“We are delighted to nominate our instructor, Cyrus. What sets him apart is his innovative and engaging teaching approach. He organizes classes meticulously, ensuring that complex concepts are not only comprehensible but also applicable in real-life scenarios, bridging the gap between classroom and industry. His invitation to participate in post-class activities further demonstrates his dedication through hands-on experiences.”
Cyrus has taught in the Accounting and Finance department at Camosun since 2019, and is currently teaching Finance 110, 210, and 220. Cyrus was a recipient of a Teacher Recognition award this past spring, so I wanted to sit down with him and find out more about his passion for teaching.
After growing up in Victoria, Cyrus worked overseas for an investment bank, mostly in Hong Kong. “I loved it. It was stressful and fast-paced, but it was great. However, from my own experience I realized that while grades were important, once your foot is in the door, many other factors determine job success, and I wanted to share that insight with others.” So, Cyrus moved back to Victoria with his sights on Camosun. “I love what Camosun does for the community and that it gives students from all backgrounds the opportunity to learn. And I also appreciate the practical hands-on work experience that happens here because it aligns with my own vision and goals. So, I contacted the college, started as a term instructor, and then became a continuing instructor last year.”
After making such a big switch in careers, I wondered what it was about teaching that keeps Cyrus here. “The first half of my life was corporate and career-focused, and I didn’t have anything more I wanted to do there. But teaching was where I could give back, and with my investment banking background, I could bring a unique voice for students to hear from. And of course, it gives me some family/life balance as well.” In terms of the teaching itself, Cyrus says “my biggest enjoyment is working with the students who think they are horrible at math or who think that finance is boring. A lot of students take finance because it’s a requirement, and they don’t understand that whether they want to be a painter or an accountant, having a vision of one’s finances early in life is important for everyone. So, we explore why they should care about interest rates; why they should care about the yield curve; and what that tells them about future job prospects.” And Cyrus makes the finance course exciting, not just for students who are looking at finance as a career, but for everyone; and he loves having “the opportunity to build that interest early in their academic lives and careers.”
As always, I was curious about the impact of the COVID years on Cyrus’s teaching. “The biggest change I noticed was that the students have become a lot more interested in being in class, so I’ve tried to make sure that classroom time is used in the best way possible.” But what Cyrus also has realized is how he can use technology more to support his students. “I can create videos and have those videos available for students even if they are not taking an online class. At first, I wondered if I made the videos accessible for students, would they come to class? But I realize now that sometimes students have challenges getting to class, so I’ve changed my point of view and make everything as available as possible to students. If it’s hard for them to come to class, I prefer they have the option to watch a video instead of missing everything.” Cyrus does make clear to students, however, that not everything discussed in class will be available in the videos because class time is an opportunity for Cyrus to discuss real-life job experiences with them.
Since COVID, Cyrus has also been exploring alternative assessments. “You can’t customize everything, but offering a variety of assessments is another way to support students, for example by reducing reliance on exams. In a math course, I still have tests, but one assignment I’ve developed that I’ll continue to tweak is that I give students an article about a current topic in the markets, ask them to summarize the article in bullet points, making make it as concise as possible, then ask them to tell me, verbally, why the article is important.” Cyrus explains to students that this is what happens in the real world: their boss will hand them an article and ask them to summarize it because he or she does not have time to read the article or have it explained to them verbatim. “Their job in this assignment is to learn how to write concisely so the main points jump out in the five to ten seconds bosses will give you. And when explaining verbally, it’s the same thing: you have 30 seconds to hold their interest because in the work world, if you don’t hold your boss’s attention, you’re going to be passed over.”
I asked Cyrus if he had any memories from his teaching over the years that stood out to him. “When I bring in real-life examples. For example, we talk a lot about housing because it is front and center in students’ minds, and students seem to appreciate that. I also bring in books and tell students I will reduce the weightings on exams if they decide to read one of the books. I’ve have been surprised to see that 90% of the students opt in to read a book, but they loved it, so I want to incorporate more of that.” Cyrus also has a lot of international students in his classes, which brings in diverse perspectives on markets from around the world. “For example, I ask them what the inflation rate is in Ecuador, or what is the financial situation in their countries, so all the students in class learn what’s happening in different parts of the world. One of my goals, having been myself raised here on the island, kind of isolated from the rest of the world, is to expand students’ views as they meet people from different parts of the world.”
As we came to the end of our time together, I asked Cyrus what kind of advice he might have for new faculty coming to teach at Camosun. “Have empathy. We need to keep reminding ourselves that the difficulties our students face to be in our classrooms are considerable. So whatever job we can do to make it easier for them, we should do that. We also need to understand that every student learns differently. You can’t customize everything for every student but offering a variety of assessments or providing content in different formats, like videos, will help. Remember that just because students have different learning abilities, doesn’t mean that some of them aren’t cut out for school. Maybe it just means we are not giving them the right assessments to show their learning.”