Hello, I am Rolly Kali-Rai, MBA PharmD. I am the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs and an assistant professor in the College of Pharmacy. I currently am also a member of Touro Western Division’s “Cohort A”. We are the TUC/TUN inaugural cohort of the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE)’s yearlong online course, “Effective Teaching Practices”. When Dr. O’Connor came to a faculty and staff meeting of the COP to speak about his online course I was ecstatic. I had been waiting for such a course. I am new to academia and welcomed formal training and development. The ACUE course has been amazing. It does require a fair amount of time outside of work however it has been so rewarding. The course has provided me usable tips and techniques that I are readily integrated both inside and out of the class room.
One of my favorite modules of learning changed how I fundamentally look at teaching in general. I started out as a Clinical Pharmacist by training however became a hospital administrator as my career path changed. For the last 14 years I have been focused on efficiency, management, and customer service. Recently a course module titled, “Using student achievement and feedback to improve teaching”, made me rethink what I thought I knew about teaching. I learned about really listening to my customers and how their feedback changed the way I delivered my product to them and what that product looked like and how it fulfilled their needs. Teaching was more than me standing in front of a class of “eager” learners, depending on their intrinsic abilities and or desires to learn content. It was about me delivering content that was valued in a way that was received by each student and made their own. It was about empowering them with skills and knowledge while they headed down a career path that I personally love. Teaching was dynamic and it was a two way interaction. Who knew, student achievement was not a test of what they know but also a reflection of how well the message was delivered, received and incorporated into usable knowledge of their own.
The entire course has been full of gems such as the module on student feedback. Each module I walk away feeling more confidant and empowered to make change. I know when I came to Touro it was to give back but I never thought I would receive so much more in return. If you get the chance please do take the course and spend some time with Dr. O’Connor, the two together have been priceless for me. Well time to focus on next week’s module. Who knew, lifelong learning could be fun.