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Dr. James Lehmann currently works for several universities including University of Wisconsin, University of Washington and Walden University. He has been teaching online for 14 years after working as an elementary teacher for 17 years in the public school system. Dr. Lehmann currently serves as President of his local school board which provides education to 6000+ students. He is also founder of a non-profit group working in Ecuador with environmental education and research. Dr. Lehmann recently was made a ‘grandpa' by his youngest daughter who lives in New Jersey (a bouncing baby boy born mid-March). His oldest daughter is attending Law School in Manhattan with her fiancé. |
| In his spare time, Dr. Lehmann loves to bird watch; take photos of nature or just candid shots. He rides a Victory Vegas motorcycle around his beautiful state of Washington when the weather allows! How has facilitating online courses at GCU helped you find your purpose? My purpose has always been guiding students to learn. GCU offers that opportunity as I get to work with a highly motivated and energetic group of students as they work towards earning their doctorate. I find working at this highest level inspires me to do more as I remember how difficult it was for ‘all of us' to earn degrees...so my goal is to provide my students with the best I can offer. Excellence feeds from excellence. What is one effective teaching strategy you use in your online classes? I have found when teaching in an online environment, it is critical for me to establish relationships with my students from the start. I connect pretty intensely with them the first week which gives me just a glimpse into their personal lives. By initially establishing that connection, I feel I know just a bit about them and can build upon that or understand their situation if the need occurs. . What is a GCU online student success story you can share? I had a student who was an active duty soldier. He had a difficult time getting into class initially, and during the 8 week class, he was transferred back to the States and then within a few days was transferred back to the Middle East for a few weeks. I felt proud to be a part of his accomplishments at GCU and worked with him to ‘make it happen'. This was an example of how effectively an instructor and learner can be if both are motivated to make it happen and earn success. Sure, it took extra on both our parts, but working with successful students such as this makes it all worthwhile. As an instructor I hold it high that I will make all students successful, regardless of their special circumstances or needs. |
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