TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

Teaching and communicating finance have become and important part of my life. It is my
belief that a teacher's main responsibility is to impart knowledge and skills to the students, to
foster their overall development as human beings. Being able to explain abstract financial
concepts to my students using simple economic intuition and explaining the practical applications
of these concepts gives me a lot of satisfaction. I have advanced my teaching skills through
teaching undergraduate level Financial Management classes at Tulane University.
My teaching experience consists of five classes, all Undergraduate Financial
Management, taught between the spring of 2010 and fall of 2011. I would like to stress that I was
teaching as an adjunct instructor, not as teaching assistant, and was completely responsible for the
organization of all the lectures, exam preparation and grading, and advising issues that were
related to the class. I am understanding and aware of issues that might arise in a multicultural
university. I also make an effort to understand students concerns and needs. Although my
experience in teaching is all in Financial Management classes, I feel comfortable teaching other
classes in Porfolio Management and Corporate Finance, at either the undergraduate, MBA/MFin,
and Ph.D levels. Since my background is in economics, and I have spent a few years taking Ph.D
level classes at the University of Wisconsin, I am able to teach economics classes in the areas of
Econometrics, Game Theory, and Industrial Organization, at both undergraduate and graduate
levels.
As a finance teacher, it is my opinion that learning the fundamentals of finance is very
essential. Equally important is the ability to think independently and critically about the
application of financial concepts in the real world. To incorporate these views, I structure my
lectures so that for each topic introduced, I start with the big picture first, and then delve into
the details of the topic. I also spend a lot of time explaining how the concept fits into the overall

scheme of things. I thus provide my students with a strong foundation of fundamentals in order to
prepare them for advanced materials.
I believe understanding the differences in the learning style of students is another crucial
aspect of teaching. The key is to relate to the students by initiating the lecture based on what they
know and then building upon it. Also essential is the use of simple and easy language which the
students can understand. During the course of my teaching, I have observed that some students
learn through active class discussions, while some prefer to learn in solitude. As a teacher, I am
attentive to these factors and adapt my approaches according to the student type. Further, the
urban student body at Tulane University is diverse in terms of cultural, educational, and work
backgrounds. Because of it, I start my classes with a quick review of the prerequisite instrumental
materials that will be needed in the class (in mathematics, statistics, accounting, etc.) Adjusting
my teaching pace and style to accommodate the needs of this diverse body of students has been a
challenging yet interesting task.

I have observed that students tend to learn effectively when the teacher is approachable
and the class environment is conducive to learning. Hence, I always make it a point to arrive 5-10
minutes early so students can ask questions and bring their problems to me. I have found this to
open up my students and make me more approachable. This also gives me an opportunity to
know my students better and get a feedback about my teaching style. For students who need help
beyond the classroom, I provide one-on-one assistance with the course material during my regular
office hours, and if needed, I provide them with more time outside office hours.
I believe teachers should consider themselves students too. I strive to learn new
techniques and skills to improve my teaching abilities. I have interacted with senior faculty who
taught the same course I was teaching and sat in some of their classes to learn some of their
teaching techniques. This experience truly proved to be beneficial to me.

I feel that a teacher should also act as a mentor and guide to his students. I have been
approached by many of my students to seek counseling regarding their choice of majors and
courses, or to obtain recommendation letters. Guiding them towards their goals and helping them
achieve their objectives gives me immense pleasure. I get a sense of satisfaction and
accomplishment when I see my students succeeding in their educational or professional goals. In
summary, I have thoroughly enjoyed my teaching experiences, and look forward to more
challenging teaching assignments in the future.