Student Guide Corner

Last week, the School of Professional and Continuing Studies here at the University of Richmond held its opening meeting for the new semester.   I was asked to give what I would describe as a keynote speech to kick off the semester.  Often, when I am asked to speak in this way, I will present some type of Power Point slide show where I discuss a topic like �My Top Ten Favorite Teaching Tips.�   In truth, I can do those programs fairly quickly and often with good results. However, I decided that I wanted to do something different this time.   Our world has become so cynical and sour.   Every politician with a microphone will stand in front of a crowd and spew anger and hatred.   The news channels do not help as they debate the pros and cons of every single political decision often deriving people who are trying to do their best.   I fully realize that people in every community can be frustrated but I am tired of the sole po...

If you have read this blog for long, you know I began using the Socratic Method in my accounting classes way back in 1991.   I often get questions about why I started and how I use the Socratic Method.   I always tell people that it is hard to explain unless you are there to watch the process.    People simply don�t believe that you can teach complex accounting theory by firing hard ball questions at the students.   I was asked last fall to discuss the Socratic Method at a faculty forum here on campus and give a demonstration.   I wasn�t sure how well that would work.   But I talked for a while and then I, along with nine of my students, did a bit of a typical class using this approach.   It normally runs more smoothly in a real class environment but it worked fairly well in this artificial setting. In the presentation, I do put a focus on the book and the movie that forever changed how I taught my classes. If yo...

My classes begin tomorrow morning for the spring semester.   I just sent my students one final email to make sure they understood what I wanted from them.   I figure I might as well let them know upfront.   Here is what I told them: Tomorrow morning at either 9 or 10:30 a.m., we will meet and Intermediate Accounting II will begin.  Over the past few weeks, you have received quite a number of emails from me talking about this class � why it is important and what it takes to do well.   By now, one question should be rattling around in your brain:   What does this guy really want from me as a student?   Clearly, this class is not exactly like other classes and the teacher is not exactly like too many other teachers.   What am I looking for from you over the course of the next 3 1/2 months? Last year, in downtown Richmond, my wife and I went to a play ( Equivocation ) about William Shakespeare.   At one point during the f...

Have I ever written that I absolutely LOVE what I do? That the ability to impact students through the use of technology is the greatest job ever? That effective technology implementation removes the obstacles to academic success and promotes independence? That it doesn't matter what a student's evaluation scores show, we still presume competence and can change lives through technology? I love my job. Two IEP team meetings this week highlighted what I continually experience. During the first meeting, the excellent special education teacher shared the results of the implementation of a recommendation I made in the AT Evaluation she had received two days earlier. (She is that good; she wanted to try it BEFORE we discussed the recommendations in the IEP team meeting!) The student struggles with pencil control, letter and number formation and often dictates to a scribe. He completed half the math worksheet using pencil (putting random numbers in correct order). The result was illegi...

I am giving a speech on teaching tomorrow evening here at the University of Richmond.   I look forward to it with great anticipation.   There is a genuine thrill in talking with teachers about teaching.   It is a wonderful way to get the new semester off to a great start.   As always, I am a big believer in preparation � both my own preparation and that of the audience.   For this program to go well, everyone needs to spend some time and be ready.   To get that process started, I sent the 105 participants a message about an email that I had recently received.   I asked them to read the question that I had been sent as well as my response.   Then, I asked them to add one additional tip to my response.   What did I leave out?   What more should I have suggested?   What other idea should have I have given this young person? Okay, I have the same question for you.   Read the qu...