Teaching Tip: Be an ambassador for your discipline
September 15, 2015
Each time you meet with a student or give a presentation is a chance for you to champion your area of study. How many students take one class as an elective and later decide to change majors? Those who are unacquainted with your subject may have outdated and incomplete ideas about it. They may not be aware of how your discipline has contributed to our understandings and practices.
Amy Cooper, an accounting instructor in UAF’s School of Management, uses the example of Frank Wilson’s work with the Internal Revenue Service. Wilson’s accounting scrutiny finally brought the notorious gangster Al Capone to justice on charges of tax evasion in 1931. Cooper says such examples interest not only the general public but also intermediate undergraduates who might be looking for a specialty.
Highlighting unusual job opportunities for degree holders in your subject can also get some to consider it as a field for study. In July, Forbes wrote about the growing need for liberal arts majors in the tech industry.
-- Teaching Tip by Dan LaSota, UAF eLearning instructional designer
Read the full Teaching Tip on iTeachU for more ways to be an ambassador for your discipline.