The global pandemic may have limited face-to-face teaching, but Associate Professor Marleen Dieleman (Dept of Strategy & Policy) showed social restrictions are no barrier in her quest to engage and inspire her students.
In spite of the physical restrictions, Marleen spared no effort in making sure her students received the best learning experience possible. This included bringing in guest speakers to interact with her classes, producing high-quality videos to convey information more effectively, and creating gamified online and offline learning experiences. Her efforts were recognised at the recent University Awards where she clinched the prestigious Outstanding Educator Award.
So what is Marleen’s approach to teaching? “I see it as providing students with a new pair of glasses, to help them view the world in new and inspiring ways. I try to personally connect with all my students and every lesson is designed around their learning experience, aiming to provide that “Aha!” moment,” explained Marleen.
Marleen shares three valuable learnings that have helped her in her teaching journey:
1) Always strive to do better
There are always new things to learn and we need to continuously invest the time to improve ourselves. Whether it be through hybrid teaching, gamification or developing new content – as educators we strive to be the best we can be. Being open to continuous learning shows dedication and professionalism, and students will notice.
2) Be a storyteller
Students love to learn through stories, and thanks to my research on what I often jokingly refer to as “Crazy Rich Asians”, I am blessed with a good business network. My work with them has provided plenty of anecdotes that give me a treasure trove of stories I can share. I use these stories to illustrate different concepts, and I find students tend to pay more attention and their retention is better.
3) Try new things
I aim to create a more immersive environment, blurring the boundaries between the classroom and the world outside. High-level guest speakers feature in nearly all my classes, and they help me bring the world into the classroom. Often, these are the same executives that were described in our teaching cases, and this helps bring the lesson to life and provides unique opportunities for action-based learning. I also encourage students to go beyond the classroom, and have tried different things like organising a competitive treasure hunt through Singapore that reveals the business stories behind famous buildings.
Read more about Marleen’s win here.