麻豆传媒映画

Three faculty members from 麻豆传媒映画鈥檚 Fowler College of Business were awarded the college鈥檚 annual Teaching Excellence Award for 2024. Professors Shira Cohen, Ami Doshi and Nita Umashankar, were honored for their outstanding skill in the classroom and for their dedication to student learning outcomes.

All award recipients are selected by the college鈥檚 Faculty Development Committee based on a set of criteria. The award includes a $10,000 honorarium, recognition, and the opportunity to share teaching tips with Fowler faculty. 

Open the image full screen.

Shira Cohen

鈥淎uthenticity鈥� is the key to good teaching said accounting professor Shira Cohen. 

Cohen teaches Intermediate Accounting II (ACCTG 334) which she says is one of the hardest of 麻豆传媒映画鈥檚 accounting courses to teach. 鈥淚t鈥檚 usually the first course that our transfer students take at 麻豆传媒映画,鈥� she explained. 鈥淪o you have to read the room and be adaptable.鈥� 

Some of the ways Cohen motivates her students include: 

• Creating a comfortable classroom environment 
• Sending students reminders of their class milestones
• Motivating students with guest speakers

鈥淎ll guest speakers must have an undergraduate degree in accounting,鈥� said Cohen. 鈥淭his is so that students can envision a broader set of career opportunities for themselves.鈥� 

Open the image full screen.

Ami Doshi

To management professor, Ami Doshi, one of the key elements to teaching success is to create emotional connections between herself and her students, and for her students to connect with each other. 鈥淭his helps the students to better understand and relate to the material they鈥檙e studying,鈥� she said. 

Doshi emphasized the key issues in her teaching style including:

• How to use AI (especially ChatGPT) responsibly 
• Making the classroom a safe space for the free exchange of ideas

To encourage the exchange of ideas, Doshi has created a team development module where small groups of students learn how to work and problem-solve together. For their final project, each student team is assigned 鈥渁 boring topic鈥� and asked to make a humorous video about it. She said, 鈥淎t the end of the semester, the entire class gets to watch and enjoy each others鈥� videos.鈥� 

Open the image full screen.

Nita Umashankar

According to marketing professor Nita Umashankar, 鈥渢eaching is a blend of love and demands.鈥� For example, she said that while she has high expectations of each student, she also starts each class with gratitude and a sense of community. 鈥淥ne of the first things I do at the beginning of each semester is to ask the students to talk to each other,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hen I ask them 鈥榳hat do you like about the person behind you?鈥� This helps make students more receptive to the course material.鈥� 

Two of the things she is known for in her classes are:

• Learning each of her students鈥� names and expecting them to know hers as well
• She is known for 鈥渃old calling鈥� or selecting students at random to respond to questions she asks during class. 鈥淚t keeps them on their toes,鈥� she said. 

Getting to know her students has been one of the keys to her teaching success and it has also allowed her to work with them as individuals if she detects problems or issues. In those cases, she said, 鈥淵ou have to be willing to be brutally honest with them to get them back on track.鈥�