Learning from Our Students: Teaching Strategies for MBA Professors

Being a Master of Business Administration (MBA) instructor can be a satisfying, as well as a frustrating experience, but instructors can avoid becoming discouraged if they know and apply some important teaching strategies. In this article, the authors offer four teaching strategies that have made the difference between success and failure in the MBA classroom. These are: (1) understanding the students; (2) providing the structure; (3) determining the process; and (4) changing the approach. These strategies incorporate ideas and suggestions that reflect what the students have taught the authors about effective teaching. The authors also discuss the personal and professional lessons they have learned from looking for opportunities in difficult times. Throughout their teaching years, they have drawn on the resources available in the classroom, as well as externally in the community. (Contains 1 figure.)