Teaching conversations

In different ways, all five recipients of the Teaching Excellence Awards in Management Education have strong identities as teachers. The winners of the inaugural awards are: Paul Brown (School of Public Administration), Greg Hebb (School of Business Administration), Vivian Howard (School of Information Management), Elizabeth Kelley (School of Business Administration), and Carolan McLarney (School of Business Administration).

Both Vivian Howard and Carolan McLarney admit they are Òhooked” on teaching. Paul Brown recollects that as a young boy living in northern Nova Scotia, he loved to put mathematical problems on the board in the kitchen to teach his brothers. Elizabeth Kelley came to teaching in the midst of another career. She remarked, ÒI found out by accident in my mid 40s that I loved teaching so I went back to get my doctorate so I could do it.” 

Like Kelley, McLarney went back to school to get her doctorate so she could teach. ÒWhen I walked into the classroom for the first time, I knew exactly what I was put on this earth to doÉI always thought I would have this big business career, but that classroom experience dramatically changed me,” she says.

Greg Hebb worked in both the corporate world and the world of small business before choosing to turn in his suit and tie to create a casual class atmosphere in which Òstudents speak up and interact.”

Excellence recognized

Although all the recipients knew in advance that they had been nominated for the award, they all were surprised to receive the news about winning. The competition was strong and they were each honoured to find themselves in the company of the other.  They were also excited to have their teaching Òrecognized in a more public way,” as Hebb noted.

The professors reflected on how they had often received positive feedback directly from students and as noted by Brown winning the award meant that Òstudent judgment has been validated.” Teaching is only one component in the teaching-learning dynamic, and Brown felt he shared the award with all those people who have been involved in his teaching over the years.  Along with his students, he recognized the support of his family and his colleagues, as well as the Òmany people in the public sector who help me improve my courses and provide me with teaching materials Ð they are part recipients of this award.” 

Kelley and McLarney both recalled that they had to hide their love for teaching as doctoral students. They were thrilled to be publicly recognized and respected for what they love to do best. ÒIt was always about teaching,” recollects Kelley, while McLarney stated simply Òteaching defines a lot of who I am.”

Teaching as a Òlearner”

While each recipient outlined a different approach to teaching, the thread that binds them is the care they each take to work from a learnerÕs perspective. McLarney said ÒI teach as a learner” and Hebb said that his Òstrategy from the very first class I ever taught was, if I was sitting in the class how would I learn the material? I always try to make sure that my notes are clear in my head so it will hopefully be clear to students.”

Connecting with learners was also a shared characteristic among these award-winning teachers.  ÒItÕs about resonating with people,” says McLarney. ÒIÕm not a musician, but itÕs that idea of being in tune with someone.  When you explain something until you both get into the same harmonic, thatÕs when the Ôah-haÕ hits.”   For Paul Brown Òprofessionalism, integrity and commitment” guide his interaction with students and, he feels, are central components of his success as a teacher, ÒI like watching the learning process taking place before my eyesÉto watch them grow and to see then what they are able to do.  It is an extremely intimate experience to see this happening in a personÕs life.”  Howard responded ÒI feel strongly about the fact that I really try to have a collaborative approach with my students and thatÕs one of the things I love most about teaching, the feeling that I am learning from them as much as they are learning from me.”  
Elizabeth Kelley focuses on two of the components of transformational leadership in her teaching, personal motivation and individualized consideration.  Through modeling she hopes her students will internalize the material, care about and understand others, and learn from different perspectives.  She particularly enjoys Ògetting to know the students ... its fun to just talk to them.”

Connecting to the Ôreal worldÕ

Approaches to ensuring effective learning in their class were varied but they all spoke about helping students connect their learning to the real world -- bringing relevance to studentsÕ classroom education.  On a daily basis, Elizabeth Kelley asks students to draw on their co-op term experiences to connect theory with their real world experience.   Paul Brown brings the world to his students by adhering to a Òco-production” approach to teaching, bringing the most up-to-date material and best practices to students.  This year alone he has invited seven guest speakers to his classes and worked with the public servants in-residence, one of whom co-taught in two of his courses.  It is important to teaching in management to Òhave a network of co-producers,” says Brown.  Hebb draws on real-world cases rather than pre-made cases as often as he can, providing students with corporate documentation and asking them to write evaluation reports.  ÒI get emails from former students saying Ôwe are doing exactly what we did in that classÕ.” Although he sets guidelines for term papers Hebb says, ÒI pretty much let them run wild with it” allowing students to explore their own particular interests.  For example, this freedom has enabled international students in HebbÕs classes to explore such topics as comparing banking systems in their home country with those in Canada.  In this way he allows students to pin-point real-world relevance for themselves. 

Carolan McLarney brings her own real-world experience to the classroom.  When she teaches international business, she says ÒIÕve lived it so we can talk about issues of culture, trade, buying, and making mistakes.”  At the same time McLarney enjoys taking people outside of their comfort-zone.  When executives come to Dalhousie for the MBA (Financial Services) program she wants to take them out of their every-day working world and asks them to think outside the box in a way they have never been asked to do before.  Her hope is that they will take this experience back to their Ôreal worldÕ to see it anew. 

Vivian Howard creates Òauthentic” assignments that allow students to take their classroom learning into the world around them as they learn.  Many of her students, as future librarians, will be expected to accommodate a range of clientele Ð from pre-school readers to academic researchers.  Her students experience reading to pre-school children, a job they would very likely have to undertake as small-town librarians, Òthey have to be able to enjoy doing it, control the crowd”, and learn how to engage children of different grade levels.   In an attempt to get her students excited about the Òdry” topic of information sources, Howard pairs students with faculty members in particular areas of research and asks students to prepare guides to relevant sources for that particular person, Òbuilding a whole level of reality to the assignment.  TheyÕve got real information needs and theyÕve got particular researchers so it makes it more tangibleÉ and much more meaningful for everybody.”  She argues that the quality of work increases concurrently with the real-world meaning an assignment brings.

Advice for new teachers

Finding the key to successful teaching is not easy.  Greg Hebb argues, ÒThere is no one piece of advice that fits all.”  His advice to new teachers is that Òyou have to find what style matches your personality and go with that rather than try to mimic someone you know.”  Kelley would urge new teachers to take the time Òto think about their teaching and come up with a framework that allows you to live up to your principles.” She also urges them to Òtalk about teaching Ð sit down and just exchange ideas” with other teachers.  She would like to see that happen more often.

While most of the award recipients noted the importance of preparation in good teaching, Howard would caution new teachers to Òuse your lecture notes as a guide not a script and speak to students in a conversational way, that enables you as a teacher to create a sense of spontaneity so that students take away with them the excitement about the material.”
In the classroom, Howard has found that finding a way to make the material your own,  Òallows you to enjoy it and to convey that love to your students.”  Bringing Òenthusiasm and energy” to your material will result in good relationships with your students who will feel that Òwhat you are teaching is very critical.”

Brown and McLarney noted the importance of being sure that, if you are going to teach, that teaching is for you. How do you know if you are meant to be a teacher?  Brown, quoting from his favourite film Field of Dreams, suggests that new teachers engage in some self-reflection: ÒI would hope any new faculty member or TA would look and say ÔAre the cosmic tumblers falling into place?Õ Is this what IÕm supposed to be doing?Õ”  McLarney noted that ÒEducation gives you freedom, it gives you choices.  So if we are going to tell students that, then we have to live it.”

Interviews are conducted by Suzanne Le-May Sheffield, Associate Director (Programs), Centre for Learning and Teaching (CLT), Dalhousie University. For more information, please visit http://learningandteaching.dal.ca/

If you would like to nominate an instructor to appear in this series, please contact:
Suzanne Le-May Sheffield at suzannes@dal.ca or call 494-1894.