Jeffrey Stolle, Bashaw Senior Instructor II of Management, is investing in the future, preparing students for the real-world issues they’ll face in their careers and in their lives.  

Stolle, who teaches in the Lundquist College of Business, has received a Herman Award for Specialized Pedagogy in recognition of his distinguished teaching. 

Above all, Stolle is most inspired when his students feel comfortable engaging with each other in spirited, respectful debate and when he gets to have in-person discussions with them. 

“It sounds cliché to say, but I learn from the students all the time,” he said. “They bring up topcs and points of view that I hadn’t considered before, which helps keep my own thinking fresh and keeps me on my toes.” 

As part of his efforts to cultivate a safe environment for speaking up, he centers classes around small-group exercises, even in his 60-student business law and ethics course.  

One example is a Supreme Court simulation in which he gives students the case facts and precedents and divides them up — one group on the side of the plaintiff, one on the side of the defendant, and the other as the Supreme Court. During the activity, the students get the opportunity to debate and reach a decision as a court.  

Stolle checks in with his students periodically throughout a course to gauge their comfort level and find out what they could be doing differently as a class. 

Another way Stolle helps support student learning is by providing feedback in an audio format. 

“I always fear that written comments come out more harshly than I’m intending them to. So, with the audio comments, I’m able to explain in a more developmental, encouraging way, ‘These are some things that you did great and should continue to do, and these are some things going forward that would help make your projects even stronger,’” he said. 

Stolle said his teaching practices are built on what he’s learned from the instructors who came before him.  

When he first joined the business school, his teaching team already had great exercises that they shared with him, and he’s gone on to create his own. He’s also attended workshops put on by the Teaching Engagement Program and said that he feels grateful for the work they do to develop and share new resources with faculty across the university. 

Looking to the future, Stolle is working to incorporate even more student-driven exercises into his courses, update his cases with the latest current events, and find additional ways to use technology in the classroom.  

Stolle wants students to leave his classes with even stronger critical thinking skills that will serve them well down the road when they have to make tough calls. 

“No decision is going to be perfect, and there are always going to be multiple stakeholders, usually with conflicting desires,” he said. “So, no matter what decision you make, it’s a tradeoff. Students need to understand the interests on the other side and try to be as creative as they can within the constraints.” 

— Chelsea Hunt, Office of the Provost Communications