My philosophy of teaching has evolved as a result of a wide variety of educational experiences and influences as well as considerable reflection on their meanings. While these experiences have helped to form my philosophy, I believe it will continue to evolve. I actively search for innovative ideas, technologies, and methods, which have the potential to improve my skills as an educator and further develop my philosophy.
The most significant contributions to my teaching philosophy have come from my classroom experiences -- on both sides of the desk. I have had opportunities to teach at a variety of types of institutions -- ranging from private, liberal arts-based colleges to large, land grant public institutions. Also, I have had formal training in the subjects of teaching, education, and the case method through participation in workshops, seminars, teaching colloquia, and national conferences. Finally, my experiences as a student at the undergraduate, masters, and doctoral levels have helped me understand what works to interest, motivate, and excite students. The common thread running through these experiences is that with each, I have learned valuable lessons concerning the teaching and learning processes.
At its most basic level, I view my role while interacting with each student as that of a guide on their road of lifelong learning. As student and instructor we have the opportunity to profoundly affect each other while we travel down this road together. My primary responsibility is to bring my knowledge, experiences, and best efforts to the time and place where my students and I share common goals – to gain understanding and insight, reflect on the role of marketing in business and its effect on our society and culture, and to apply this knowledge to explore and solve real-world business problems. I also believe I have a responsibility to students stemming from my profession as an educator; to foster in students a thirst for exploring and learning about the world that lies beyond the classroom and any single discipline.
While I believe that I guide my students, I also believe that they guide me through the observations and perspectives they bring to class. These new perspectives have the potential to alter my beliefs about what makes a good teacher and good teaching as well as constantly challenge me to reassess my conceptualization and organization of the field of marketing. The terms “balance” and “evolution” best describe my philosophy of teaching.
The balance I seek to establish and maintain is among methods, skills, and outcomes I find valuable. For example, I strike a balance between instilling a knowledge or “content base” in students and educating them about the processes by which the field of marketing has developed and continues to evolve. Additionally, I strike a balance among learning sources -- from me, the textual material, other students, and their experiences and observations outside the classroom. To these ends, I have developed courses structured around this goal of balance. My selection and design of reading assignments, written exercises and active learning projects, oral presentations, in-class experiences, testing formats, case studies, and multimedia resources are all employed to support this goal and philosophy.
While balance is an ideal for which I strive, it is unlikely to be achieved in absolute terms. Even if one were to come close (a laudable goal itself), what is nearly balanced today likely will be unbalanced tomorrow. Ongoing research in the marketing discipline, the emergence of new resources and technologies such as the Internet, distance learning, and the changing global business climate necessitate a constant evolution in methods, techniques, and perspectives. This is why I include evolution in my philosophy of teaching, in methods of instruction and team teaching, and in my knowledge of the discipline of marketing and its connections to other fields of business and the global culture.
I believe the dual goals of balance and evolution have served me well in my career, judging from the positive feedback students have given and self-assessment. I expect these goals will continue to be cornerstones in my approach to the classroom and course-design efforts in the future.
