Management Professor, Students Win ‘Interpretive Challenge’ Award

When it comes to teaching leadership and management at the University of La Verne, Assistant Professor of Management Dr. Loren Dyck believes in going the extra mile. He not only provides, but also creates opportunities for an exciting and realistic learning environment in the classroom for his students. And, sometimes, there is a cash prize involved.

Such was the case when he entered his students into the Interpretive Challenge competition, which offered a chance at winning a scholarship prize of $1,000. Incorporating the use of an HRManagement case simulation, students in his MGMT 455 class were given the opportunity to virtually take on the responsibility of Human Resource Director for a growing organization – putting the role of decision-making and overall management of an organization in their hands.

“For me the best part about teaching is being able to facilitate and celebrate student learning success. I feel that my role is to set the framework and processes for learning, help build critical thinking skills, and encourage curiosity,” Professor Dyck said.

The competition-based simulation, provided by Interpretive Simulations, awards the scholarship prize to the team of students who demonstrate the best performance and understanding of the course. At the close of the spring semester, Professor Dyck and a team of four students (Nicole Ker, Dennis Miles, Lauren Toneck and Alec Young) were winners of the competition.

“My experience doing the simulation was great. One of the things I will take away from this experience is to get to know your employees well and build a connection with them,” junior business administration major Lauren Toneck said.

Professor Dyck has made a significant impression inside and outside the classroom this year. At the close of the spring semester he received the 2015 Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award at La Verne’s annual faculty and staff recognition ceremony.

“I was deeply honored by receiving this award,” Professor Dyck said. He was the only professor to receive a teaching award this year.

Aside from his accolades on campus, Professor Dyck has recently made considerable contributions to the world of HR. He is a Review Editor for the Frontiers in Psychology journal, continuously presents at industry-leading management conferences and co-authors several manuscripts with professors at other universities.

Last month, Dyck and his co-author Kathi Lovelace from Menlo College presented at the Organizational Behavior Teaching Conference (OBTC), which was hosted on La Verne’s central campus. Dyck, Lovelace, and Fabian Eggers, who is another colleague from Menlo College, also wrote an article for the Academy of Management Learning and Education (AMLE), which was just accepted for publication.

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