Energizing Your Teaching: Developing a Community of Learning

Abstract

This paper is based on comments made in a presentation at the 1998 Annual Meeting of the American Accounting Association. Dennis M. Hanno is the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Matters at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. INTRODUCTION Teaching is my passion, and it is a passion that energizes every aspect of my role as a faculty member. It helps to motivate my research because I know that new knowledge will be created and then, through teaching, shared with my students and others. In addition, outreach and service activities provide me with opportunities to teach more people than the students in my classroom, and to teach in different ways and in varied forums. Talking and writing about teaching is also an enjoyable and fruitful activity for me. Palmer (1993) argues that continuing, thoughtful conversation about teaching is essential to creating an environment where good teaching can flourish. I concur with his belief that “the growth of any skill depends heavily on honest dialogue among those who are doing it.” Faculty often labor in a private world of teaching, and this solitude can discourage even the most adventurous teacher from discovering and trying new approaches. We are fortunate as accounting educators to have a number of forums for active discussion and sharing of ideas about teaching, and my active involvement in this dialogue also helps to energize my teaching activities. Each of us brings different skills and a unique background to the classroom, and we are all faced with the unique environment created by our academic institutions and students. As accounting educators, we also may be involved in teaching a wide range of subject matter. I realize that as a result of these differences, the tips and techniques that I use to energize my own teaching, or to motivate my students, may not be effective for others.1 However, I believe there are certain common themes and guiding principles that underlie what we all do. In reflecting on how I stay energized, I believe it