Nelson honored with Distinguished Teaching Award (continued)

In the classroom, Nelson prefers to teach big ideas, an approach he believes helps students understand themselves and the world around them and will ultimately make them better businesspeople.

"Given the choice between students leaving my class with acute understanding of the course's particular subject matter, or leaving my class as better human beings who are motivated to contribute to the well-being of others and the greater good, I will always choose the latter," he said. "Learning does not end in my courses or with graduation."

Nelson enjoys interactive classroom discussions and recently started to use new technology in a quest to keep students engaged and excited. In addition to providing students with written feedback on their work, he records oral feedback on a digital audio recorder and e-mails it to his students. It's a method that allows him to provide tailored, personal feedback with all the nuances associated with a human voice.

"For me, written feedback lacks personal and emotional nuances that are so important," he says. "I wanted to find a way to give really rich and meaningful feedback."

Nelson also serves as an instructional coach for other UW Tacoma faculty. He conducts workshops on teaching and learning and observes classes in order to help other faculty members sharpen their teaching skills.

"As a senior lecturer, I believe it's one of my jobs to promote a rich teaching and learning environment," he said. "If I can help another teacher improve, that teacher becomes more effective with students. The impact is exponential."