A teacher can be effective in many different ways, and what works for one teacher may not work for another. After years of teaching and observing what effective teachers do, I have established my teaching philosophy around three key principles: a) students learn effectively when they are actively engaged and take ownership of their learning, b) students are motivated to engage when they have a genuine interest in the subject matter, and c) timely constructive feedback amplifies the positive effects of the first two.
I worked hard to improve my teaching skills throughout my years first as a PhD student at Carnegie Mellon University then as an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota. I participated in many workshops on course design, syllabus development, student motivation and evaluation, active learning, case-based teaching, multimedia presentations, online course design, and TurningPoint (clickers). In 2009, I completed the Early Career Teaching Program offered by the Center for Educational Innovation at the University of Minnesota.
Over the years, I have developed a diverse teaching portfolio, with courses at all levels from undergraduate to MBA and PhD. I have taught large, required courses with 90 to 120 students and designed several electives on social media for students at various levels.
Here are a list of courses that I have taught:
IDSC 3001 Information Systems for Business Processes and Management (up to 120 undergraduate)
This course is designed to provide a broad coverage of what a business manager and worker should know about information systems. The focus is not about programming or website construction. It is about understanding how information technology has transformed business processes, and how IT-enabled innovations improve individual and organizational effectiveness. Together, we examine issues related to business use of information technologies. Through a combination of readings, discussions, and in-class exercises, we study: (i) the role and impact of IT on organizational strategy and performance, (ii) basic IT technologies, components and functions, (iii) the use of IT to support business operations, customer relationship management, managerial decision making, and team collaboration, (iv) emergent technological trends, and (v) social and ethical issues associated with IT such as privacy, compliance, and rules to follow in collecting and sharing customer data.
Web 2.0: The Business of Social Media (MBA and undergraduate)
Over the past decade, social media technologies have profoundly changed how we live, work, and do business. In recent years, many companies launched social media initiatives to connect with customers, suppliers, and employees. Despite thousands to millions of dollars invested, success is not guaranteed. Why? What opportunities and challenges do businesses face in using social media to collaborate, innovate, manage and market their products? How can businesses adapt to embrace and leverage the opportunities? This course is designed to answer these questions. Through a combination of readings, class and online discussion, cases analyses, and hands-on projects, we examine (i) the principles of peer production and the Wikinomics model enabled by social media technologies, (ii) guidelines and best practices of how to leverage social media to engage customers and build brand loyalty, (iii) rules of open innovation and how businesses can use crowdsourcing to solve problems and improve their products and services, (iv) new ways of collaboration and how social media shapes organizational work, culture, and structure, and (v) challenges and risks in working with social media and how businesses can safeguard themselves and their employees with proactive planning and preparation.
Research Seminar on Social Media and Online Communities (PhD)
This course is designed to equip students with theories and methods to critically think and theorize around phenomena related to social media and online communities. We cover key topics in motivation, contribution, identity, collaboration and innovation, social networks, leadership, community dynamics and evolution. We also review a wide range of commonly used research methods, both qualitative and quantitative ones, discuss the choice of appropriate methods for a given research question, and explore some of the latest methodological trends. Toward the end of the course, students formulate your own opinion about the breadth and significance of the phenomena and develop their own research project.
Organizations (80 undergraduates)
I taught this course at Carnegie Mellon University as a PhD student, my first instructor experience. The goal of this course is to help students understand individual behavior, work groups, and organizations. The course has seven parts: (1) individuals in organizations and how they make decisions, (2) work groups, how groups make decisions, and what group processes lead to group effectiveness, (3) organizations as operating entities and the influence of structure, technology, and operating procedures on organizational performance, (4) an economic perspective on organizations and the concept of bureaucracy, (5) learning organizations and social networks in organizations, (6) organizational culture and organizational change, and (7) the importance of the environment for organizations and examines organizations at the inter-organizational level.
I worked hard to improve my teaching skills throughout my years first as a PhD student at Carnegie Mellon University then as an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota. I participated in many workshops on course design, syllabus development, student motivation and evaluation, active learning, case-based teaching, multimedia presentations, online course design, and TurningPoint (clickers). In 2009, I completed the Early Career Teaching Program offered by the Center for Educational Innovation at the University of Minnesota.
Over the years, I have developed a diverse teaching portfolio, with courses at all levels from undergraduate to MBA and PhD. I have taught large, required courses with 90 to 120 students and designed several electives on social media for students at various levels.
Here are a list of courses that I have taught:
IDSC 3001 Information Systems for Business Processes and Management (up to 120 undergraduate)
This course is designed to provide a broad coverage of what a business manager and worker should know about information systems. The focus is not about programming or website construction. It is about understanding how information technology has transformed business processes, and how IT-enabled innovations improve individual and organizational effectiveness. Together, we examine issues related to business use of information technologies. Through a combination of readings, discussions, and in-class exercises, we study: (i) the role and impact of IT on organizational strategy and performance, (ii) basic IT technologies, components and functions, (iii) the use of IT to support business operations, customer relationship management, managerial decision making, and team collaboration, (iv) emergent technological trends, and (v) social and ethical issues associated with IT such as privacy, compliance, and rules to follow in collecting and sharing customer data.
Web 2.0: The Business of Social Media (MBA and undergraduate)
Over the past decade, social media technologies have profoundly changed how we live, work, and do business. In recent years, many companies launched social media initiatives to connect with customers, suppliers, and employees. Despite thousands to millions of dollars invested, success is not guaranteed. Why? What opportunities and challenges do businesses face in using social media to collaborate, innovate, manage and market their products? How can businesses adapt to embrace and leverage the opportunities? This course is designed to answer these questions. Through a combination of readings, class and online discussion, cases analyses, and hands-on projects, we examine (i) the principles of peer production and the Wikinomics model enabled by social media technologies, (ii) guidelines and best practices of how to leverage social media to engage customers and build brand loyalty, (iii) rules of open innovation and how businesses can use crowdsourcing to solve problems and improve their products and services, (iv) new ways of collaboration and how social media shapes organizational work, culture, and structure, and (v) challenges and risks in working with social media and how businesses can safeguard themselves and their employees with proactive planning and preparation.
Research Seminar on Social Media and Online Communities (PhD)
This course is designed to equip students with theories and methods to critically think and theorize around phenomena related to social media and online communities. We cover key topics in motivation, contribution, identity, collaboration and innovation, social networks, leadership, community dynamics and evolution. We also review a wide range of commonly used research methods, both qualitative and quantitative ones, discuss the choice of appropriate methods for a given research question, and explore some of the latest methodological trends. Toward the end of the course, students formulate your own opinion about the breadth and significance of the phenomena and develop their own research project.
Organizations (80 undergraduates)
I taught this course at Carnegie Mellon University as a PhD student, my first instructor experience. The goal of this course is to help students understand individual behavior, work groups, and organizations. The course has seven parts: (1) individuals in organizations and how they make decisions, (2) work groups, how groups make decisions, and what group processes lead to group effectiveness, (3) organizations as operating entities and the influence of structure, technology, and operating procedures on organizational performance, (4) an economic perspective on organizations and the concept of bureaucracy, (5) learning organizations and social networks in organizations, (6) organizational culture and organizational change, and (7) the importance of the environment for organizations and examines organizations at the inter-organizational level.
