Faculty of Management Distinguished Teaching Award (Graduate)

Larbe Hammami

Faculty of Management

1) In my view, the greatest challenge is to balance between research and teaching. The point here is not that we should not choose one emphasis at the expense of the other. Rather, we should find some kind of Pareto optimal solution, namely choosing the balance that suits the talents and the interests of the instructor given the university norms. Whatever we choose, teaching is part of our role. We should find ways to reinforce this sentiment by developing skills in teaching and keep updating them in light of the needs of the students and the reality of the job market. This is likely to have more tangible impact on self-satisfaction than anything else.

2) There are no tit-for-tat answers for this question. It would depend on many things, in particular the instructor's philosophy and his system of values about teaching. There are some considerations that have guided me in my teaching experience that I would like to share with you:

• Enthusiasm is a key variable in communicating knowledge to a student.
• Keep motivating the student toward the course's goals by seeking new teaching experiences in order to develop their skills and competence.
• Develop a positive relationship with students where the instructor will be acting as a coach as well as team player.
• Organize the lecture to provide sufficient knowledge of the topic with real life examples, to motivate students and provide them with deep inspiration.
• Allow positive class discussion in order to help students to develop critical thinking