I have always been a proponent of the “think” method of teaching. While teaching the skills is necessary, it is definitely not the only reason to go to college. I was lucky enough to be assigned to a class at Penn State that lends itself nicely to this model of teaching. A few days a week I gather with a few bright young minds and we discuss some ideas in business. We ponder the big questions fo the day and look forward to the future: What exactly is vendor managed inventory? If it sounds so good on paper why doesn’t everyone do it? With any luck the students will be more comfortable telling me I am wrong and articulating why they believe this is so.
I knew that I was not the only person who had this view of the academic world and I am happy to see it appearing in a Scientific American blog. Maybe I’ll have students read this for the first day of class so they know exactly how I feel about the course they are facing down.
Credit to Janusz Wojcik, a Penn State/Smeal College of Business student, for bringing this article to my attention.