In this episode, Rob and Jared chat with Dr. Thomas Mach, the Vice President for Academics and a professor of history at Cedarville University. Dr. Mach—who received his PhD from the University of Akron—talks about motivating students to understand the importance of the content of a course. Contact us at [email protected] with any questions. You can also visit our blog at cedarville.edu/focusblog for additional resources.

Dr. Mach runs study sessions with his students which have a direct correlation to his philosophy of education. He wants to remove ambiguity and help students understand what is important as well as pique their interest in the content and communicate the importance of the class. The study sessions do this by helping students synthesize and reflect on content. There is an assumption that if we just impart information, students will take advantage of the opportunity. Servant teaching includes showing students why something is important as well as motivating them. 

In servant teaching, there is still an authority structure (teacher – student), but we can demonstrate that we care about students’ success. We need to be more than just content deliverers; we need to show care for their maturity, spiritual maturity, and academic success. To that end, Dr. Mach pays attention to his students’ feedback on course content. He will spend more time on a topic that students are more interested in and modify the course accordingly.

Resources 

• FOCUS Blog: Introducing Servant Teaching   
• FOCUS Blog: Servant Teaching: Listening and Learning  
• FOCUS Blog: Four Practical Steps For Servant Teaching