I use various strategies to implement my teaching theory into my classroom. In the following sections, you can clearly envisage my course and classroom environment and how I transfer my teaching theory to practice. You will also see many samples that I create, as well as examples from my students, that help you understand the course structure and students’ learning outcomes.
Make Them Feel Something! (Affective Learning)
Breaking Ice and Building Rapport
I love to utilize the Flipgrid video application at the beginning of the semester. Video is the greatest tool to boost engagement and interest across all online platforms. This tool helps emotionally connect a teacher and students and increases student engagement, especially during this unprecedented time. For the first-day attendance assignment, I ask students to introduce themselves about their background, what they expect from the course, or how knowledgeable they are regarding the course (Figure 1). While forming rapport, I can gauge students’ level of knowledge on the course and adjust class materials accordingly. This is the first step of affective learning in practice in my class.
Creative Painting
I emphasize the role of creativity in marketing to see and solve problems in many different ways. However, merely saying is not enough. I ask my students to draw any cup in my class. While most students draw a similar view of a cup, a few take a very creative point of view (Figure 2). From this activity, they learn how to think creatively and to watch the surrounding world from multiple perspectives. Whenever I explain the importance of multiple perspectives (Figure 2 right), students realize and experience Aha! moment. These kinds of fun but realization-related activities help students engage more and learn from their hearts.
Fun Games to Fuel Up
Games are always good tools to engage and learn class materials. I use different types of games such as Jeopardy or Gasparilla contests to have fun with class materials. I usually make them into a team for the games since it helps students be more interactive and be supporting each other.
From Theory to Practice (Cognitive Learning)
Delivery
Syllabus and Rubrics: I believe that one of the important roles of a teacher is to lead students on the right track. The syllabus explains clear learning goals and what the course looks like. On the first day of the semester, I explicitly describe what this course is about, what I expect as a teacher, and what students will learn. In addition, I provide specific grading rubrics for group projects. I always give students room to be creative and flexible; however, clear rubrics help students comprehend what they should do to be on the right track. Please find the sample syllabus and grading rubrics here.
Class Structure: I create my lesson plans for all lectures very carefully to clarify learning outcomes and to keep students engaged and paying attention. Student attention spans may vary but are certainly limited under 20 minutes, and even more restricted with a passive learning state (Bligh, 1998; Bunce et al., 2010; Nilson, 2016; Wilson & Korn, 2007). I break up lectures into 10 to 20 minute-long mini-lectures followed by in-class discussions or pop-up non-graded quizzes. This class structure effectively helps students pay attention and actively learn. In terms of in-class discussions, they are designed to understand the concepts as well as apply the current concept to real-world problems. Therefore, students can self-assess their learning processes through in-class exercises. You can find the sample lesson plan and the corresponding sample lecture slides here.
Real-life Assignments
As I mentioned in my teaching philosophy, I believe effective learning should go beyond the classroom to develop skills that help students’ careers and life after graduation. My course assignments are designed to learn relevant knowledge as well as cultivate useful skills such as communication, analytical and critical thinking, and creativity while aligning with all levels of learning objectives of Bloom’s Taxonomy (Bloom, 1956). Here I describe selective assignments that I transfer my teaching philosophy to practice.
Case Study: The purpose of a case study is to apply knowledge to the real world and to rehearse the learning in different ways. Students learn best when they repeat materials but in different manners (Kress et al., 2006; Tulving, 1985). While students learn the concepts via lectures and in-class exercises, case studies also help rehearse learning materials and consolidate them as long-term memory. Please find the sample case study here.
Building a Blog: In digital marketing class, students should create a website using WordPress. WordPress is a content management system and an important tool in the digital marketing landscape. The goal is to employ digital marketing skills that are learned in the course by building a website, creating content, monitoring website analytics, and promoting the website through social media.
Digital Marketing Strategy/Problem Identification: I always give students a semester-long team project that students can integrate and practice the learned knowledge. In the real world, marketers work as a team to perform marketing strategies most of the time. It requires them to combine all knowledge and analytical skills they have learned in class to address issues. The team project asks students to evaluate a real firm’s current marketing strategy, diagnose and criticize problems, and propose creative solutions/improvements. Since it simulates a real marketer’s profession (i.e., a digital marketer or market researcher), students can understand how the concepts learned in class can be applied to the real world. You can find my students’ sample here.
Guide Students to the Bigger World
Guest Speaker: I invite guest speakers from various realms in marketing into my class including but not limited to a digital marketing manager, a content marketer, and a social media manager. Guest speakers can share their hands-on experiences with students and professional insights that I may not offer in the classroom. Moreover, since most students who take digital marketing or marketing research are juniors and seniors, it is a great opportunity for them to understand what kind of job they can take after graduation and what they actually do in the marketing field.
Advice on Future Career: One of the educator’s roles is to support students in moving forward to the bigger world. I have been willing to help students who want to continue studying or seek a relevant job even after the semester is over. I sometimes help my students connect to internship opportunities and encourage students to apply since this is a great way to practice what students have learned in the classroom. Additionally, some students of mine want to continue their studies in digital marketing at the graduate level after taking my digital marketing class. I, as their instructor, give them advice about their future direction and support them.
References
Bligh, D. A. (1998). What’s the Use of Lectures?. Intellect books.
Bloom, B. S. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives. Vol. 1: Cognitive domain. New York: McKay, 20, 24.
Bunce, D. M., Flens, E. A., & Neiles, K. Y. (2010). How long can students pay attention in class? A study of student attention decline using clickers. Journal of Chemical Education, 87(12), 1438-1443.
Kress, G., Charalampos, T., Jewitt, C., & Ogborn, J. (2006). Multimodal teaching and learning: The rhetorics of the science classroom. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Nilson, L. B. (2016). Teaching at its best: A research-based resource for college instructors. John Wiley & Sons.
Tulving, E. (1985). How many memory systems are there?. American psychologist, 40(4), 385.
Wilson, K., & Korn, J. H. (2007). Attention during lectures: Beyond ten minutes. Teaching of Psychology, 34(2), 85-89.