Dr David Timothy Duval
Senior Lecturer
Tourism
Most people can name at least one teacher who made an impression on them.
Perhaps it was their teaching style, the way they spoke to the class or just their personality. Whatever it was, this person was inspirational.
Dr David Timothy Duval of the School of Business is one of these teachers. It's a fact. In 2004 the Tourism Senior Lecturer and Director of the International Business Programme was voted one of Otago's best teachers by the Otago University Students' Association. The nomination gained him an OUSA Teaching Award, one of just 10 awards given out across the University. Notably, OUSA received 1177 nominations for the awards.
"I've always operated on the idea that if I'm not having fun teaching, students aren't having fun learning. But for me, the real reward is when a recently-capped graduate sends me his or her business card in the post with a note of thanks. I still find myself welling up a bit when that happens," says Dr Duval.
His secret to successfully inspiring the masses?
"With my first-year students I try to tell a few stories to show how real-life situations help us all understand 'big picture' issues. In their second year, I'll challenge them to rethink what they know and make them probe further into a particular subject area, thus recognising more than one interpretation. In their third year, I help them become, in effect, consultants: when and how to ask the right questions, how to investigate the problem and, most importantly, how to make justified recommendations on the basis of their research."