One of the best ways that I find that works is to include my personal experiences in my responses to the discussion questions.  I find that the students gain a better understanding of the material when they can relate the concepts from the text to a real world example. For example, in one of the auditing classes that I facilitate, I will provide actual audit programs that I have used during the course of an audit. This allows the students to make the connection between how an auditor creates an audit plan based on their audit objectives. I also use this opportunity to have the student's relate the material to their own work places.  Many times students are surprised to find that they have that they had been utilizing the concepts, but had not made the connection between real world and what they have read in the course materials.

Another way in which I try to be hands-on is to make a personal connection with each of the students because I feel it provides them with a sense of belonging and lets them know they are an integral part of the classroom. I do this by responding to their biographies and trying to address them by their name when I respond to any of their postings. I also make sure that I address any questions that they post within 24 hours or less.

Faculty Spotlight:

Dave Mancina was born in Detroit Michigan and currently resides in Fort Mill South Carolina. He has spent of 35 years in the accounting and auditing profession working for a number of different companies.  In his last assignment he was the Chief Auditing Executive or Unifi, Inc. a textile manufacturer. He also held the positions of project manager for Tropicana Products, a subsidiary of PepsiCo; an audit manager with The Dow Chemical Company; assistant director, Internal Audit for Handleman Co.; and director, Internal Audit for Republic Automotive Parts Inc. Currently, he owns his own consulting company that specializes in auditing and training services.

Mancina earned his Masters of Business Administration in Finance and his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Wayne State University, located  in Detroit, Michigan.

He has also been teaching seminars for The Institute of Internal Auditors for more than 10 years and online classes for various universities for over 10 years.  He has been actively involved with Grand Canyon's online program for over 3 years.

He has been married to his wife Jo Ann for 37 years and enjoys spending his free time golfing, exercising, and playing cards.