When I first became a college faculty member in 1972, I believed my responsibility was primarily to teach facts and rules about my discipline.  Now, 34 years later, my views have changed; I feel that professors should play a much more central role in the overall development of their students.  Most undergraduates only get a single opportunity to attain a college education.  For many, it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  Faculty members need to guide and motivate students to make wise use of this critical formative period.  Therefore, over the decades, my educational objectives have evolved to a more holistic approach:  (a) to generate in every student a genuine appreciation for the subject matter, (b) to provide them with a sense of the real joy of intellectual curiosity, and (c) to deepen their critical thinking skills. 

How do professors work to achieve their goals?  Until the summer of 1990, I relied on the traditional classroom approach.  I lectured to my students with an occasional question put forth, principally, to keep them alert.  By that time, I had received a number of teaching awards but I had become dissatisfied.  The results of my efforts did not appear to match my objectives.  Although I was a popular teacher, the only person required to do any serious thinking was me.  Student learning seemed to be tied too closely to my ability to explain rules and facts in an understandable fashion. 

As a result of this frustration, I quit lecturing one day in September of that year and have never returned to that approach.  Overnight, I switched all of my classes, introductory as well as advanced level, to a modified version of the Socratic method.  At the end of each class session, I distribute a list of 3-7 questions that will serve as the basis for our next discussion.  During the subsequent class meeting, I pepper the students with up to 50 questions that flow from the questions that they have received in advance.  “What is the problem here?”  “What are our options?”  “Which alternative appears to be most reasonable to you?”  “Did the previous student’s response make sense based on your understanding of the problem?”  “How does this issue affect anyone’s actual life?”  At times some of the questions might seem totally unconnected to the topic under discussion but I am trying to challenge my students to think about what they are actually seeing and, to use a cliché, connect the dots to arrive at sound, defensible conclusions.

For 50 minutes, three times per week, I work to make the educational process as active as possible with the responsibility for learning laid squarely on the shoulders of the students.  It is not my class; it is their class.  It is not my education; it is their education.  My role is to help engage them in their own learning.  My task is to sequence the questions I pose so carefully that the students are able to discover their own way through the complexities of the issues and problems in a logical and effective manner.

As a result of my experiences, I am a staunch advocate for the Socratic method.  I have given presentations at national meetings of both the American Accounting Association and the Federation of Schools of Accountancy.  I published an article describing my utilization of the Socratic method in Advances in Accounting Education.  I often have visitors observing my class including parents, administrators, and other faculty members (in disciplines as varied as History and Biology).  I have even attempted to incorporate this type of learning style in my own textbook writing through the creation of what has been called by one reviewer: “a conversational style of writing.”

A teacher, though, should do more than simply help students to think and understand.  I note, too often, that many seem to have lost the joy of learning by the time they reach college.  For that reason, I strive to be demanding of my students while still encouraging their natural enthusiasm.  Although the Socratic method can, at first, seem intimidating to undergraduates, I try to make certain that my students laugh at least once every class.  Students need to leave college with the belief that learning is a joyous and mind-expanding experience that they should relish throughout life.  Last fall, for example, I assigned my senior students to go to a local theatre and watch a French movie.  During the same semester, I took half of the class to see the play “The Furies” by Aeschylus.  I do not want learning to be limited to a classroom.  I e-mail all of my students four or five times each week to:  pass along information I have read of interest in a journal or newspaper, direct elements of their class preparation, assess what they have accomplished to date, and assist them in understanding and organizing the material that we have covered.  It is a 24/7 class.
           
I believe teaching styles evolve over time.  I am 58 years old and an eternal optimist.  I hope to have, at least, 17 more years as a professor.  I want to continue to help students to learn and think and grow as human beings and take great joy in every step of that process.  I can hardly wait to see what happens.