Teaching Philosophy
My teaching philosophy is focused on students developing six key skills for their professional and personal success. These include: life skills, societal skills, communication skills, technical skills, analytical skills, and leadership skills.
It is through this framework that I provide my students an academic experience that is dynamic, practical, and challenging.
My Education
My education is focused in the Management discipline. I use my education as a lifelong student of Management and Leadership to provide my students with an educational experience that is rich in scholarship as well as practical to the current business marketplace.
My undergraduate degree is a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration – Management from West Virginia University. During my undergraduate years, my focus was on developing my skill set for academic, professional, and personal success.
After working for several years as a corporate trainer and operations manager for a restaurant chain, I decided it was time to take my thinking from tactical to a more formalized strategic perspective. I investigated several top tier MBA programs before I chose the Master of Management in Hospitality program at the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University.
I am fortunate and grateful to have been able to use my education to develop myself in my professional career and personal life. The outcomes that I have realized through my education I pass on to my students and challenge them to make the most of their time in their academic careers, and to build their collection of skills for their success.
Course Preparations
Students who take my courses experience an increased level of engagement in the subject matter. As a result of my enthusiasm and personality, my meticulous course preparation and organization, and my teaching style and methodology, students see my courses as a valuable experience in their overall learning and development.
These results come from my diligence in a variety of core higher education characteristics.
My Teaching Focus
I provide my students with lessons that are creative and offer depth into the course topic. I use a variety of methodologies to communicate the lesson, including student reflection, video, class activities, field trips, guest speakers, and online learning. As supplements to the text, I use research articles and cases from leading business industry journals and current world news events for class discussion.
My communication style with my students can best be described as respectful, clear and timely. I treat each of my students as individuals who bring a unique combination of skills and talents to the course, and as such, treat them with respect as aspiring business leaders, not as children. I strive to clearly communicate my expectations with regard to course assignments, classroom norms and assignment feedback. I appreciate the amount of work it takes for students to complete assignments, and attempt to return assessed work as soon as possible, while giving each student’s assignment the consideration it deserves.
Students report an increased level of interest in the subject matter in my courses. My energetic, participative teaching style encourages students to think critically about the topic at hand. I repeatedly stress to students that the goal is not to “get the right answer” but instead to challenge ourselves in HOW we came to a certain hypothesis and what evidence supports the students own perspectives on the subject matter.
During my many years teaching at the college level, students have commented to me on the amount of time and energy they devote to my courses. This has included preparation for class, completion of assignments, and outside research. While a challenge to manage during the academic term, students have also communicated their appreciation for my desire to provide them with a course that is “worth the high cost of their tuition.”
In striving for students to see my course as a valuable component to their overall academic experience, I attempt to use creative assignments to challenge the students in their exposure to the topic. This has included client projects, team presentations, case analyses, student video skits, and student portfolios. Students appreciate the work it takes to develop and assess such assignments, and respond by putting forth maximum effort.
I measure course outcomes based on 3 factors. These include evidence of the students’ learning of the material, their increased interest in the course subject matter, and their engagement with my teaching style. My successes with the above aspects of course development and delivery have allowed me to achieve these outcomes consistently throughout my teaching career.
“A great professor – Professor Alleruzzo is charismatic, entertaining and engaging. I looked forward to attending class all semester. I could definitely see the amount of time and effort he put into planning the course, and I very much appreciated the organization.”
“Michael is a natural leader who is extremely organized and reliable. His great energy and superb leadership abilities have inspired the (the organization) to be a proactive group of individuals working as a team.”
“Michael has a wonderful way of connecting with people. He brings that special gift of striking a balance between expertise and humbleness and fairness and empathy.”
“His attention to detail is wonderful to rely on when working with him.”
“Michael has proven himself to be a leader who is comfortable with his managerial style and who also understands the value of teamwork.”
“… Professor Alleruzzo made class fun and always provided real-life examples of how to apply the content. I have seen improvements in my job after using some of the course topics and theories in practice. Professor Alleruzzo made his expectations clear, but clearly had a passion for the subject matter he was teaching. I would recommend this course for anyone who wishes to develop themselves as a better leader.”
“He is someone who truly loves helping others grow both professionally and personally.”
“Watching Michael in action is incredibly motivating. He always brings high energy coupled with his passion and knowledge. Michael’s engaging leadership style along with his superb communication skills make him a very effective trainer. He has proven himself to be a leader who understands the value of teamwork.”
