TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

Teaching and communicating finance have become and important part of my life. It is my

belief that a teacher's main responsibility is to impart knowledge and skills to the students, to

foster their overall development as human beings. Being able to explain abstract financial

concepts to my students using simple economic intuition and explaining the practical applications

of these concepts gives me a lot of satisfaction. I have advanced my teaching skills through

teaching undergraduate level Financial Management classes at Tulane University.

My teaching experience consists of five classes, all Undergraduate Financial

Management, taught between the spring of 2010 and fall of 2011. I would like to stress that I was

teaching as an adjunct instructor, not as teaching assistant, and was completely responsible for the

organization of all the lectures, exam preparation and grading, and advising issues that were

related to the class. I am understanding and aware of issues that might arise in a multicultural

university. I also make an effort to understand students’ concerns and needs. Although my

experience in teaching is all in Financial Management classes, I feel comfortable teaching other

classes in Porfolio Management and Corporate Finance, at either the undergraduate, MBA/MFin,

and Ph.D levels. Since my background is in economics, and I have spent a few years taking Ph.D

level classes at the University of Wisconsin, I am able to teach economics classes in the areas of

Econometrics, Game Theory, and Industrial Organization, at both undergraduate and graduate

levels.

As a finance teacher, it is my opinion that learning the fundamentals of finance is very

essential. Equally important is the ability to think independently and critically about the

application of financial concepts in the real world. To incorporate these views, I structure my

lectures so that for each topic introduced, I start with the “big picture” first, and then delve into

the details of the topic. I also spend a lot of time explaining how the concept fits into the overall

scheme of things. I thus provide my students with a strong foundation of fundamentals in order to

prepare them for advanced materials.

I believe understanding the differences in the learning style of students is another crucial

aspect of teaching. The key is to relate to the students by initiating the lecture based on what they

know and then building upon it. Also essential is the use of simple and easy language which the

students can understand. During the course of my teaching, I have observed that some students

learn through active class discussions, while some prefer to learn in solitude. As a teacher, I am

attentive to these factors and adapt my approaches according to the student type. Further, the

urban student body at Tulane University is diverse in terms of cultural, educational, and work

backgrounds. Because of it, I start my classes with a quick review of the prerequisite instrumental

materials that will be needed in the class (in mathematics, statistics, accounting, etc.) Adjusting

my teaching pace and style to accommodate the needs of this diverse body of students has been a

challenging yet interesting task.

I have observed that students tend to learn effectively when the teacher is approachable

and the class environment is conducive to learning. Hence, I always make it a point to arrive 5-10

minutes early so students can ask questions and bring their problems to me. I have found this to

open up my students and make me more approachable. This also gives me an opportunity to

know my students better and get a feedback about my teaching style. For students who need help

beyond the classroom, I provide one-on-one assistance with the course material during my regular

office hours, and if needed, I provide them with more time outside office hours.

I believe teachers should consider themselves students too. I strive to learn new

techniques and skills to improve my teaching abilities. I have interacted with senior faculty who

taught the same course I was teaching and sat in some of their classes to learn some of their

teaching techniques. This experience truly proved to be beneficial to me.

I feel that a teacher should also act as a mentor and guide to his students. I have been

approached by many of my students to seek counseling regarding their choice of majors and

courses, or to obtain recommendation letters. Guiding them towards their goals and helping them

achieve their objectives gives me immense pleasure. I get a sense of satisfaction and

accomplishment when I see my students succeeding in their educational or professional goals. In

summary, I have thoroughly enjoyed my teaching experiences, and look forward to more

challenging teaching assignments in the future.