I view teaching as a creative endeavor in the sense that the teacher creates a learning setting for students, and the number of approaches that a teacher could use to teach a given topic is practically infinite. To help me create a consistent environment that focuses on a single goal, I rely on a personal philosophy of teaching. I have taught a variety of different classes, including marketing research (graduate), new media marketing (undergraduate), consumer behavior (graduate and undergraduate), marketing core (graduate), and marketing principles (undergraduate). Throughout all these classes, I apply a teaching philosophy that is based on the simple observation that I teach at a school of business. I draw inspiration from the words school and business.
First, because I teach at a school of business, my goal is for students to learn the theories and skills they need to be effective managers. I don’t want students to simply memorize these things; I want students to learn them. In my view, this learning includes their ability apply the theories and skills to new managerial situations. In my teaching for undergraduate and MBA students, I take it upon myself to engage students and direct their attention. I have found students are most engaged when I use a wide variety of instructional methods, including traditional classroom lectures, case discussions, team projects, and self-paced at-home instructional assignments. I believe strongly that when I vary my instructional methods, students learn more and have more fun doing it.
Second, because I teach at a school of business, I believe in preparing students to enter the business world. I bring the business world into my classroom as much as possible, drawing on my years in the business world as a marketing research consultant. I believe that students are best able to enter the business world when they are trained with a blend of academic theory and practical skills. Students who are trained only in academic theories find it difficult to contribute to a firm immediately after being hired. On the other hand, students who are trained only in practical skills make excellent entry-level employees but they find it difficult to make more profound contributions that help them advance in their career. Therefore, I believe training students in a blend of academic theories and practical skills is best because it helps them get hired and promoted.
For example, such blending of theory and practical skills is important in my marketing research class. I give my students training in academic theories (e.g., measurement theory). In addition, I give my students training in practical skills (e.g., how to tell whether a survey question is well-written). When I was a practicing marketing researcher, my success was based on both academic theories and practical skills, so I believe it is important to share these things with students.
In sum, my teaching philosophy is that I help make a business school education more valuable to students by helping them learn a blend of academic theories and practical skills.
– Eric DeRosia