Faculty Excellence at UMUC

Interviewer:

Please tell us about yourself—what made you decide to teach at UMUC? What kind of work do you do when you are not teaching at UMUC? What life experiences have influenced your teaching at UMUC?

George Takacs:

When I was in Schweinfurt, Germany UMUC was the only school around. I continue to teach at UMUC because they provide many opportunities for professional growth to their instructors. UMUC's audience is the community of adult learners. I enjoy interacting with adults who are working and going to school. They seem very alive with hope and possibilities.

I like the intellectual pursuit that is involved in teaching. Exploring new ideas, creating new insights, and creating linkages with currently known knowledge is very energizing to me. To do this among a community of learners in the classroom always re-energizes me.

My wife Linda and I manage our own consulting firm called Takacs Techniques. I consult in the areas of Organizational Change, Team Building, Performance Management, and Management Development. I am currently involved with the implementation of DOD's National Security Personnel System and the Leadership Development Institute at the University of Maryland. I speak at conferences, write magazine articles, and have co-authored a book called Games That Teach Teams.

My experience of being a manager in the Federal Government, being an entrepreneur, and the Internet have been the biggest influences on my teaching at UMUC. All three have provided me different insights into the task of managing an organization and making it productive.

Interviewer:

Please tell us if you teach face-to-face, online, or both and explain what made you choose that format of teaching.

George Takacs:

I have taught both face-to-face and online. Currently, I am teaching exclusively online. I enjoy online teaching more because online students seem to be more disciplined in their approach to learning. The discussions in the online learning space seem to be richer because the students have to read the material to join in the discussion.

Interviewer:

What do you find most satisfying about teaching in your chosen format(s)?

George Takacs:

A major value added to teaching online is that you can interact with students who are located everywhere in the world. One has the opportunity to learn about different cultures and how those cultures affect the practice of management.

Interviewer:

What do you find challenging about teaching in your chosen format(s)?

George Takacs:

Trying to make all the technology available work on the WebTycho platform challenges me. There is also the challenge of trying to find students who seem to disappear from class. They are not in class and do not respond to my emails. This makes it difficult to know if they are still in class and should they be added to group activities.

Interviewer:

Please tell us about your chosen discipline�how long have you worked in or taught it? What made you interested in the area? What keeps you interested in the area?

George Takacs:

Business Management is my chosen discipline. I have been a manager for about 12 years and have been teaching management related topics for over 20 years. I have a curiosity about how people work together in an organization. I find it interesting to study what is known about how people interact in the work place. What keeps me interested are the new forms and models that businesses evolve into. Each generation brings its own challenge to the workplace.

Interviewer:

What joys do you experience in teaching in this area?

George Takacs:

My biggest joy is reading the work of a student who has obviously applied him/herself to the work. I also enjoy hearing from students who have been successful with the plans that they may have started in one of my classes.

Interviewer:

What challenges do you experience in teaching in this area? Please describe any special challenges you face if you teach online in comparison to teaching in a face-to-face classroom.

George Takacs:

The biggest challenge I face is trying to keep in touch with other instructors so that we can share ideas and knowledge with each other. Meeting and talking to other instructors was easier to do and happened more often when we had to be physically present to teach. The current faculty meetings do not even come close to filling this void.

Interviewer:

How would you describe your teaching style or philosophy? What experiences or person(s) have influenced your style or philosophy?

George Takacs:

I am Socratic and facilitative in my presentation style. UMUC students have significant life and work experiences. My teaching style helps the students draw some lessons regarding their life experiences as seen through the filter of the subject matter being presented. An instructor who only lectures may indeed impart knowledge in the student, but for how long? An instructor who is more facilitative in nature will teach the student thinking and reflection skills that will help continue the learning well beyond the time the student is in the classroom.

In the final analysis the most important questions for me, despite the technology used to teach, are: "Did learning occur?" and "Were the learning objectives met?"

Interviewer:

Please explain if you do something special or unique in your approach and how you developed that approach. What do you think it is about your approach that appeals to students?

George Takacs:

Since one of my areas of interest is Team Building I have developed many procedures to make group work successful in an online environment. I developed my approach by applying principles of good teamwork to the online classroom. I did this with peers when I taught Web Tycho Training and with students in my regular class.
Based on the feedback I received I made some changes and modifications. I also added some features that enable the team to stay on track.
Many students express the idea that while the group work requirements seemed to be burdensome at first the requirements did lead to one of their more successful experiences in working with a group online.

Interviewer:

What suggestion would you give to students who are interested in majoring or working in your discipline?

George Takacs:

I would tell students to have some practical experience in your discipline. Without real life experience in your discipline, learning can just be so many words on a screen.

Interviewer:

What suggestion would you give to new faculty who are interested in teaching in your discipline at UMUC?

George Takacs:

I would tell faculty to take advantage of the learning opportunities that UMUC offers its instructors.