Engaging Minds, Inspiring Success: How Grace Ambrose is Revolutionizing Marketing Education at UWM
Grace Ambrose’s exemplary track record has come about through demanding academic rigour and discipline from her students, while ensuring she provides them with all the tools they need to stay motivated to succeed.
The University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee professor teaches Principles of Marketing, International Marketing, and Buyer Behaviour. Over the course of 23 years with UWM, she has won several of the school’s Lubar Gold Star awards for teaching excellence at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Ambrose says this current generation of students is struggling with reading the required material, coming prepared to class, and being fully engaged. “It can be a challenge to motivate them,” she notes. This is where Mentimeter has come in handy for the professor. She frequently uses the interactive presentation software to embed questions within her lessons. “Lectures are not just something you are sitting through because you are required. They can be interactive. They can be fun,” she exclaims.
Responses from those queries have helped Ambrose adjust her methods from class-to-class. She typically starts each lecture with a reflection exercise on a previous lectures’ content. It involves a few generic questions before moving on to more specific ones.
“If I ask a question… and there’s a poor response rate, I’m able to stop and talk about that more,” she says. In subsequent lectures, she’s able to come back to the concept again to ensure the students have a better grasp of it.
“One of the nicest features is that if students have a question about a concept, they can send it in,” Ambrose says. The professor is able to use Mentimeter’s Q&A feature to address queries on the fly, wait until the end of class, or take some time during the next lecture to talk about them. It’s allowed her students to open up a bit more, by removing the fear of sticking their hand up to ask what they feel might be a silly question.
“The students enjoy Mentimeter,” she says. “It keeps them mentally engaged.”
Ambrose is a big proponent of students showing up for each and every lecture. While technology might make it possible for students to watch lectures after the fact, she still sees a lot of value in day-of-attendance, and rewards those who make the effort to be present. Fifteen percent of the course grading comes from participating in Mentimeter quizzes within her lecture slides.
I joke with the students - we're going to reward you for having your laptop open, and playing with your phone all the time.
For other faculty within UWM, 15 percent for participation might seem steep, but for Ambrose it’s a way to encourage students to be more active in class, and learn valuable skills in the workforce such as keeping commitments and being more disciplined with time management.
“Michael Phelps didn’t win all that Olympic gold by waking every day and choosing if he felt like swimming today or not. His commitment and discipline helped him reach goals. The same commitment and discipline helps with your academic goals, and will support your future career.”