I have taught a diverse range of students in the commerce, network and IT and game development and entrepreneurship programs at Ontario Tech University. As such, I have become accustomed to explaining legal concepts to different student cohorts. I have extensive teaching experience having worked for three years prior to becoming an assistant professor as a teaching-focused faculty at the Faculty of Business and IT (FBIT).
Since starting in my current role, I have created five new courses at FBIT. My student evaluations have been positive and I have improved based on feedback that I have received. I have also participated in curriculum development by offering new courses for all undergraduate and graduate students at FBIT. I have supervised numerous graduate students at the university.
I’m particularly proud of the fact that several of my students have gone on to pursue legal careers. I have little expectation of that when I teach. I have previously worked in government, the private sector, and academia, as well as starting my own business. I bring a diverse range of insights into the classroom. This experience enables me to connect with a given students’ motivation for learning the subject.
Having gone through the process of qualifying to practice law in Ontario. I know first-hand the challenges of working while studying, starting a business while working, and raising a family.
I take an experiential approach in my teaching; commerce necessarily requires both theoretical insight as well as business acumen. This makes me enthusiastic about sharing my ideas and personal experiences and creates engaging class interactions.
Since becoming a practicing lawyer, I have further refined my courses to provide practical examples demonstrating how the theory learned in class translates into practice. For example, I often have students instruct me as a lawyer. While few of my students will become lawyers, all of them will have to deal with a lawyer at some point in their careers. Students quickly realize that they don’t need to have all the answers, but they do need to ask the right questions; otherwise their legal costs will get expensive!
There has been a lot of discussion within the academic community about the importance of transferable skills and the value of experiential learning. To be effective at this teaching method requires the instructor to have practical experience. I am of the view that if this is your chosen pedagogical approach, it is necessary to determine how your skills transfer to the market.
For most academic people, this is easier said than done. I have found this to be extraordinarily difficult! Industry and academia have very different incentive structures. It is important to recognize and understand this as the lines between industry and academia are increasingly blurred. This is necessarily the case in business faculties since the object of study is business after all.
I have sought to reconcile this inherent conflict within myself and develop an approach to teaching that is both academic and compelling. My career until quite recently has been about the pursuit of academic excellence. This remains very much a priority; however, I now increasingly integrate practical skills that I have developed with the theoretical insight I have obtained through research. I hope to model in myself what I expect to see in my students. Business invariably involves taking a calculated risk. There will be many setbacks that occur along the way and it is important to develop in students the internal fortitude to cope with disappointment and overcome obstacles.
Starting a corporation and attempting to generate business forced me to examine and overcome my own shortcomings, insecurities and limitations. I discovered for example that I am terrible at accounting and marketing. I have a far deeper appreciation of other departments within the faculty as a result of this experience. I write about these insights in my blog. Understanding my limitations made me realize the specific ways that I need help. In many respects, teaching and learning are as much about identifying student limitations as it as about realizing their potential.
Of course, no one likes to have their limitations exposed, so it is important to approach this with sensitivity and compassion. But learning how to ask for help is a skill that I encourage students to develop in my classes. I have a very low withdrawal rate in my courses. I stay in contact with my students, some reach out to me many years after taking in my course. I always appreciate when students let me know much my course helped them their careers in ways they did not anticipate at the time.
