Community Engaged Teaching and Learning Fellow Awarded the Innovation in Teaching Award

This past spring, Dr. Mannveer Mann, a member of the 2019-2020 Community-Engaged Teaching and Learning Fellows program and assistant professor in the School of Business received the Innovation in Teaching Award at the School of Business’ convocation ceremony. Awarded by the School of Business, the Award recognizes faculty whose teaching and learning practices engage and challenge students in new and innovative ways. Dr. Mann was selected for this year’s award for incorporating community-engaged teaching strategies like service-learning into her Retail Marketing and Management course.

Using the service-learning approach, Dr. Mann designed course projects in her classes (Spring 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and Fall 2018). Through these projects, students worked with a number of non-profit community partners including Human Needs Food Pantry, Charity: Water, Toni’s Soup Kitchen, Montclair Community Farm, and the Montclair State University Campus Community Garden. She also engaged local and national for-profit businesses to work with students and non-profit partners including Penske, Enterprise, Green Point, and City Green.

As a result of these projects and collaborations, Dr. Mann was able to engage various stakeholders to help her students attain course learning objectives, address the needs of local non-profit organizations, and promote critical reflection among students with an emphasis towards learning the importance of social and ethical responsibility within the business sector. Lastly, by working with community partners, students were able to develop critical competencies and skills including teamwork, interpersonal communications, problem-solving, working with diverse populations, and networking.