Faculty Recognized for Classroom Creativity and Commitment
When Harry C. Bentley established his eponymous School of Accounting and Finance in 1917, his impetus was innovation.
As Cliff Putney, associate professor and chair of the university’s History department, writes in his definitive account of the education entrepreneur’s life, Bentley was intent on “transforming the humble trade of bookkeeping into the respected profession of accounting.” It’s a mission he accomplished, in part, by reimagining classroom instruction; according to one of Bentley’s former students, “He makes his course so interesting that we all have to learn whether we want to or not.”
More than 100 years later, Bentley University continues to follow in its founder’s footsteps by supporting faculty in the development of instructional approaches that enhance student learning and engagement. The university’s annual Innovation in Teaching Awards recognize faculty members who demonstrate exceptional creativity and commitment in (and outside of) the classroom.
Here, we celebrate our 2023 recipients:
A required course for Management majors, “Interpersonal Relations in Management” (MG 240) emphasizes the importance of understanding and relating to others in an organizational setting through the facilitation of skills in reflective listening, emotional intelligence and conflict management.
In previous iterations of the course, students conducted listening activities outside of class, then wrote essays reflecting on their experiences. When Dr. Mateo Cruz began teaching the course, he sought a more experiential assignment that would allow him to directly observe and evaluate his students’ communication skills — and in 2022, he introduced Interpersonal Process Recall, or IPR, a structured method of peer coaching originally designed to train therapists.
During IPR sessions, students work in learning groups to assist a “client” — either a student from outside the class or a Bentley faculty, staff or alumni volunteer — during a private coaching session. Sessions are recorded, allowing groups to review the footage together afterward and discuss thoughts, feelings and behaviors observed during the exercise. These interactions help students develop their emotional intelligence through reflective listening, a technique that involves paying close attention to what a person is communicating through their words and body language and responding in a way that lets the speaker know they have been heard and understood.
“Many organizational problems can be traced to misunderstandings, hidden conflicts and failures to listen and respond to another person’s meanings, intentions and feelings,” Cruz explains. “IPR sessions give students an opportunity to systematically explore how others think and act in their varying organizational roles and to learn how individual differences affect motivation, career goals and approaches to authority — ultimately demonstrating that listening is a crucial managerial skill.”
He notes that the ability to communicate clearly, effectively and respectfully benefits students outside of the classroom, too, as evidenced by feedback from student surveys. As one student observed, “My approach to relationships with others has changed because of this class. Now, I understand the power the power of listening to understand, and I’ve learned how to build a habit of paraphrasing, reflecting meanings and listening for feeling words.” Said another: “IPR has taught me that when people express issues, I don’t always have to search for a solution. Sometimes it is more than enough to validate their feelings and help them to consider the situation in a different frame.”
As founding director of the CIS Sandbox, a technology social learning space best known for its comprehensive peer-led tutoring services, Mark Frydenberg — the only six-time recipient of Bentley’s Innovation in Teaching Award — is committed to offering Bentley students opportunities to engage meaningfully with cutting-edge technologies.
In 2021, Frydenberg introduced the CIS Sandbox Industry Engagement Program, a project-based initiative that pairs student tutors with Bentley alumni (many of whom were once CIS Sandbox tutors themselves) now working in the tech industry. Through semester- or year-long “micro-internships,” students work directly with alumni partners to complete innovative tech projects at each mentor’s respective company.
To date, seven students have participated in the program, working on a variety of projects — including data visualizations, employing augmented reality tools for robotics training and exploring the use of AI and ChatGPT to build language models to automate workflows — with alumni from six companies: Boston Dynamics, SEI, aPriori, Wolters Kluwer, LeanIX and Cumulus Data Systems.
Participating companies provide financial support for the program, Frydenberg explains, with contributions underwriting the costs of their assigned student’s tutoring responsibilities (roughly 6 hours per week) and an equivalent amount of time devoted to project work. At the end of the semester, students and their industry partners share their experience during a “Topics in Tech” presentation, helping to “further CIS education at Bentley and nurture a community of technology learners and future business professionals.
“Tutors report significant gains in their understanding of real-world applications of CIS concepts, and corporate partners praised the talents of our students,” Frydenberg continues, adding that at least one of the partnerships resulted in a full-time job offer for the student tutor. In addition to supporting students’ personal and professional growth, he says, the Industry Engagement Program “reminds us that all learners are teachers and learning is not limited to the classroom.”
Interested in participating in the CIS Sandbox Industry Engagement Program?
Email Mark to learn more.
For his “Global Strategy” (GB 410) course, which focuses on the role of senior managers in formulating and implementing both short- and long-term business strategies, Jeff LeBlanc “cooked up” a novel way to teach Bentley undergraduates the importance of corporate resource analysis.
Shortly after arriving at Bentley in 2022, LeBlanc introduced The Bake-Off, a competition where groups of students collaborate to develop a product prototype utilizing eight mystery “ingredients” — items selected to represent various tangible and intangible resources available to a company — contained in a sealed paper bag. The goal of the exercise is for students to think critically and strategically about the resources they’ve been allocated to maximize their fictional firm’s performance.
“Each semester, I go to a local dollar store to pick items to represent a company’s tangible resources, such as building blocks, pipe cleaners and even inflatable inner tubes,” LeBlanc explains. “I use notecards to write down intangible resources — things like brand loyalty, customer lists, and patents and trademarks.” Teams are encouraged to think creatively about their companies. “The end results are always fascinating,” he shares, noting that product prototypes have included theme parks, solar-powered vehicles, children’s board games and even a “condo complex that floats on air.”
After finalizing their concepts, teams pitch their product to a panel of student judges, who collectively determine a winner based on best practices they’ve learned about during the course. “The Bake-Off helps students understand that while all resources can be useful, they must be used in the proper way,” says LeBlanc. “Sometimes teams will find that, just like real-world firms, they’ve misused or wasted their resources, so they have to go back and re-evaluate their analysis.”
Student reaction to The Bake-Off has been overwhelmingly positive. “This activity increases student engagement and encourages classroom community. I’ve noticed a clear increase in connection and collaboration among students after each Bake-Off,” LeBlanc observes. “Plus, I know the activity has had an impact when I see my students take pictures of their creations to share with their friends. That tells me that they’re also thinking and talking about this topic outside of class. As an educator, that’s a real win.”
In “Concept Development” (IDCC 376), a required course for Information Design and Corporate Communication majors pursuing a concentration in User Experience (UX), Gaurav Shah — an adjunct lecturer and senior director of Bentley’s Academic Technology Center (ATC) and User Experience Design — encourages students to embrace design thinking, a creative problem-solving process that prioritizes human needs.
A concept pioneered by architects and engineers in the 1950s, design thinking today is widely used across industries for its demonstrated ability to facilitate innovative, human-centric solutions. A fluid and iterative process, it’s rooted in empathy and approaches a problem from the end user’s perspective, ultimately providing a holistic and nuanced understanding of consumer expectations, desires and pain points that enables companies to develop products and services that better meet their needs.
“My goal for the course was to emphasize active, project-based learning and create an immersive and experimental environment that fostered student engagement, creativity and innovation,” Shah explains. He accomplished this by having students work directly with external partners — including Z-Bat Sportstech, a manufacturer of cricket bats based in Mumbai, India, and Bentley’s Office of Information Technology (IT) — on real-world projects.
In addition, Shah introduced various techniques designed to boost students’ creativity, such as playing music to stimulate the flow of ideas, ending alternate classes with five-minute ideation meditation sessions and using digital collaboration/prototyping tools, such Figm and Miro, to facilitate in-class brainstorming. He also implemented experiential learning activities, enlisting students in a game of cricket, for example, to give them a better understanding of the sport itself as well as firsthand knowledge of Z-Bat Sportstech products.
Overall, Shah says, students appreciated and enjoyed the assignments and activities. “Working with a company in India to design an app to build community among its customers was a unique opportunity,” one student shared, noting that “collaborating with an international client to understand their needs and create a concept that aligned with their vision helped me further develop my project management and communication skills.”