The first week of the new semester went much better than I had expected given the short preparation time I had due to the Montreal excursion. A few observations worth noting.
First, the students in my three courses seem far more engaged and responsive. I focused the first week on student engagement and employed some new techniques shared with me at a gathering of marketing professors hosted by McGraw-Hill. The “What Do You Know?” quizzes appeared to be most successful.
Second, the contribution of an energetic, committed teaching assistant is invaluable. This academic year is the first time I have been offered a TA and Nicole Gogan has exceeded my expectations.
Finally, I have deployed some new technology and learning support systems to provide my students with greater access and support for course content, self-learning and assessment tools, lecture podcasts and other techniques. Since I have been tasked with developing some on-line courses, I am hoping the use of these systems will both enhance the in-class experience and assist in the development of the on-line or hybrid courses for the future.
