When I began teaching a few years ago, I eagerly experimented with many ways to encourage and motivate my students. I am lucky to have had excellent mentors both while earning my Ph.D. and when beginning my teaching career; thanks to my mentors, I quickly realized that it is not only what you tell your students that counts, but what they are able to take away from the classroom. A professor cannot learn for the student; therefore, the professor's most important job is to guide the student's learning.
In order to provide this guidance, I try to ensure a stimulating classroom environment from the first day. I use opening exercises at the start of each course to develop and promote a climate in which students actively engage in the learning process and interact with their peers.
I also try to teach difficult concepts in an easily comprehensible manner. Knowledge should be presented to maximize understanding and retention, and mental exercises can be used to make that knowledge both interesting and easy to retain.
I try to develop focused discussion in a way that motivates students to participate actively in their lessons. I believe it is the professor's job to find ways of stimulating the student's curiosity so that the student is motivated to ask questions.
I believe that working in groups helps students learn from each other. I try to vary classroom lectures with an occasional game or role-playing exercise to foster a supportive learning environment and to energize the classroom. It is also sometimes useful to supplement lectures with multimedia presentations, tutorials, chat rooms, and/or web searches. In this direction, starting from 2014, I had the opportunity, thanks to Bocconi University, to experience new learning ecosystems composed of classrooms, interactive methodologies, and new technologies being also involved in the production of the first series of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) in partnership with Coursera.
Finally, I always try to save a few minutes at the end of each class for a synopsis to reinforce the student's retention of the information presented. This approach helps students to reflect on the importance of what they learned and to set priorities for individual study.
Because finance is a constantly changing field, finance professors also need to be active learners. I change the status quo anytime a student reacts passively. I try to keep up-to-date about innovations in my field, and I am always looking for new ways to get involved in international research at some of the best universities in the world. I request feedback from students, and I encourage them to partner with me in finding personalized approaches to their own learning. This is my teaching philosophy.
