University Professor

University Professor

Professor or entertainer? Why not both? Who said learning and teaching can't be fun? They were for Artie and his students at Universidad Mayor. For the Fall 2003 semester, from March through June, Artie taught 14 modules of 1.5 hours each to over 40 students in their senior year of business school on Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings.

The theme was preparing for your career, including how to write a resume, how to prepare for and take (or give) an interview, and dozens of specific communications techniques to improve work performance.

Why the banjo? The first class began with some live bluegrass music and the question to the students "What do playing the banjo and taking an interview have in common?" The answers: preparation; knowing that at first it seems difficult, but with practice and patience it gets easier and eventually seems natural; it's a bit of a show; and your responses become instinctive with time.

Thus began a journey to share techniques for success in the real world.

Universidad Mayor is one of the newer private Universities in Chile. The school of Business, where Artie taught his classes, is located in the center of the city, not far from Artie's office, yet seems like a suburban campus with trees and a friendly atmosphere.

Even before the class began, Margy helped with a project to create special "gift pens," that would be given out the first day of class to each student who answered a question or participated in some way during the class. Every student got one, and the behavior of active participation was immediately rewarded. The pens had a special message, "SER," which in Spanish means "to be" but also served as a trigger for remembering how to answer questions during an interview with "Situación, Evolución and Resultado," i.e. provide the interviewer with examples of a situation where you had to demonstrate a specific skill, the evolution or resolution of the challenge with your contribution, and the result of your efforts, or success with that skill. This winning technique allows each student "to be" an excellent interviewer, and to become whatever type of professional they wish to be! Three months prior to that, Artie spent his summer Spanish classes, with Mónica's help, outlining each class, developing tests and activities, and preparing the detailed course work. Did we forget to mention that these classes were all taught in Spanish? A challenge!

At first, Artie made name tags for each student and photographed them so he could learn their names and faces. By the third class he knew them all and eliminated the name tags.

The classwork included a few tests, but also exercises where the students worked together to learn how to identify key behaviors for success, and to evaluate their own strengths.

Simulations taught key messages: Traveling "blind" is what it's like if you don't prepare for an interview.

Preparation reduces "fear," as was demonstrated with the use of a sharp knife and other props.

Interviews were a part of most classes, once the basics were taught. Students got to practice both how to conduct an interview (several of the students wanted to get into their own businesses, and would someday need these skills) as well as how to be interviewed. Artie and the rest of the class then critiqued each role-play with helpful tips to improve their styles.

The students organized a BBQ at the house of one of the other teachers, a psychologist, who taught back-to-back with Artie. It was a fun evening for the group, and a nice team-building activity.

Sharing philosophy and personal guidance was a special part of the experience. With a peso coin close to his eye, Artie tells about his father's comments when Artie was growing up. Pop said "If you put a penny close enough to your eye you can blot out the whole sun." Pop's point was that in life you need to have the right perspective, so things don't seem overwhelming. Maintain a balance between work and fun. This peso demonstration made the message memorable. Frequently, after class, the students would catch a few private moments with Artie for added guidance.

Artie took his Pop's advice for himself as well. He was thorough in preparation, and had fun with the activities!

This cartwheel, during his last Saturday class, was to remind the students to dare to be different, take risks, and enjoy!

	University Professor
	Professor or entertainer? Why not both? Who said learning and teaching can't be fun? They were for Artie and his students at Universidad Mayor. For the Fall 2003 semester, from March through June, Artie taught 14 modules of 1.5 hours each to over 40 students in their senior year of business school on Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings.


Universidad Mayor is one of the newer private Universities in Chile. The school of Business, where Artie taught his classes, is located in the center of the city, not far from Artie's office, yet seems like a suburban campus with trees and a friendly atmosphere.


Even before the class began, Margy helped with a project to create special "gift pens," that would be given out the first day of class to each student who answered a question or participated in some way during the class. Every student got one, and the behavior of active participation was immediately rewarded. The pens had a special message, "SER," which in Spanish means "to be" but also served as a trigger for remembering how to answer questions during an interview with "Situación, Evolución and Resultado," i.e. provide the interviewer with examples of a situation where you had to demonstrate a specific skill, the evolution or resolution of the challenge with your contribution, and the result of your efforts, or success with that skill. This winning technique allows each student "to be" an excellent interviewer, and to become whatever type of professional they wish to be! Three months prior to that, Artie spent his summer Spanish classes, with Mónica's help, outlining each class, developing tests and activities, and preparing the detailed course work. Did we forget to mention that these classes were all taught in Spanish? A challenge!


At first, Artie made name tags for each student and photographed them so he could learn their names and faces. By the third class he knew them all and eliminated the name tags.

		The classwork included a few tests, but also exercises where the students worked together to learn how to identify key behaviors for success, and to evaluate their own strengths.

		The students organized a BBQ at the house of one of the other teachers, a psychologist, who taught back-to-back with Artie. It was a fun evening for the group, and a nice team-building activity.

Sharing philosophy and personal guidance was a special part of the experience. With a peso coin close to his eye, Artie tells about his father's comments when Artie was growing up. Pop said "If you put a penny close enough to your eye you can blot out the whole sun." Pop's point was that in life you need to have the right perspective, so things don't seem overwhelming. Maintain a balance between work and fun. This peso demonstration made the message memorable. Frequently, after class, the students would catch a few private moments with Artie for added guidance.

Artie took his Pop's advice for himself as well. He was thorough in preparation, and had fun with the activities!

		This cartwheel, during his last Saturday class, was to remind the students to dare to be different, take risks, and enjoy!