thank you notes today, so you will allow yourself to stand out from the crowd and be noticed as worth someone’s investment of time.

I recently wrote a letter for a student who was seeking a number of scholarship opportunities. She sent me a thank you card that not only communicated her appreciation, but also indicated that she was successful in obtaining her scholarships. She specified how much money I helped her save by my investment of time in writing her the letter. Her letter will make a nice addition to my tenure application in the next couple of years and you can bet that I’ll be more than happy to help her however I can as she pursues her dreams.