Hui-Kuan “Alice” Tseng, an associate professor of economics in the Belk College of Business, is among the five finalists for the Bank of America Award for Teaching Excellence, the University’s highest teaching honor. The 2013 recipient will be named at a Sept. 20 reception; Inside UNC Charlotte is featuring each finalist in alphabetical order before the event.
Tseng has not always been an excellent teacher. She recognized that, as a newly minted Ph.D., she simply walked into the classroom and started lecturing.
“I bombed on my teaching evaluations the first semester,” she admitted.
She continued this way for a couple of years until she realized that she could use the same process that made her a successful researcher to improve her approach to teaching. The research process usually begins with an idea that is developed into a grant proposal for funding. To help reviewers understand the proposed project and its research significance, one must describe project design in detail. She applied the same steps necessary to design, fund, conduct and publish a successful research project to develop a series of lectures for her courses.
In applying this process to classroom practices, Tseng began her lectures by providing students with the objectives and outline of the class session. She explained her students should be motivated by the topic, and they should feel engaged. She organized teaching materials logically and provided a clear “road map” of each lecture to students. At the end of each class session, she provided a summary of the lecture and stimulated discussion about topics covered.
These efforts to refocus and improve her classroom performance were well rewarded. Not only did her teaching evaluations improve tremendously, but more importantly, she realized what was missing in her previous years of teaching: passion. For Tseng, teaching was no longer merely a job; it was a passionate endeavor that motivated her to continuously explore and initiate new strategies for engaging her students.
Tseng’s students noticed this newfound passion and responded positively. One student wrote, “Professor Tseng ALWAYS brings energy and excitement to class. She covers all the material in an effective way while still providing an entertaining lecture filled with stories that help relate real world examples with the topics that we cover in class.… [Dr. Tseng] has truly inspired me to further educate myself in the field of economics.”
Excellent teachers actively engage in professional development to enhance pedagogy and to remain current and creative in the disciplines they teach.
Since joining the Department of Economics in 1988, Tseng has been part of a core group of faculty that foster teaching excellence. She has served as a regular member and intermittent chair of the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee since 1992, playing an active role in curriculum development.
According to Jennifer Troyer, chair of the department, Tseng has “consistently put high quality undergraduate teaching at the top of her priority list.” For her outstanding commitment to teaching, Tseng received Mark and Susan Doughton and Jim and Hilda Hayes Faculty Pedagogical Research Grant given by Belk College, and she is a two-time recipient of the college’s Excellence in Teaching Award.
Tseng acknowledged that she has learned about teaching by watching her students learn and from experiencing her students’ appreciation of her effort to teach with passion.
“I have learned if you are passionate, you can make a difference in a student’s life,” said Tseng.
Read about other 2013 finalists profiled in Inside UNC Charlotte - Ted Amato, Kimberly Buch and John David Smith.