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.

Ron Benson

The decision to teach at UMUC was a  culmination of several things. After fifteen  years in industrial positions interspersed with a 20 year academic career including  administrative positions through business college dean, I accepted an early  retirement program. After a few years of  trying various things that did not work for me, I decided to return to teaching. In the early 1990s, I was part of a research  project partially funded by IBM to create one of the first advanced technology classrooms  in the U.S., so I had a background and interest in applying technology to  education. So I focused on online  education and obtained part time positions at four online universities. Gradually I migrated to full time teaching at  UMUC.

In the last few years I have discontinued  consulting and work on do-it-yourself activities at our 1730s era home and 2.5 acres of  grass and gardens.  My Labrador and I also hike  in the Connecticut woods a few times per week as time and weather permits.

Interviewer:

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

Ron Benson

My overall teaching philosophy is  one of “continuous improvement” and involves constant questioning. What is working and not working?  What  alternatives can be used to improve student knowledge and knowhow so to make students  more effective persons, employees, and citizens? What alternative modes of presentation can be  used to support differing learning modes? How can one be visible in the class  room without making the course about “me?” How can every assignment and conference serve a useful purpose so student  time is not wasted? How can I use my time more efficiently and effectively?

Describing my teaching style is  more difficult. I guess I just try to be  myself. I try to be there when and as  needed and promote a learning community environment. I try to make every  activity have a purpose and be a learning experience with a minimum of busy  work. I try to use small cumulative  learning assignments that end in a substantial accomplishment of which the  student can be proud, although this is not always possible.

My “continuous improvement”  background formally started (I have always been a tinkerer) with my industrial  engineering undergraduate degree.  Engineering in general and industrial engineering in particular has a  focus on improvement. My work life revolved around systems analysis and design,  which inherently has a continuous improvement focus. My teaching and professional life became  highly involved in quality improvement, which essentially formalized continuous  improvement methods.

As important, if not more so,  is a series of teachers from high school through the Ph.D. program.  There were particular faculty members in each  degree program that were challenging, maintained their focus on the student,  and helped me to stay focused.

Interviewer:

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

Ron Benson

Student comments probably provide the best answer for  this, such as: “The course was really hard, but I have never learned more in a  course”;  “Thanks for getting back to me  so soon!”; and  “I am using the content  from this course at my job already.”  I  think that my approach of using frequent short assignments that build on  previous assignments works well for students as they provide prompt feedback  that can be practiced immediately in following assignments.

I  try to be cognizant that students learn in different ways. This semester I  added videos and became aware that video presentations work well for many more  students than I expected. Many students made comments like, “The videos you  provided really helped” and “I wish more faculty offered videos.”  In contrast, I personally do not learn well  from videos or lectures (give me a book!).

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.

Ron Benson

I taught face-to-face for about 20  years, and now have taught online courses for about six years. I much prefer online courses for a  few reasons. First is that a few vocal  students do not dominate the classroom. Everyone  can be involved. Students have time to  think about a question or problem before responding, which is much more  educational.Written content and  conference questions enable retaining and making improvements from semester to  semester.

A major advantage of online  education is that contact is not limited to a few hours a week and at a time  and place that may not be convenient. Add to this that it can be more effective  and you have a win-win situation. Also, effective online teaching  does not require one to be a gifted speaker and constantly “up.” Writing forces  one to organize and think in greater depth.

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?

Ron Benson

A high school teacher returned one  of my sophomore algebra papers with the comment at the top, “There is a fine School  of Engineering at Iowa City for students like you.” From then on, that was the plan. I was always  interested in technology; I have one engineering and two management  degrees. Technology management is a  natural fit.

Mostly, I read a lot to stay current. I subscribe to professional publications such  as Business Week, Technology Review and McKinsey Quarterly. I search for articles in the academic journals  each semester as I update my reading lists. I read a couple technical books each year.  And I also read historical fiction as I find  time, and it is equally valuable in a subtle way. I try to note what is happening in the  technological world and was very active in professional organizations such as  the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, Association for Quality Management and  Institute for Supply Management. I  receive a daily executive briefing from the Society of Manufacturing  Engineers. While I am not an early  adaptor of new technology anymore, I do stay current.

Technology management content is  interesting and always changing and the students are interesting and always  different. Designing and being creative  is inherent in technology management as it is a dynamic area.

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.

Ron Benson

The challenging part is to create a  course and course environment that both stimulates and educates students with  current and relevant content. I thrive  on this. If one considers “challenging”  to mean the most difficult, it is grading conferences, assignments, and exams  for over a 100 students. It is very  tedious. I try to do some grading  everyday to spread out the pain. I am  not a detail person and grading requires this capability.

I have not found that the content  of any courses that I have taught online as being more challenging to teach online  than face-to-face. In fact they probably  are less challenging as online technology offers additional capabilities to  draw upon, although online teaching is substantially more time consuming. 

Moore’s Law (theory) suggests that  technology capabilities double every eighteen months and it is challenging for  online education to keep up this technological pace. Additional encouragement, emphasis and  evaluation/rewards need to be made to stimulate creativity and experimentation  in the course room so that we keep current with student expectations. The goal should not be to make it seem like  the old face-to-face classroom, but to educate in a more technologically  effective way. Competition for online  students is particularly keen since there are so many alternatives readily  available, so a competitive edge must be maintained. This is a major challenge.

Interviewer:

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

Ron Benson

Students who select Technology  Management should first make certain you enjoy and seek working with technology  and technology change. If you are  uncomfortable with being in situations of regular change, then it may not be  for you. If you have little interest in  knowing how things work and making them work better, it may not be for  you. In general, make sure technology is  what you want to do, not that it sounds cool. Also, being committed to lifelong  learning is essential, otherwise you will become obsolete quickly. Understand that the goal of education is  learning, not only résumé building.

Interviewer:

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

Ron Benson

To me, UMUC just has a comfortable  feeling. The students are interesting and motivated, and are here to get an  education. You can feel the faculty  members’ strong commitment to students and it is more than just words.  UMUC just seems to “have their act together.”

Interviewer:

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

Ron Benson

Same as above; UMUC seems to “have  their act together.” I have taught at  seven universities including several online ones, and I prefer UMUC to all of  them. It is hard to point to any  particular reason. An important  consideration is that UMUC employs faculty as educators, not just course facilitators. It is like buying a car or clothes where when  you drive it or wear it, you can instinctively feel if it fits for you. I know of some that would not find a good fit  at UMUC.

Interviewer:

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

Ron Benson

Read and learn about online  teaching. Keep in touch with the real  world. Be flexible, creative and  persistent. Be aware that it is time  consuming.