March 1, 2013
Douglas Wills: No nostalgia for chalk and talk
“It’s not really about the technology.”
Douglas Wills
Associate Professor, Milgard School of Business, UW Tacoma
Dr. Wills, an associate professor in the Milgard School of Business at UW Tacoma, has been flipping his economics classes — both for undergraduate and MBA students — for years. As a UW Tacoma Tech Fellow, he also developed an online “Introduction to Microeconomics” (TECON 200) class during summer 2012.
Benefits of flipping: “Flipping the classroom opened up possibilities that have made teaching much more exciting and rewarding. To go back to the standard chalk and talk (or more accurately now, ‘PowerPoint and talk’) with largely unengaged students is now inconceivable.”
Benefits for the instructor: “I am much more involved in my classes, not only because the interaction with students is so much more useful and enjoyable, but there are so many more possibilities.”
Advice: “If you’re thinking of doing it to improve your teaching, then be prepared for a lot of investment of time and be prepared to innovate and experiment. There is a lot of value in learning from others about the technology (and no, it’s not really about the technology) and basic principles of hybrid/online.”
Why try it? “You only learn how to do this well by doing it.”
Learn More
Read the full Provost report on how UW faculty are enhancing teaching with technology.