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? Are there any life experiences that have influenced your teaching at UMUC? If so, please share one story.

Linda Smith

Like many people living in the Washington area, I was  curious about UMUC. I noted the interesting ad photos and the expressions on  student faces—and I was drawn to the different faces of learning at UMUC.

Then I learned from a friend that  UMUC was an “open university” serving a range of students—especially those not  following the traditional path of high school, then college right away—and I  knew there was common ground. I, too, came to my college career as a  nontraditional student, having parents without college degrees. Later, I  remember the big leap into graduate studies—a walk through an old oak-panel  hallway of an esteemed university I hoped to enter—and wondering how would I  fit?

I have a consulting practice that  provides me with “real-world” practice of the ideas, theories, and principles I  teach in MGMT 615 and 630. This business focuses on helping teams perform  better and leadership within teams, especially when there are aspects of diversity.  From my professional work, I believe all teams can build performance with  more attention to inclusion because people differ from each other. My consulting clients reflect the use of inclusion. They are  managers from associations, membership organizations, and foundations as well as leaders of independently-owned hotels, wineries, and other hospitality-sector groups.

For several years I have also  researched the paths emerging leaders and managers take to understand and apply  influence or power in smaller/larger groups or organizations. Our students, too, need to be effective users of influence because they are  committed to big dreams of success, which requires thoughtful, strategic skill  in communication and interactions. This interest  has added “zest” to my teaching at UMUC.

Interviewer:

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

Linda Smith

I’m a professor focused on the  practical with this question in mind: “What do adults want to learn about management-leading,  cultural differences and professional success?” I’m also consciously curious and  use actions, experiences, and examples (stories or case studies) along with recent  research to help people learn.  These  methods are directly linked to what’s known about how adults learn successfully  (a part of my formal doctoral research at Teachers College, Columbia University).

I’m a big fan of several people in  defining my teaching-learning philosophy. One of my favorite teacher-heroes is  John Dewey, who in 1906 wrote that “experience is the teacher.” I believe in  the importance of integrating research and experiences as learning. This  approach includes awareness and examples which are a part of your life story as  well as those activities which can be set up for particular examination in  graduate studies. Using an emphasis on both theory and practice means the  course work is “real” or grounded and explainable.

Another teacher-hero is Oprah  Winfrey, who through 25 years of television has informally taught viewers to listen/learn  authentically through their hearts in addition to their minds. My teaching is  best when I know my head and heart are engaged in the work, whether it’s  introducing the idea of distinctive cultures and their influence, or grading  assignments.

Interviewer:

What do you think it is about your teaching style that appeals to students?

Linda Smith

I offer belief and skill in  diminishing the distance between knowledge—the theory, ideas, and insights of  professional management and who we are as people—what you believe you want to  know for being successful as a manager and leader.

Students report over and over that  I’m passionate about what we are studying, and I do communicate that passion. I  believe the courses I teach hold ideas and options for changing your professional  life. Students also know that my idealism is tested and continues to be  so—course ideas or theories are examined through the lens of professional  experience and research so that students have the best possible material from  which to explore and learn.

Interviewer:

Do you teach face-to-face, online, or both? Do you have a preference between teaching face-to-face and online? If so, please explain.

Linda Smith

I teach both and believe in a  face-to-face and online class set-up or a blended course design to maximize  learning. At a very recent conference sponsored by the Conference Board-Duke  University, a  consistent researched theme was the effectiveness of a blended setting for  nontraditional students. This is what UMUC labels as a hybrid class and I think  the approach is especially effective for graduate studies which are  interdisciplinary, such as management courses.

I’ve taught both. I prefer a hybrid  or blended set-up because of the interdisciplinary, more complex quality of the  course material. I also recognize the need for decreasing drive-time/increasing  time savers as much as possible, which translates into offering management  courses online, too.

Interviewer:

Please tell us about your chosen discipline-i.e., what made you interested in the area initially? What do you do to stay current in your discipline? What do you like best about teaching in your discipline?

Linda Smith

People who teach leadership theory  and practice, coupled with cross-cultural research and belief systems within  the context of organizational behavior come from many professions. My  professional life or chosen discipline is like the MGMT 615 and 630 courses and  is a kaleidoscope of professional activities. My disciplines include more than ten  years of management of innovative projects/creating new organizations with  strong policy (political science/anthropology/sociology) interests, interwoven  with an early background in biology and sciences. My science training  credentialed some of my analytical skills, important to consulting clients who  want more than just the “soft stuff”. These interests were followed by graduate  research in the theory of exactly how do adults learn in groups (teams) using  important questions, or a process of critical thinking, expanded trust, and  collaborative inquiry. At the time I chose this doctoral research because it  seemed that team work, continuous learning, and inclusion were going to be very  important to professional management/leadership success. I’ve been proven  right, as well as have found wonderful ways of working!

These inter-linked topics of  learning, communication, and diversity of approaches are research within the  field of adult education or pedagogy. They can also be factors for examining  leadership models and decision science research—so interests nourish others in  my chosen studies. During graduate study and after, I added cultural belief  research/travel and consulting to my professional efforts for assisting  “troubled teams” of managers and leaders in various places—New Zealand, South  Africa, Ireland, and most recently, India.

I read and ask questions, interview  colleagues informally, often. This almost-continuous curiosity and applied  research are tied to consulting assignments which enables me to test what I’m  thinking.

Student questions also are a great  resource for staying current—and I encourage them in face to face sessions and  online conferences. I relish questions that don’t have easy answers and help me  research/explore solutions through work with others.

The thing I like best about  teaching in my discipline is our students! UMUC has such wonderful resources in  the range of students and their different interests, experiences, cultural  backgrounds, ethnicities, and learning styles. Uniquely, UMUC students are  adults with diverse backgrounds who are eager to share their observations,  opinions and world views. I believe our MGMT 615 and 630 courses are some of  the very best offered anywhere in the world because of our wonderful student  diversity, and that teaching them requires additional commitment to inclusion,  with attention to experience as well as important research and tested theory.

Interviewer:

What is the most challenging to you in teaching in this area? What teaching strategy do you use when you encounter the challenge? Are  there any special challenges in teaching this subject matter online?  If yes, please explain what could be done to  meet the challenges.

Linda Smith

One of the larger challenges for me  is working with both student desires to be successful and the professional need  to write well. Students often haven’t practiced enough written communication or  what’s needed to develop a logical analysis, while having important point of  views and very good ideas. There’s the need to break apart the process of  written analysis (writing papers) to help students add relevant resources,  enough discussion and examples so that their good ideas are “showcased” with  logic and from the students’ perspectives, tied to successful professionalism.

I also believe that it is of great value to integrate  writing skill into courses on leadership and management. There is a good match  for boosting management and communication, but it is challenging.

To meet this challenge, I offer students  specific feedback on the organization and presentation effectiveness of their  ideas in their assignments. This attention to writing helps the class members gain  skill for presenting their insights, reflections and interpretations. But this  attention to organization or what students call “formatting” is done with  awareness and respect. I start with recognizing important, descriptive  strengths of a student’s effort/hard work. Then, I help the assignment be  accountable to effective communication by providing specific comments to  describe how writing aids in performance and achieving success.

There are several challenges to  teaching an interdisciplinary course such as MGMT 615 or MGMT 630 online. One  of the most important is providing a wide enough range of compelling  situations, problems, solutions, and reasons which help students probe, push  into, pull-out of the subject matter/course material insights so that the learning  engages and is relevant. These management courses offer learning at its best  when the material has a “close at hand” quality.

Our online setting is this: people  can hold amazingly diverse sometimes separating experiences and they are at a geographic  and time distance from each other. So there’s an important paradox in teaching MGMT  615 and 630 online. I tackle that paradox and bridge its gaps by using and  encouraging lots of examples. Examples, case studies and anecdotes are a form  of storytelling. We humans are wired to listen and learn through stories of  observations and experience. Our MGMT 615 and 630 online conferences emphasize  stories for helping each person see how to make sense online or learn to  analyze, interpret, and see themselves applying recent research as well as  established theories.

Interviewer:

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

Linda Smith

• Expand your curiosity and become aware of when/where  you are asking questions—and ask lots of questions of yourself and others!     

• Step up and into projects that don’t have clear  outcomes or answers yet. Your leadership can provide those answers and meet  those objectives. Aim to try out almost any work assignment that offers  different locations, countries, people, or cultural settings.     

• Find mentors and ask about their experience—first, the  successes and then, the mistakes.     

• Write daily. Writing helps you to explain as well as  express your actions and your dreams more clearly.     

• Listen and respect always—others and yourself. Ask for  and share stories from experience as a way of listening and respecting.   

Interviewer:

In your opinion, what makes UMUC the college of choice for students?

Linda Smith

Commitments to innovation and  inclusion, coupled with a sense of wanting to serve people and ideas (knowledge  development) well is what sets UMUC apart. There is a history of doing these higher education tasks very  well, but with awareness that there’s always more UMUC can do to help people  learn.

Interviewer:

In your opinion, what makes UMUC the employer of choice for future faculty members?

Linda Smith

There is thoughtful attention to  what people have done professionally and how you have achieved what you have  accomplished in your career, which provides pathways for more innovative  nontraditional academics to teach and share practical wisdom as well as  important research.

In a reciprocal dynamic, the  global, diverse quality of UMUC students and their willingness to share, coupled  with technology activities, expands your knowledge for global  management-leadership options. Your class room experiences provide a foundation  relevant to your professional work across borders and through virtual  communities.

Interviewer:

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

Linda Smith

1. Seek out mentors. Aim to offer yourself as a mentor  (you will learn in surprising, wonderful ways as you share in wisdom) Peer-to-peer  learning can be a substantive part of your experiences as UMUC faculty, but you  need to be aware of how you engage in it.       

2. Recognize and use diversity and inclusionary  interactions often, with intention, for achieving team and project successes. Make  aspects of inclusion a part of your reporting achievements. (Note:  cross-cultural interactions are often not visible, but critically important to  success. They need more attention and are especially relevant to teaching  performance at UMUC).       

3. Reflect consciously (perhaps through writing) on  aspects of listening, empathy and informal learning as skills for vision—yours  and those you work with—to practice relevant theories of leadership and  decision making. This dynamic prepares you for teaching more than just the  relevant theories of management.       

4. Hold the mindset of learning as an aspect of leading  and vice versa, your leadership role within learning. You will be more skilled  at leadership-learning interactions important to UMUC management courses.       

5. Don’t forget your formal education credentials. Develop  them through writing, presenting, and course work that are interesting,  relevant to you and to people who can be in your classes. Know that UMUC’s  leaders also value these activities and will support you in them.