Dimkoff, Gregg

English

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Grand Valley ReviewVolume 14 | Issue 1 Article 141-1-1996Toward Teaching Excellence: The Seidman Schoolof Business Teaching SeminarGregg DimkoffGrand Valley State UniversityFollow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/gvrThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@GVSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Grand Valley Review by anauthorized administrator of ScholarWorks@GVSU. For more information, please contact scholarworks@gvsu.edu.Recommended CitationDimkoff, Gregg (1996) "Toward Teaching Excellence: The Seidman School of Business Teaching Seminar," Grand Valley Review: Vol.14: Iss. 1, Article 14.Available at: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/gvr/vol14/iss1/14e r i a l  t h a t  w e  h a d  s  w i l l  a p p r e c i a t e  ~ducation. T h u s ,  1  t h i s  m a y  s o u n d  .  a c t u a l l y  e n t i t l e d  a k e  a t  G V S U .  I t  ~gal, r e g u l a t o r y ,  c e  b u s i n e s s  i n  a  e  i s  i m p o r t a n t  t o  ) f  t h e  c o m m e n t s  h  s t u d e n t s  w e r e  l i V i n g  c o m m e n t s :  I  b a c k  o f f  a  l i t t l e .  ; s i v e ,  o b n o x i o u s  : e d  a n d  b e c a m e  b u t  h e  c a m e  o n  e n  e m b a r r a s s e s  k e  m y  c a l l i n g  o n  e  t h a t  t e c h n i q u e  · d  y o u  w o r k ,  n o t  1 t s  t h i n k  y o u  a r e  > U  s h o u l d  b e  i n  m .  I f  y o u  d o  l i k e  ) W  t h e m  i n  l i t t l e  J r  o f f i c e  a n d  a c t  1 1  n o t e s  o n  t h e i r  s i n c e  t h e  l a s t  1 t i o n  a r e  a l w a y s  r e q u i r e s  a  l o t  o f  l d i t i o n a l  p a y  o r  f r o m  a  g e n u i n e  1 h a n c e d  s t u d e n t  T O W A R D  T E A C H I N G  E X C E L L E N C E :  T H E  S E I D M A N  S C H O O L  O F  B U S I N E S S  T E A C H I N G  S E M I N A R  G r e g g  D i m k o f f  S i n c e  i t s  f o u n d i n g ,  G r a n d  V a l l e y  h a s  c o n s i d e r e d  t e a c h i n g  t o  b e  i t s  m o s t  i m p o r t a n t  m i s s i o n .  I n d e e d ,  t h e  p r e s e n t  c a t a l o g  s t a t e s ,  " G r a n d  V a l l e y  p r i d e s  i t s e l f  o n  b e i n g  a  t e a c h i n g  i n s t i t u t i o n  d e d i c a t e d  t o  p r o v i d i n g  t h e  h i g h e s t  l e v e l  o f  q u a l i t y  i n s t r u c t i o n  p o s s i b l e , "  a n d  " G r a n d  V a l l e y  S t a t e  U n i v e r s i t y  i s  a  l e a r n i n g  c o m m u n i t y  w h e r e  c l o s e  s t u d e n t - f a c u l t y  i n t e r a c t i o n  e n h a n c e s  b o t h  t e a c h i n g  a n d  l e a r n i n g . "  F u r t h e r m o r e ,  a n  A d m i s s i o n s  O f f i c e  r e c r u i t i n g  b r o c h u r e  p r o c l a i m s  t h a t  " G V S U  i s  c o m m i t t e d  t o  e x c e l l e n c e  i n  t e a c h i n g  . . . .  "  a n d  " w e  a r e  c o m m i t t e d  t o  c r e a t i n g  a n  e x c e l l e n t  e n v i r o n m e n t  f o r  l e a r n i n g  a n d  t e a c h i n g  t h a t  w i l l  h e l p  b r i n g  o u t  y o u r  b e s t . "  C o n s i s t e n t  w i t h  G r a n d  V a l l e y ' s  m i s s i o n ,  g o o d  t e a c h i n g  i s  t h e  p r i m a r y  o b j e c t i v e  i n  t h e  S e i d m a n  S c h o o l  o f  B u s i n e s s .  A l l  S e i d m a n  f a c u l t y  a r e  e v a l u a t e d  b y  t h e i r  s t u d e n t s  i n  e a c h  c l a s s  e v e r y  s e m e s t e r .  R e s u l t s  o f  t h e s e  e v a l u a t i o n s  a r e  m a j o r  d e t e r m i n e r s  o f  r a i s e s ,  c o n t r a c t  r e n e w a l s ,  p r o m o t i o n s ,  a n d  t e n u r e  d e c i s i o n s .  I n  a d d i t i o n ,  i n d i v i d u a l  f a c u l t y  m e m b e r s  u s e  t h e s e  e v a l u a t i o n s  t o  i d e n t i f y  t h e i r  s t r e n g t h s  a n d  w e a k n e s s e s  i n  o r d e r  t o  i m p r o v e  t h e i r  t e a c h i n g .  S S B  h a s  m a n y  f i n e  t e a c h e r s ,  t w o  o f  w h o m  h a v e  r e c e i v e d  t h e  G V S U  T e a c h e r  o f  t h e  Y e a r  a w a r d .  T h e  o l d  a d a g e ,  " I f  i t  a i n ' t  b r o k e ,  d o n ' t  f i x  i t ! "  m i g h t  h a v e  b e e n  g o o d  e n o u g h  i n  t h e  p a s t ,  b u t  n o t  i n  t o d a y ' s  e n v i r o n m e n t  o f  i n t e n s e  c o m p e t i t i o n  i n  t h e  g l o b a l  w o r k  p l a c e .  A s  w e  m a k e  o u r  w a y  t o w a r d  a c c r e d i t a t i o n  b y  t h e  A m e r i c a n  A s s e m b l y  o f  C o l l e g i a t e  S c h o o l s  o f  B u s i n e s s ,  w e  a r e  k e e n l y  a w a r e  t h a t  t h i s  b o d y  g i v e s  c o n s i d e r a b l e  w e i g h t  t o  a  d e m o n s t r a t i o n  o f  t h e  s c h o o l ' s  c o n t i n u i n g  a t t e m p t s  t o  i m p r o v e  t e a c h i n g .  T o w a r d  t h i s  e n d ,  a  f e w  y e a r s  a g o ,  t h e  S S B  T e a c h i n g  C o m m i t t e e ,  w h i c h  I  c h a i r e d ,  r e c o m m e n d e d  t h a t  a  n e w  p r o g r a m  b e  i n s t i t u t e d  t o  i m p r o v e ,  r e c o g n i z e ,  a n d  r e w a r d  g o o d  t e a c h i n g .  T h u s  b e g a n ,  i n  f a l l ,  1 9 9 3 ,  t h e  S S B  T e a c h i n g  S e m i n a r ,  w h i c h  c o n t i n u e s  t o  b e  o f f e r e d  e v e r y  f a l l .  A l l  n e w  f u l l - t i m e  f a c u l t y  m e m b e r s ,  n o  m a t t e r  h o w  e x t e n s i v e  t h e i r  t e a c h i n g  b a c k g r o u n d s  h a v e  b e e n ,  a r e  r e q u i r e d  t o  a t t e n d  t h i s  s e m i n a r .  O t h e r s ,  i n c l u d i n g  a d j u n c t s ,  a r e  i n v i t e d .  A b o u t  a  t h i r d  o f  t h e  f a c u l t y  c o m p l e t e  t h e  s e m i n a r  e a c h  y e a r .  A t  t h e  i n i t i a l  m e e t i n g ,  t h e  C h a i r  a n d  t h e  D e a n  e x p l a i n  t h e  g o a l  o f  c o n t i n u a l l y  i m p r o v i n g  t e a c h i n g .  T h e y  a l s o  w a r n  n e w c o m e r s  t h a t  t h e y  m a y  e x p e r i e n c e  c u l t u r e  s h o c k  d u r i n g  t h e i r  f i r s t  f e w  s e m e s t e r s  a t  G r a n d  V a l l e y .  N e w  f a c u l t y  m e m b e r s  w i t h  e x c e l l e n t  t e a c h i n g  r e c o r d s  m a y  g e t  b e l o w - a v e r a g e  t e a c h i n g  e v a l u a t i o n s  a t  t h e  e n d  o f  t h e i r  f i r s t  s e m e s t e r ,  b e c a u s e  o u r  s t u d e n t s  e x p e c t  a  h i g h e r  l e v e l  o f  t e a c h i n g  q u a l i t y  t h a n  i s  f o u n d  a t  m a n y  o t h e r  c o l l e g e s .  A t  t h e  n e x t  s e s s i o n  t h e  s e m i n a r  p a r t i c i p a n t s  h e a r  a b o u t  t e a c h i n g - r e l a t e d  d o ' s  a n d  d o n ' t s :  f o r  e x a m p l e ,  d o  m e e t  f o r  t h e  e n t i r e  t i m e  s c h e d u l e d ;  d o n ' t  m i s s  a  c l a s s  w i t h o u t  G r a n d  V a l l e y  R e v i e w  +  2 9  finding someone to cover it; do give students a complete course syllabus; don't change it once the semester begins, and so forth. The discussion centers on the norms at Grand Valley: what students expect, and how to avoid problems. Each participant is given a list of SSB teachers whom students consider to be very good and who have given permission for seminar participants to observe their classes. Approximately twenty-five classes give the participants a choice of time (morning, afternoon, or evening), location (Allendale, Muskegon, or Grand Rapids), delivery (lecture or discussion) and type (case, quantitative, or behavioral). Participants attend two classes, during which they jot down what they see as good teaching techniques and whatever else impresses them. At the end of the semester, we all meet to share our experiences and to talk about what makes for good teaching. Although teaching techniques and styles are highly individual, the same comments about why our good teachers are good keep appearing. Generally, these comments fall into five broad categories: class participation, reinforcement, organization of class time, delivery, and pace. Good classroom participation is the characteristic most noted in successful classrooms, often the result of the professor's frequent questioning of the students. Specific comments follow: "The instructor developed fine points by asking questions." "The instructor made students feel it was OK to ask questions." "Even if the answer to a question was totally wrong, the instructor made the student feel good about asking." "The instructor called on everyone to get their opinions." Second in importance is the reinforcement of important points by repetition. Reinforcement can be summarized by a variation of another old adage: "Tell them what you are going to teach them, teach them, and then tell them what you taught them." In addition to this type of reinforcement, some good teachers give students sample exams prior to the class when a real exam is scheduled, review the previous class at the beginning of each class, and ask for questions before starting a new topic. Good organizers of class time write on the board a brief outline of the topics to be covered during that day's class and do not stray from the topics. They may end the class by explaining what will be covered during the next class. Concerning delivery, two comments appear again and again. First is the KISS principle: "Keep it simple, Stupid." This is not to say that the topic should be trivialized, but that teachers should strive to make complex issues understandable. Second is the importance of knowing the students' names and using them in class. Other comments point out that good teachers make use of humor, current events, and the blackboard, and do not over-rely on overheads. Finally, participants are usually impressed by the maintenance of a pace that allows students to take good notes, by a teacher who does not rush through the 30 • Grand Valley Review material. Teac~ have the stude1 a greater amo classroom teac if there is too r covered in othe From my ex1 shared provide< by sitting in on 1 students with ~ techniques that students can k1 reviewing. ~ s y l l a b u s ;  d o n ' t  c e n t e r s  o n  t h e  ' e m s .  ;  c o n s i d e r  t o  b e  t o  o b s e r v e  t h e i r  1  c h o i c e  o f  t i m e  G r a n d  R a p i d s ) ,  o r  b e h a v i o r a l ) .  1 e y  s e e  a s  g o o d  o f  t h e  s e m e s t e r ,  n a k e s  f o r  g o o d  l u a l ,  t h e  s a m e  3 e n e r a l l y ,  t h e s e  r e i n f o r c e m e n t ,  d  i n  s u c c e s s f u l  o f  t h e  s t u d e n t s .  t o r  m a d e  t h e  s  b y  r e p e t i t i o n .  ! a g e :  " T e l l  t h e m  ! N h a t  y o u  t a u g h t  : s  g i v e  s t u d e n t s  e w  t h e  p r e v i o u s  ~ s t a r t i n g  a  n e w  t h e  t o p i c s  t o  b e  e y  m a y  e n d  t h e  i r s t  i s  t h e  K I S S  o p i c  s h o u l d  b e  u n d e r s t a n d a b l e .  g  t h e m  i n  c l a s s .  c u r r e n t  e v e n t s ,  o f  a  p a c e  t h a t  J s h  t h r o u g h  t h e  m a t e r i a l .  T e a c h e r s  o f t e n  f a c e  t h e  d i l e m m a  o f  w h e t h e r  t o  p r e s e n t  l e s s  m a t e r i a l  a n d  h a v e  t h e  s t u d e n t s  l e a r n  i t  w e l l  o r  t o  c o v e r  m o r e  m a t e r i a l  a n d  h a v e  t h e  s t u d e n t s  l e a r n  a  g r e a t e r  a m o u n t  l e s s  w e l l .  S e m i n a r  p a r t i c i p a n t s '  c o m m e n t s  a b o u t  t h e  p a c e  o f  c l a s s r o o m  t e a c h i n g  s u g g e s t  a n  a n s w e r  t o  t h i s  d i l e m m a :  t e a c h  a t  a  r e a s o n a b l e  p a c e ;  i f  t h e r e  i s  t o o  m u c h  m a t e r i a l  t o  c o v e r  a t  a  r e a s o n a b l e  p a c e ,  s o m e  o f  i t  s h o u l d  b e  c o v e r e d  i n  o t h e r  w a y s ,  o u t s i d e  t h e  c l a s s r o o m .  F r o m  m y  e x p e r i e n c e  a s  c o o r d i n a t o r  o f  t h e  s e m i n a r ,  I  c a n  s a y  t h e  o b s e r v a t i o n s  w e  s h a r e d  p r o v i d e d  u s  w i t h  n e w  a n d  u s e f u l  i n s i g h t s .  B e c a u s e  e a c h  o f  u s  w a s  r e m i n d e d ,  b y  s i t t i n g  i n  o n  c l a s s e s ,  o f  w h a t  i t  i s  l i k e  t o  b e  a  s t u d e n t ,  b y  c o m b i n i n g  h o w  w e  f e l t  a s  s t u d e n t s  w i t h  w h a t  w e  d o  a s  t e a c h e r s ,  w e  w e r e  a b l e  t o  a g r e e  o n  t h e  t e a c h i n g  t e c h n i q u e s  t h a t  s e e m e d  w o r t h  e m u l a t i n g :  a s k i n g  l o t s  o f  q u e s t i o n s ;  t e a c h i n g  a t  a  p a c e  s t u d e n t s  c a n  k e e p  u p  w i t h ;  a n d  r e i n f o r c i n g  t o p i c s  b y  r e p e a t i n g ,  s u m m a r i z i n g ,  a n d  r e v i e w i n g .  G r a n d  V a l l e y  R e v i e w  •  3 1  

Toward Teaching Excellence: The Seidman School of Business Teaching Seminar

Grand Valley Review
Volume 14 | Issue 1 Article 14
1996
Toward Teaching Excellence: The Seidman School
of Business Teaching Seminar
Gregg Dimkoff
Grand Valley State University
Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/gvr
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@GVSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Grand Valley Review by an
authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@GVSU. For more information, please contact scholarworks@gvsu.edu.
Recommended Citation
Dimkoff, Gregg (1996) "Toward Teaching Excellence: The Seidman School of Business Teaching Seminar," Grand Valley Review: Vol.
14: Iss. 1, Article 14.
Available at: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/gvr/vol14/iss1/14
erial that we had 
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1 this may sound 
. actually entitled 
ake at GVSU. It 
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TOWARD TEACHING EXCELLENCE: 
THE SEIDMAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS 
TEACHING SEMINAR 
Gregg Dimkoff 
Since its founding, Grand Valley has considered teaching to be its most important 
mission. Indeed, the present catalog states, "Grand Valley prides itself on being a 
teaching institution dedicated to providing the highest level of quality instruction 
possible," and "Grand Valley State University is a learning community where close 
student-faculty interaction enhances both teaching and learning." Furthermore, an 
Admissions Office recruiting brochure proclaims that "GVSU is committed to 
excellence in teaching .... " and "we are committed to creating an excellent 
environment for learning and teaching that will help bring out your best." 
Consistent with Grand Valley's mission, good teaching is the primary objective in 
the Seidman School of Business. All Seidman faculty are evaluated by their students 
in each class every semester. Results of these evaluations are major determiners of 
raises, contract renewals, promotions, and tenure decisions. In addition, individual 
faculty members use these evaluations to identify their strengths and weaknesses in 
order to improve their teaching. SSB has many fine teachers, two of whom have 
received the GVSU Teacher of the Year award. 
The old adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" might have been good enough in the 
past, but not in today's environment of intense competition in the global work place. 
As we make our way toward accreditation by the American Assembly of Collegiate 
Schools of Business, we are keenly aware that this body gives considerable weight 
to a demonstration of the school's continuing attempts to improve teaching. 
Toward this end, a few years ago, the SSB Teaching Committee, which I chaired, 
recommended that a new program be instituted to improve, recognize, and reward 
good teaching. Thus began, in fall, 1993, the SSB Teaching Seminar, which 
continues to be offered every fall. All new full-time faculty members, no matter how 
extensive their teaching backgrounds have been, are required to attend this seminar. 
Others, including adjuncts, are invited. About a third of the faculty complete the 
seminar each year. 
At the initial meeting, the Chair and the Dean explain the goal of continually 
improving teaching. They also warn newcomers that they may experience culture 
shock during their first few semesters at Grand Valley. New faculty members with 
excellent teaching records may get below-average teaching evaluations at the end of 
their first semester, because our students expect a higher level of teaching quality 
than is found at many other colleges. 
At the next session the seminar participants hear about teaching-related do's and 
don'ts: for example, do meet for the entire time scheduled; don't miss a class without 
Grand Valley Review + 29 
finding someone to cover it; do give students a complete course syllabus; don't 
change it once the semester begins, and so forth. The discussion centers on the 
norms at Grand Valley: what students expect, and how to avoid problems. 
Each participant is given a list of SSB teachers whom students consider to be 
very good and who have given permission for seminar participants to observe their 
classes. Approximately twenty-five classes give the participants a choice of time 
(morning, afternoon, or evening), location (Allendale, Muskegon, or Grand Rapids), 
delivery (lecture or discussion) and type (case, quantitative, or behavioral). 
Participants attend two classes, during which they jot down what they see as good 
teaching techniques and whatever else impresses them. At the end of the semester, 
we all meet to share our experiences and to talk about what makes for good 
teaching. 
Although teaching techniques and styles are highly individual, the same 
comments about why our good teachers are good keep appearing. Generally, these 
comments fall into five broad categories: class participation, reinforcement, 
organization of class time, delivery, and pace. 
Good classroom participation is the characteristic most noted in successful 
classrooms, often the result of the professor's frequent questioning of the students. 
Specific comments follow: 
"The instructor developed fine points by asking questions." 
"The instructor made students feel it was OK to ask questions." 
"Even if the answer to a question was totally wrong, the instructor made the 
student feel good about asking." 
"The instructor called on everyone to get their opinions." 
Second in importance is the reinforcement of important points by repetition. 
Reinforcement can be summarized by a variation of another old adage: "Tell them 
what you are going to teach them, teach them, and then tell them what you taught 
them." In addition to this type of reinforcement, some good teachers give students 
sample exams prior to the class when a real exam is scheduled, review the previous 
class at the beginning of each class, and ask for questions before starting a new 
topic. 
Good organizers of class time write on the board a brief outline of the topics to be 
covered during that day's class and do not stray from the topics. They may end the 
class by explaining what will be covered during the next class. 
Concerning delivery, two comments appear again and again. First is the KISS 
principle: "Keep it simple, Stupid." This is not to say that the topic should be 
trivialized, but that teachers should strive to make complex issues understandable. 
Second is the importance of knowing the students' names and using them in class. 
Other comments point out that good teachers make use of humor, current events, 
and the blackboard, and do not over-rely on overheads. 
Finally, participants are usually impressed by the maintenance of a pace that 
allows students to take good notes, by a teacher who does not rush through the 
30 • Grand Valley Review 
material. Teac~ 
have the stude1 
a greater amo 
classroom teac 
if there is too r 
covered in othe 
From my ex1 
shared provide< 
by sitting in on 1 
students with ~ 
techniques that 
students can k1 
reviewing. 
~ syllabus; don't 
centers on the 
'ems. 
; consider to be 
to observe their 
1 choice of time 
Grand Rapids), 
or behavioral). 
1ey see as good 
of the semester, 
nakes for good 
lual, the same 
3enerally, these 
reinforcement, 
d in successful 
of the students. 
tor made the 
s by repetition. 
!age: "Tell them 
!Nhat you taught 
:s give students 
ew the previous 
~ starting a new 
the topics to be 
ey may end the 
irst is the KISS 
opic should be 
understandable. 
g them in class. 
current events, 
of a pace that 
Jsh through the 
material. Teachers often face the dilemma of whether to present less material and 
have the students learn it well or to cover more material and have the students learn 
a greater amount less well. Seminar participants' comments about the pace of 
classroom teaching suggest an answer to this dilemma: teach at a reasonable pace; 
if there is too much material to cover at a reasonable pace, some of it should be 
covered in other ways, outside the classroom. 
From my experience as coordinator of the seminar, I can say the observations we 
shared provided us with new and useful insights. Because each of us was reminded, 
by sitting in on classes, of what it is like to be a student, by combining how we felt as 
students with what we do as teachers, we were able to agree on the teaching 
techniques that seemed worth emulating: asking lots of questions; teaching at a pace 
students can keep up with; and reinforcing topics by repeating, summarizing, and 
reviewing. 
Grand Valley Review • 31 


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