The Core is an opportunity to inquire into the fundamental aspects of being and our relationship with God, nature and our fellow human beings.
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Phone: (972) 721-5377
Email: rmiller@udallas.edu
Office: SB Hall #208
Office Hours: MWF 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. or by Appointment
Teaching, and more importantly the art and science of being an educator, is a source of great professional and personal fulfillment. I first understood my calling to be an educator during my time as an engineer when I would conduct training and mentor others. During this time, I became aware that merely passing along facts was only a minor component of the process; it was the development of both the person and their ability to adapt to an ever changing world in which they make the best decisions possible that was key. In addition, I also realized that they must also accept responsibility for themselves and others based on the decisions that they make. This experience showed me that merely conveying facts and information without also developing the whole person was not the true essence of education. Based on these and other teaching experiences, I see my role in the classroom as a facilitator of knowledge and experiential learning, and as a provider of real-world application of how the subject matter fits within the larger context of a complex world. This approach allows for a better understanding of the trade-offs inherent in any decision and how the decision affects not only the decision maker but many other stakeholders that may not be readily apparent.
Being an educator is more than just doing well in the classroom. At both the undergraduate and graduate level, students are often seeking personal and professional mentors that can help them understand and achieve their goals. This extra-classroom portion of teaching is one of the most enjoyable for me because I can interact with the students on a more personal level and provide them with help and guidance on their professional development but, more importantly, on their personal development. The professional development typically includes students seeking help on writing their resumes, learning interviewing strategies, conducting mock interviews, and creating strategies to find an internship or job. These sessions often lead to a more personal aspect once the students become comfortable and start to inquire about career advice, how to deal with others, or balancing their desire to work in a certain field with the allure of making more money in another. These personal conversations are the ones that I value the most as I have struggled with these same issues in the past and I find deep satisfaction in being able to help the students through these issues.
My primary research areas are in operations/supply chain management and pedagogy. A current project that i am working on is how small craft breweries in the DFW area make operations management decisions during the start-up and early phases of their businesses. This research does not follow the traditional path of operations management research because entrepreneurs do not make decisions that are covered by traditional research. These entrepreneurs do not have the amount of information that would be needed nor are they in a stable environment that would yield an optimal decision that would last for very long.
Over the years, my teaching has evolved from focusing more on teaching content that would yield a good grade on a test to one that focuses on building skills that can be transferred to almost any situation. An example of this is in my freshman Finite Math class where I spend a good portion of the class on taking good notes, such as creating a narrative note structure that focuses on being able to look at them at a later date and being able to remember quickly what was being done. This helps to create a temporal link to reinforce that learning (and life) is not a one-and-done endeavor but one that is a living entity that is constantly evolving and updating.
I have volunteered mentoring first gen college students at local high schools. I also tutor students in high school math, ACT and SAT prep, and studying for the GED test.
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