Teaching

Jacob draws from his experiences as an instructional designer and university lecturer to challenge, develop, and (hopefully) inspire student growth. He relies on a performative and Socratic yet constructive approach to instruction which seeks to engage students in their own learning, preparing customized learning activities and assessments which offer meaningful growth opportunities.

Jacob offers courses which are rigorous, demanding, but deeply determined to build each student to the degree of their own investment.

Prepared Courses

Boston College

Title: Organizational Behavior (MGMT 102108)

Semester: Fall 2021

Description: an introduction to topics related to organizational behavior (see syllabus below)

Teaching Evaluations: Fall 2021

Brief Reflection on Course Evaluations (Fall 2020)

I was frankly surprised at the degree to which I enjoyed the difficult yet rewarding challenge of teaching students during the COVID-19 pandemic. I found that students were eager to work and admirably conscientious in the fulfillment of their course responsibilities, despite the heavy burdens they endured.

Drawing from the students' insights and my own learnings, I have made the following goals for my efforts in future courses:

1. Improve Workload Management. I informed students from the onset of the semester that the course would challenge them, and it did - particularly in the amount of work they were required to do. The students surprised me with their commitment to completing course assignments, and I now see that I assigned them too much. I was nonetheless impressed with their dedication in completing their coursework effectively, but I believe that in future iterations, less is more.

2. Simplify Group Work. I organized a group consulting project in which students selected a specific challenge within a company to study and address. The ultimate output of these projects was first-rate, but students expressed desire to involve fewer submissions to gauge progress in the consultation. I also believe that seeking to utilize these presentation outside the class (i.e., attempt to parlay their work with their organizations of focus) could further improve this course activity.

3. Focus on the Individual. I sought to establish a sincere rapport with students from the beginning of the semester, and believe that we were able to achieve a safe and inclusive learning environment. However, I want to ensure that students from a variety of backgrounds and personality types have (and feel that they have) ample opportunities to learn substantive and important content. Thus, I hope to continue rapport-building efforts while also seeking ways to improve the course from students' perspectives.

I am humbled by the chance to have taught these great students, am proud of my efforts to build a customized, rigorous, and stimulating course, and eagerly await the opportunity to improve it!