My approach to teaching and instructional design follows a core set of principles that have evolved from my previous experience in pharmacy management and leadership.  These principles includes: 1) developing high quality relationships, 2) using an evidence-based approach throughout all aspects of instruction, and 3) commitment to continuous teaching improvement.

Relationships Matter: Developing a Strong Teacher-Student Dyad

First and foremost, I believe that the strength of the teacher-student relationship has a direct impact on both student and teacher outcomes.  After being hired as assistant professor in 2014, my dedication to building positive teacher-student relationships was quickly exhibited by student evaluations and student requests for my participation as advisor for student organizations or general requests for my presence at student events.  From my first full semester as a teacher, I have earned student evaluation scores placing me among the top faculty throughout the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy (UMSOP) and have remained a highly rated faculty member at UMSOP to date.  My commitment to build meaningful relationships with students is evident by the number of requests I receive to participate in informal (“fun”) events such as serving as the Master of Ceremonies for the annual Class Auction, a guest for UMSOP’s “Last Lecture” send-off for the graduating class, and the APhA-ASP chapter’s annual harbor cruise (where I won “Honorary Advisor” for extra volunteer support).  My interest in the student-teacher relationship stems from an interest in the impact of these vertical dyads (Figure 1) studied in management and in the provider-patient setting leading me to develop a post for Stuart Haines’ Educational Theory Blog in 2014 entitled, “Relationships Matter: Lessons for teachers, Managers, and Clinicians.”   The bond formed with students led to the greatest moment of my academic career: selection as the Class of 2016’s Teacher of the Year, an honor bestowed to one faculty member at graduation.

Figure 1: A comparison of vertical dyad frameworks adapted for Educational Theory and Practice blog.

Using an Evidence-Based Approach to Teaching and Learning

Using an evidence-based approach in teaching is not just a style, but a duty to which all those committed to learning must adhere.  Teaching business strategy and pharmacy management skills is no exception.  When I assumed the role of co-course manager in our required third-year class on pharmacy management, I first went back to studies that were stressed in my Masters of Business Administration (MBA) coursework to consider potential frameworks that would help new pharmacists.  Rather than simply relying on a compilation of lessons in a textbook, I dug out the seminal work of Quinn & Rohrbaugh (1983) who developed an approach to measuring the effectiveness of organizations famously known as the Competing Values Framework (CVF) and searched the literature for updates to the model.¹  I then developed a lesson delivered live and online via YouTube (Click this link) to help set the foundation for our project management lessons – my hope in exposing students to high impact social science research such as the CVF is to plant the seed of curiosity in those who wish to dive deeper in organizational effectiveness.

Another example of lesson development using original research to guide my planning can be seen in my session on “Managing People” in which I integrate Van Maanen & Schein’s  “People Processing” work on socialization with the “Exit, Voice, Loyalty, and Neglect” model of employee responses to dissatisfaction in the workplace.^2–4 This approach allows me to stress the importance of managerial implementation of socialization tactics to reduce role ambiguity, increase perceived fit within the organization, and aim to reduce long-term outcomes such as turnover.  By integrating the two areas of organizational research, I can ask more complex questions on the exam to see if students can connect how improved socialization of new employees can improve the “constructive responses” by these same employees when bad things happen at work.

Continuous Teaching Improvement

My experience in managing pharmacy operations has influenced the way I approach my work in the classroom.  For example, goal-setting and the use of visual reminders throughout a pharmacy helps improve metrics such as “wait time” or “inventory performance” over time.  I’ve applied this approach in my role as an assistant professor by posting my annual teaching, scholarship, and service goals on the file cabinet next to my desk and have created a weekly reminder in my calendar to update “progress” on each area.  This has enabled me to increase my teaching load each semester while simultaneously increasing the quality of the lessons.

In addition to self-critique and identifying areas of improvement following student evaluations, I value peer-review as a part of the process of continuous teaching improvement. This third-person objective evaluation helped identify a flaw in my story-telling technique for lesson presentation.  While my approach has been effective in capturing a student audience, tangential stories may distract from the overall message.  Identifying this weakness has enabled me to create a more structured approach to staying on topic.  While I have not perfected the balance between effective anecdote and unnecessary distraction, identification of the problem has enabled me to maintain awareness and attempt to catch myself during live lectures.

Developing strong relationships, building a teaching foundation grounded in original research, and continuously working to improve my approach has enabled me to transition from an operational business manager to a faculty member with some early success in the classroom.  However, it is still too early to tell if my teaching has truly made an impact on my students as very few are actual managers.  I hope to incorporate more feedback from alumni over the next decade to capture my former students’ opinions as they navigate the world of pharmacy business management to see where I have helped and to identify where I could have done more.

References

1.        Quinn RE, Rohrbaugh J. A Spatial Model of Effectiveness Criteria: Towards a Competing Values Approach to Organizational Analysis. Manage Sci. 1983;29(3):363-377. doi:10.1287/mnsc.29.3.363.

2.        Van Maanen JE, Schein EH. Toward a theory of organizational socialization. Res Organ Behav. 1979;1:960-977. doi:10.1.1.475.8533.

3.        Hirschman AO. Exit, Voice and Loyalty : Responses to Decline in Firms, Organisations and States. Mass Harvard Univ Press Cambridge. 1970:162. doi:10.1007/978-3-531-90400-9_48.

4.        Farrell D, Rusbult CE. Exploring the exit, voice, loyalty, and neglect typology: The influence of job satisfaction, quality of alternatives, and investment size. Empl Responsib Rights J. 1992;5(3):201-218. doi:10.1007/BF01385048.