Following is a brief summary of my teaching goals, philosophy and achievements.

Fink’s model of Taxonomy (Fink, 2003) of learning divides teaching into six dimensions which complement the entire teaching process to make instruction effective and beneficial.

 Planning and Organizing: Focusing on Outcomes

“Outcome-based education is a method of teaching that focuses on what students can actually do after they are taught. All curriculum and teaching decisions are made based on how best to facilitate the desired outcome” (Lorenzen, 2004)

I plan the course content and delivery around the learning outcomes and objectives of each course.  These outcomes define the degree to which students must acquire the knowledge and skills gained through the course. Furthermore, the students should be able to critically evaluate themselves and assess the teaching and learning process. In addition to the standard course evaluation at City Tech, I conduct an in-class formative assessment survey at the end class course using a polling software. Furthermore, I have also introduced an online summative evaluation of all my courses. As part of my doctoral research I conducted a program assessment for the years 2008-11 of all the City Tech hospitality management graduates. Such assessments have been strongly recommended the Accreditation Commission for Programs in Hospitality Administration (ACPHA).

Collaboration & Encouragement

“Collaboration is the social process that supports learners’ development of capabilities in which they learn to do without assistance things that they could initially do only with assistance. If learning really is a social process, then collaboration is required” (TLTC, 2003).

I believe that creating a collaborative atmosphere and providing an excitement during the teaching process is more effective than a regular lecture. For this purpose, I use various tools and components in the classroom such as films, field trips for place based learning, article review, case studies, group assignments, interviews and technology. These tools promote student engagement during the learning process and provide an understanding of the course in a broader scale. Most of all, it makes the course delivery using a team-based setting for the students with an interdisciplinary approach to teaching and learning. During the last 11 years I have collaborated with the Communication Design Department for the Menu Planning and Design course where the students from Hospitality Management and COMD come together to create customer ready menus. Additionally, I have presented and disseminated on these strategies at various conferences.

 Caring, Nurturing and Mentoring

I am a strong believer and proponent for developing professional and academic growth of our students. As a large section of the student population falls in the age group of 18-22, the need to care and nurture becomes imperative to the learning process.

In an industry such as ours it is essential that the instructor is not just a source of knowledge in the classroom but should also facilitate students in their overall academic and professional development. For example, In 2011, I mentored an undergraduate student during the research seminar class and a joint paper was accepted for presentation at the prestigious ASFS (Association for the Study of Food and Society) Conference. In 2016, another student driven research paper was accepted at the prestigious I-CHRIE (International Council for Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education) Conference. It was a rare honor for an undergraduate student to present at this research conference along with many graduate students, and faculty.

Using Current Resources and Technology:

“Education technology has been found to have positive effects on student attitudes toward learning and on student self-concept … this was particularly true when the technology allowed learners to control their own learning” (NSBA, 2004).

I am strong believer in the use of technology to augment the teaching and learning processes. All my courses are Blackboard enhanced including student grades and I extensively use emerging media and technologies to achieve this goal.  My work has been recognized by not only the students and faculty within the Hospitality Management department – where I am the designated mentor for online and hybrid learning as certified by the Online learning Advisory Council (OLAC) – but also by the college and university at large. In 2017, I was invited by the Provost and OLAC to share some of these strategies with the Deans and Chairs.  I have also served as the Chair of College Council’s Technology Committee (2012-2014), where I worked with the committee members to address the short-term and long-term needs of the faculty and the students, with respect to technology. OLAC Subcommittees upon which I served addressed various issues, which included “New Technologies” “Technology Literacy”, “College Council Website” and an enhanced Faculty and Student Survey.

In addition to the above, as a result of these initiatives, and my leadership at the College Council Technology Committee, its webpage was moved to “Open Lab”. Subsequently, College Council’s website also moved to “Open Lab”.

Application & Integration:

My goal is for the students to learn the requisite skills and knowledge in order to be successful in the hospitality and tourism industry. The achievement of learning outcomes for the course are an important piece of this process. For example, in many of the courses such as “Hospitality Research Seminar”, “Professional Alliances”, “Perspective in Hospitality Management” and others, I have encouraged critical thinking, researching and evaluating current issues and problems facing the industry. Students are also encouraged to collaborate with industry professionals while writing their research papers. In 2010, the research seminar course was picked up as one of the modules to be developed under the CUNY Hybrid Initiative (Grant) with a purpose to make it as a model course at the campus. Findings from the grant initiative were presented at the CUNY IT conference (2011). As of 2018, the Hospitality department was offering five to six sections of this course in the hybrid format every semester. I was involved in the mentoring process for the entire faculty that are teaching the course in the hybrid format.

Feedback and Assessment:

Feedback is a critical tool in continuous improvement and I am always receptive to feedback from the students and faculty on how to update the course material. For this purpose have utilized emerging media such as “Poll Everywhere”, “Survey Monkey”, Facebook and Instagram in order to conduct formative and summative evaluations during and the end of the semester respectively. A snapshot of these strategies can be viewed on my Teaching Portfolio under the “teaching Portfolio” tab (https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/amehrotra-portfolio/).

References

Enhancing Education @ Carnegie Mellon University. (2002). Developing your Teaching Phillosophy.

Fink, L. D. (2003). Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses [. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley and Sons.

Kaplan, M.( 2004) Center for Research On learning and Teaching. University of Michigan.

Lorenzen, Michael. (2004). Using Outcome-Based Education in the Planning and Teaching of New Information Technologies.

Montell, Gabriella. (2003). What’s Your Philosophy of Teaching  and does it really matter?. The Chronicle of Higher Education.

National School Boards Association. (2004). Technology and Impact on Learning.

Teaching and Learning Technology Center. (2003). Enabling Student Collaboration for Learning.