BLOOMBERG SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Homayoon Farzadegan and John McGready
CAREY BUSINESS SCHOOL: Joseph Colantuoni and Ravi Aron
Teaching
Two very strong influences from education include my high school calculus teacher and a high school English teacher. Both showed incredible passion for their respective disciplines, were both knowledgeable and intellectually curious, and made the learning experience interactive and fun.
Joseph Colantuoni, senior professional instructor
doctoral adviser, mentor and teacher, Dr. Ivan L. Roth at the University of Georgia.
Best teaching/classroom moment of the past year? There are too many to mention.
How would you describe your teaching philosophy? I hope to take the complex world
Best teaching/classroom moment of the past year? The best moments are often the last
What have you learned from your students?
What have you learned from your students?
Carey Business School
PowerPoint presentation for class discussion on the topic of the day. What’s the best piece of teaching advice you ever received? Be prepared and updated.
Continued from page 1 it. Because what the world needs are people who have come alive.” This professor wants his students, and the act of learning, to do exactly that—come alive. Some teachers follow in the footsteps of parents and grandparents, while others travel an indirect route to the profession. What the winners of this year’s Johns Hopkins Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Awards have in common is that they all love to share knowledge, and all excel at what they do. The award, which has been given annually since 1992, allows each academic division of the university to publicly recognize the critical importance of teaching. The nomination and selection processes differ by school, but students must be involved in the selection. Some schools give multiple awards in different classifications, such as the School of Public Health, which calls its awards Golden Apples. This year, The Gazette asked the winners a series of questions so that they could share some insight on what inspires them and makes the process of learning a success.
Bloomberg School of Public Health Homayoon Farzadegan, professor, Department of Epidemiology, medium-sized class How would you describe your teaching philosophy? I believe in accommodating the
learning process rather than only teaching. The best learning process is achieved by group discussions as well as structured lectures. I get my students actively involved in the classroom. They have to prepare a
WILL KIRK / HOMEWOODPHOTO.JHU.EDU
WILL KIRK / HOMEWOODPHOTO.JHU.EDU
8 21,15, 2012 8 THE THE GAZETTE GAZETTE •• May August 2011
Each session is as important as other sessions. Did you have any teaching inspirations? My
Everything. But an incomplete list includes an appreciation for differing learning styles, and a lot about statistics as their questions lead me to new discoveries and insights.
sessions of all three courses that I teach, in which the course is overviewed. I start with learning objectives of the course and then I ask, Is the mission accomplished?
A lot. Students are very valuable resources for teaching. They share their experiences and expertise in the classroom to complement the lectures and syllabus. A combination of updated lectures, student group presentations and class discussions provide a great learning environment for students and faculty.
Ravi Aron, assistant professor, research track How would you describe your teaching philosophy? I believe that a true measure of
learning is the extent to which it enables the student to ask penetrating, searching questions. This is often more important than being able to produce accurate and competent answers to questions. Increasingly, what students are called upon to do as managers is not analysis—formulating complex analytical models—but synthesizing multiple ideas and letting resultant insights emerge.
John McGready, assistant scientist, Department of Biostatistics, largesized class How would you describe your teaching philosophy? Teaching encapsulates a learning
experience for both the students and the instructor. Enthusiasm and ongoing curiosity about one’s subject are essential. Student/ instructor interaction is critical, regardless of class size and modality.
What’s the best piece of teaching advice you ever received? Prepare thoroughly before
your class. Organize your ideas and material and present them as simply and directly as you can. Really good teaching is not theater with you at center stage but is a conversation between you and the students. If you find the ideas and concepts that you teach interesting and important, most of your students will, too.
What’s the best piece of teaching advice you ever received? More generally, the best
career advice was along the lines of “do what you love and love what you do.” Did you have any teaching inspirations?
Did you have any teaching inspirations? At NYU’s Stern School of Business, where I did my PhD, I had Dr. Stephen Slade as a tutor. [He] had an amazing gift of being able to coax even the most diffident of students to participate in class and come up with unusual questions. The time that I spent watching him teach in class was perhaps the best learning experience that I had.
I’ve been inspired by teachers from all walks of life—friends, family, colleagues, etc.
WILL KIRK / HOMEWOODPHOTO.JHU.EDU
Best teaching/classroom moment of the past year? I was teaching a class on how informa-
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Elizabeth Hunt
tion technology can be used to reduce the incidence of medical errors of several kinds, and why even some extremely sophisticated IT systems fail to deliver benefits. One of the students stopped me in my tracks and said, “Professor, I think you will not be able to reveal further insights in this space.” When I asked him why, he said, “Your data will reveal what factors were considered and how the decisions were made. What we need instead is an anthropologist, a fly on the wall, to observe those physicians and managers in their meetings and ask what questions did they not ask, and why.”
What have you learned from your students?
On many days there will be a student or two
in my class who may know more than I do about some topic that I teach. This is not a threat; it is an opportunity, for both the rest of the class and me.
of banking and finance, simplify it and make it useful and accessible to every student. As an economist for the FDIC, I have analyzed the widespread effects of the recent financial crisis and know the importance of making sound financial decisions in the face of uncertainty. However, the field has become so overwhelmingly quantitative that it takes an extra level of experience and determination to teach it successfully. My practical work experience informs the classes I teach and helps me turn complex ideas into simple lessons. What’s the best piece of teaching advice you ever received? Nothing really special, just be
prepared and always stay relevant. Class may only be a few hours long each week, but the time and effort required to prepare a quality lecture is much longer.
Did you have any teaching inspirations?
Many of the mathematics and economics professors I had at Bowdoin College displayed a passion for teaching that I will never forget. This small liberal arts college in Maine unites a select group of students with professors focused on undergraduate education. The professors instilled a love of learning, intellectual curiosity and level of enthusiasm that I strive to pass on to my students. This dedication to teaching has provided me with inspiration and guidance for my entire career.
Best teaching/classroom moment of the past year? When a certain well-known
social media company released its financials for the first time just before my class on initial public offerings, I wondered if there was some sort of divine intervention in my syllabus. I’ve never seen students so interested in the financials of a company before. The timing of this real-world case study and the class discussion surrounding it was perfect.
What have you learned from your students?
After class has ended, I have found myself in discussions ranging from Taiwanese teenagers trading futures on their cell phones to unique aspects of Islamic banking law or microfinance in Peru. These discussions remind me how financial issues affect the daily lives of people around the world and the importance of financial education. I may be teaching finance in a classroom at a distinguished American university, but the globally diverse students at Carey are always teaching me something new about financial markets in their own parts of the world. Continued on page 9