Teaching Initiative Award

Madeline Trimble, Ph.D.

• Madeline Trimble has been an Assistant Professor in the Accounting Department at Illinois State University since August 2016 Degree.
• Doctorate from the University of Mannheim in Germany where she researched the adoption patterns and economic outcomes of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) around the globe.
• Specializes in financial accounting and international accounting.

My motivation to become a college professor comes from …

The guidance and encouragement of phenomenal professors I had during my own academic career.  I know first-hand that having great professors that challenge students to meet their full potential makes all the difference.

The three most valuable or important methods/approaches/attitudes/etc. that I bring to my teaching practice are …

Sparking passion for the subject matter, being creative and innovative when presenting content, and challenging students to be accountable for their actions and associated outcomes.

The most rewarding aspect of teaching for me is… (and why)

Watching my students mature and succeed in achieving their professional goals. 

For me, the least favorite part of teaching is … (and why)

Apologies in advance for giving a cliche answer, but grading is undoubtably the worst part of teaching.

The most challenging aspect of teaching for me is … (and what I do about it)

The most challenging aspect of teaching for me is keeping my teaching approach and content "fresh".  It is easy to get busy and delay innovation to the next semester, so I try to avoid the delay whenever possible.  I take time to reflect at the end of each week and keep a ranked list throughout the semester of areas for improvement in my courses.  I always try to build time into my course planning each semester to mark a few things off that list.

I want to continue to improve my teaching in the following ways …

… learning to create and edit high quality and engaging micro-lecture videos and use my growing alumni network to bring more professionals into the classroom in meaningful ways. 

Best compliment that I’ve received from a student was …

… "she always pushes us to be better" (from teaching evaluations).

“Demonstrating passion while still challenging students to be accountable for their own learning and outcomes.”