Nathalie Duval-Couetil

Polytechnic Institute Murphy

Nathalie Duval-Couetil is professor and director of the Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the department of Technology Leadership & Innovation (TLI). Her efforts toward teaching and learning, engagement, and mentorship lead TLI students to select her as a Polytechnic Institute Murphy nominee in 2021. 

The founding director of Purdue’s award-winning Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation program – one of the largest cross-campus entrepreneurship education programs in the country – Duval-Couetil was also named a Longenecker Fellow in 2021, one of the highest honors given to academics by the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. 

Duval-Couetil takes an entrepreneurial approach to the continuous improvement of curriculum, course organization, and communication to help students better relate to her and their program of study.  

How has your teaching evolved over the last five years? 

My teaching has evolved in two ways. First, I place much more emphasis on communication and the organization of course materials in Brightspace. Prior to COVID, faculty were still handing out paper syllabi and not necessarily documenting everything covered in the class in the learning management system (LMS). In many cases, the LMS was just being used to house grades. Today, learning technology is driving much of the student experience and they expect that everything will be clearly explained and available in Brightspace. I believe this is a big factor in how they evaluate their course experience, whether it is in person or online.   

Second, I strive to make a personal connection with students. I am interested in their backgrounds and career goals because this helps me create a more relevant course, which results in greater involvement and accountability. During the COVID pandemic, I arranged short 15-minute meetings with each student prior to the start of the semester. Since this was the first time I was teaching a course in a synchronous online format, I knew I was unlikely to have the opportunity to get to know students through conversations before and after class, and my personal challenge was to make this class as similar as possible to an in-person one. While time-consuming, this turned out to be a great strategy because I knew things about them that I could leverage during the first class and throughout the semester. 

What changes to your teaching during the pandemic did you take with you going forward?

To engage students, you must be extremely well-prepared. Teaching in the online synchronous mode was a bit like producing a one-hour-and-15-minute television show twice a week. I had to include an overview of concepts, discussion, and small group break out activities that precisely filled the 75-minute class period. In an in-person class, if you have 15 minutes left, you can be somewhat spontaneous. This is much more difficult in an online format.   

During the pandemic, I experimented with activities that linked business concepts to students’ personal lives. For example, many students can’t really comprehend what managing change is like in an organization. To demonstrate just how difficult change is for employees, I had students familiarize themselves with concepts from the book Tiny Habits, and asked them to make one small change in their lives for a two-week period. About half of the class succeeded in sustaining the change for the full two weeks, and I believe I got my point across. My hope is that they will remember that assignment.   

What suggestions do you have to Purdue instructors who want to improve their teaching and/or their students’ learning?

Purdue has so many excellent resources for faculty wishing to improve teaching and learning. Faculty should take advantage of programs such as IMPACT or work with instructional designers to get an objective opinion of how their course organization, assignments, and assessments can be improved. These activities cannot be perceived by faculty as overwhelming tasks, however, given the other things competing for faculty time. Instructors need to understand that even small tweaks in course organization and communication, can make significant improvements in both the student and faculty experience.  

What motivates you to do your best work in a student-centered learning environment?

My goal is to have a positive impact on their educational experience and professional development. I want students to be challenged in ways that are relevant to their careers and lives.  

The Charles B. Murphy Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award is Purdue West Lafayette’s highest undergraduate teaching honor and awarded annually in the spring semester. Each College selects and advances its own nominee the previous fall as a model in excellent undergraduate education and includes input from its students. For other nominee interviews, see the Insights webpage. Further details on the award and selection procedure and university awardees are available on the Office of the Provost website.