“Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit.”
— John Steinbeck
Lehigh Business Undergraduate Faculty Teaching Excellence Award, 2024
Lehigh Business Graduate Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award, 2024
Outstanding Teaching Award, Tel-Aviv University (Israel), 2012/13
Outstanding Teaching Award, Tel-Aviv University (Israel), 2010/11
Business Economics (Graduate), Department of Economics, Lehigh University
Statistical Analysis for Management (Graduate), Department of Economics, Lehigh University
Intermediate Microeconomic Analysis, Department of Economics, Lehigh University
Intermediate Macroeconomic Analysis, Department of Economics, Lehigh University
Statistical Methods, Department of Economics, Lehigh University
Principles of Economics, Department of Public Policy, Master’s Program (MPP), Tel-Aviv University (Israel)
Principles of Economics, Department of Public Policy, Executive Master’s Program (EMPP), Tel-Aviv University (Israel)
Intermediate Macroeconomics II, The Open University (Israel)
Intermediate Macroeconomics I, The Open University (Israel)
Introduction to Microeconomics, Afeka College of Engineering (Israel)
Instructor of Statistics Fundamentals (Stat 100), offered by LehighX (under edX - an online education platform) as part of the Professional Certificate Program in Business Analytics Fundamentals for Data Driven Decisions
I do not just teach students – I make them think! To better understand the wide context of the material and its limitations, I encourage my students to actively and critically think through the assumptions, methods, and other building blocks underpinning the theories and research studies that we cover in class. The goal is to stimulate students’ minds and to promote creative, outside-the-box thinking (usually through active discussions), which is an important quality for an aspiring researcher, manager, and/or high skilled employee.
Selected comments from past teaching evaluations:
“Yuval encouraged us to think about problems using our own logic first and liked to consider multiple ways of looking at problems...”
“…The instructor also asked many different questions in class to make us think and apply our knowledge to different situations.”
“…and will let the students think for themselves so that they can understand the learning content better.”
Self-belief is known to be a powerful motivator. Believing in one’s abilities is essential for developing a strong sense of self-motivation. Hence, I use a little bit of psychology on students’ minds to instill confidence in their own ability to do well in class. I truly care about my students and am interested in their success, which often causes them to develop a strong sense of self-motivation. It pushes them to put in more effort in their studies and helps bring to fruition their maximum potential.
Selected comments from past teaching evaluations:
“... he has helped me gain confidence in my own ability to [do] the work. Previously, I have struggled in economics; however, Yuval helped me learn differently and more effectively which gave me the confidence to thoroughly complete my assignments and perform well on exams.”
“Professor Erez is one of the best teachers I've had at Lehigh, and he really helped me believe that I could get a good grade if I tried my best. He really believed that we can succeed.”
“He seems to have a vested interest in the success of his students, which in turn pushes us to do better.”
I believe that participating in class fosters deeper understanding, critical thinking, and lasting intellectual curiosity. Students retain knowledge best through active participation. Hence, I put a lot of effort in making my classes interesting, clear, and engaging for the students. In particular, I emphasize interactive methods such as problem-solving exercises, case studies, and open discussions. These activities invite students to grapple with complex material in real time and apply theoretical concepts to practical scenarios. Additionally, incorporating technology is also central to my approach to engagement. I integrate digital tools such as online polling, and multimedia presentations to cater to diverse learning styles, which makes classes more interactive.
Selected comments from past teaching evaluations:
“...Additionally, the constant in-class participation led to an amazing and collaborative learning space.”
“Yuval made the class engaging so that everyone paid attention...”
“The lectures are super engaging and so are the brain teaser questions.”
“His interactive teaching style and the back and forth between slides and notes was effective.”
My teaching philosophy aims at achieving another important goal – creating an atmosphere of equity and inclusiveness in the classroom. I foster an inclusive learning environment, free of judgment and bias, where everyone is treated equally with dignity and sensitivity. Notably, my teaching experience was the key to achieving this goal. Over the years, I have had the privilege to teach and mentor a large and diverse body of students. I had students from different majors with various levels of numeracy; students from different countries, ethnicities, religions, and age groups; students with disabilities (e.g., students with hearing impairment), minorities, and other underrepresented groups. As a result, from each interaction I grew professionally, learning how to better promote and maintain a rich and safe learning environment in which students feel comfortable to express their ideas, participate in class discussions, and ask questions.
Selected comments from past teaching evaluations:
“…I always share answers when I have them, and I feel super included and involved with the class because of how Professor Erez does his magic.”
“…Also, his habit of asking questions during class and addressing students by their names is something that very few professors do but that makes the students feel acknowledged and accepted in class.”
“This professor needs to be assigned Tenure, due to his incredible guidance of students inside and outside the classroom in an approach that challenges what means to be a professor.”
Head of the Neuroscience Team, Laboratory for Rational Decision Making (Prof. Valerie Reyna), Cornell University, 2016-2019