Four lessons from six years of teaching: Reflections on my time as a university tutor

A couple of weeks ago, I found myself getting a bit emotional as I taught my final university class. For the past two years, I've been a part-time tutor in the University of Sydney’s Strategy, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship discipline, and before that, I spent four years tutoring at the UTS Business School.

Growing up, I wanted to be a high school teacher but life took me on a different path. Teaching part-time alongside my career at Deloitte has been a truly rewarding experience. Taking on an APAC role at Deloitte with extensive travel has made it challenging to juggle commitments, so now is the right time to move on and avoid any disruption to students’ learning and my university colleagues.

6 years, 2 universities, 20+ classes, 600+ students...

Here are four valuable lessons I’m taking away with me, which I hope will resonate with current and aspiring tutors and teachers.

Lesson 1: Gen Z Learn Differently

Engaging Gen Z students in the classroom can be like drawing blood from a stone. Over the years, I've learnt or been taught numerous techniques to shift from passive learning to active learning. Utilising EdTech tools like Menti, Padlet and Kahoot as well as incorporating visual learning and gamification into lesson plans has brought the ‘magic’ to student engagement.

Whilst these methods require more planning before class, the payoff is immense, and I’ve even integrated these techniques into my work with Deloitte clients and teams, especially with Gen Z now entering the workplace.

Who said learning had to be boring?

Lesson 2: ‘Learn it, do it, teach it!’

Growing up, my mum always said the best way to learn was to “learn it, do it, teach it” – and she’s spot on!

Looking back, my teaching roles have required me to teach the academic research, theory and methods behind strategy, innovation, and entrepreneurship. This has kept my skills sharp and continuously evolving for my day job at Deloitte.

Similarly, my consulting experience also made me a better teacher. Student feedback consistently praised the real-world examples I brought into the classroom, where I’d demonstrate the practical applications of various methodologies, frameworks, and techniques to solve problems or achieve desired outcomes.

Stepping away from a formal teaching role means I’ll have to find other ways to continue learning and keep my skills relevant. I’m open to your ideas!

Lesson 3: Nuancing my authentic teaching style for cultural differences

Over the years, my students have come from every continent and spoken over 50 languages. Some even have English as their fifth language. My natural, authentic teaching style is to be energetic, relatable, and empathetic – because that’s how I personally like my teachers to be. However, we all carry unconscious bias so I’ve trained myself to constantly ask myself, “what is the most culturally inclusive way to run this activity or respond to a question?”

For example:

• Students from some cultures prefer me to be more structured with lesson plans, so I’ve adapted my classes accordingly.
• I noticed a pattern in students from a particular culture staying behind after class to ask questions, ‘not wanting to waste other students’ time in class’, so I emphasise the benefits of asking questions during class, for everyone.
• Students from various cultures see me as a serious authority figure, which contrasts with my preferred leadership style. So, I run a fun activity in week 1 each semester to help me memorise everyone’s names. It makes such a difference. They call me ‘Mike’, ‘Mr. Mike’, ‘Professor Mike’, or ‘Magic Mike’ (the magic, unfortunately, refers to the classroom, not the dance floor).

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I’m incredibly grateful for all the tools and techniques I’ve learnt to engage all students, and grateful for those who’ve taught me the skills. These have shaped the authentic teaching style I have today and made me a better leader and person.

I still recall some students’ confusion back in 2018 caused by a homework case study question written by my former supervisor, Dr Amanda White, featuring a married couple who both had female first names. I also remember the smiles on my international students’ faces when they read case study questions that included characters with native Chinese names alongside the traditional Anglo names you usually see in education material.

Amanda (with her ~100k YouTube subscribers) is a visionary when it comes to producing education content that reflects the modern, progressive society that we live in; another subtle but important way of including all students in the classroom. Congratulations Amanda on recently being awarded the Medal? of the Order of Australia (OAM) for your services to tertiary education. So thoroughly deserved!

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Lesson 4: The next generation of entrepreneurs can save the world

In one subject I teach, students work in groups paired with real-life startup founders to tackle business problems using design thinking methodology. Over the last four years, my students have collaborated with over 20 startups from UTS Startups and USYD’s Genesis program. Over 80% of these startups have been focused on tackling climate and sustainability challenges.

Addressing climate change is the most complex innovation challenge humanity has ever faced. Working alongside these founders gives me a lot of hope for the future.

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A heartfelt thank you to my incredible supervisors over the years and leaders in their respective fields, Dr. Krithika Randhawa, Dr. Amanda White and Donna Denyer. Also, I owe a huge shoutout to Deloitte Flex and my boss, Andrea Culligan, for the support, flexibility and trust to manage teaching alongside my full-time role over the years.

I’m curious to hear from other current and former teachers and students. Did any of this resonate? What have been some of your key learnings?