Teaching

Teaching Philosophy

My decision to earn a Ph.D. in economics was driven first and foremost by a desire to teach. As a student at Hampden-Sydney College, I experienced small, discussion-oriented classes in which professors invested deeply in their students’ intellectual growth — courses that permanently changed how I see the world. My central goal is to help students acquire a lasting economic way of thinking: understanding incentives, trade-offs, opportunity costs, and unintended consequences. Because business students want to know “how this applies,” I anchor every major concept in concrete, real-world examples — price controls during shortages, the economics of ride-sharing regulation, minimum-wage effects, the logic behind payday lending — and tie them to the empirical literature.

I work to create a classroom that is clear, supportive, and interactive: pausing often to check for questions, walking through graphs carefully, and using short Kahoot reviews and end-of-class activities that students say help them learn the most. Economics inevitably touches on contested moral and political questions; my aim is never to hand students a set of policy conclusions, but to give them the analytical tools to reach their own.

Courses Taught

ECON 2410: Principles of Macroeconomics

Spring 2026, Middle Tennessee State University — Instructor Evaluation Mean: 4.02 / 5

Selected student comments

  • “Professor Smith is very knowledgeable in the material he covers. He cares about his students and wants them to succeed.”

  • “His course is well organized and easy to follow. He explains the material clearly and provides helpful resources that support student learning. I also like the Kahoot quizzes because they make students more engaged.”

  • “He gave us good materials to study for the exams, and they were really helpful in understanding the course material.”

  • “Very easygoing and willing to work around any struggles a student may have. He makes it feel like a real college course.”

ECON 2420: Principles of Microeconomics

Fall 2025, Middle Tennessee State University — Instructor Evaluation Mean: 4.40 / 5

Selected student comments

  • “Professor Smith was a great teacher and would love to see him stick around at MTSU; he provided clear knowledge on each topic that was taught.”

  • “Great lecturer and always willing and able to help students.”

  • “When explaining material, he gives examples that stick to the memory of the student.”

  • “He was organized and formatted the course work efficiently, which helped a lot with the workload. His lectures were efficient and informative about the main learning criteria of the course.”

  • “I like how he provided real-world examples and homework that was related to the course material.”