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 There's just something about Conni Morse, a professor in AIU Online's School of Business, that makes her approachable. Looking at her résumé—nearly 20 years of collegiate teaching at both the online and traditional schools and just as much time spent in the trenches of corporate marketing-she could be intimidating, but then the first day of class rolls around.
She insists you call her Conni. Then she gives out her home phone number and tells you a bit about her family. Before you know it, you're wishing she lived next door and could come over for dinner.
"I feel I'm more successful, and students have the potential to be more successful themselves, if I can have a relationship with them. I start working on it the first day and never stop. It's not a style that works for everyone, but it's right for me. It doesn't mean I'm easier than other teachers, but I do hear back from students that they like the fact I'm fairly low-key. It keeps them from getting stressed themselves."
Conni's involvement in her students' lives helps them to get more than just academics out of her classes. None of the classes Conni teaches—and she does everything from marketing to business writing, public speaking, and public relations (although her favorite at AIU is Marketing 255, Introduction to Marketing—are just about the subject, although she always covers that with the best of them.
"Because many of the students in the class are very often at the beginning of their degree program, we'll go into study skills, time management—all that stuff that helps them get the most out of the class. We don't do it at the expense of the subject matter; we cover that and then go beyond. It's the 'beyond' that helps students get more out of the lessons."
Going beyond seems to be a habit of Conni's. Her son Quinn used to participate in a national Jeopardy!-like reading competition called Battle of the Books when in elementary school. Seeing that his junior high school didn't know anything about the program, Conni took it upon herself to get it going. She distributed reading lists, organized practices, and got the readers to local meets.
There is one area where Conni is happy to be in the middle though: biking. A few years ago, looking to spend some more time with Quinn as well as get some outdoor exercise, Conni bought both herself and Quinn a new bike. Quinn still pedals around occasionally and Conni makes sure to get out four to five days a week.
Conni never strays too far from her students though. "I grew up in a family of teachers and always knew I wanted to be one, too. When I was eight years old, I would put classes together for kids in the neighborhood. When I started teaching for real, I wasn't much older than the students. Now I have been teaching for 17 years, and every day has been an adventure."
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I feel I'm more successful, and students have the potential to be more successful themselves, if I can have a relationship with them. I start working on it the first day and never stop. It's not a style that works for everyone, but it's right for me.
—Conni Morse |
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