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Interview with Noel Mack


December 16, 2010



Noel Mack, a career chiropractor, joined the staff at Stevens-Henager College in Ogden, Utah, based on the recommendation of a friend and had “no idea what [he] was getting into.” He has since found that he enjoys teaching quite a bit, leading numerous anatomy and physiology courses at the school.

Students at Stevens-Henager do much more than just sit around listening to lectures. There are many hands-on lessons and classes, so students can feel and sense what it’s like to work with real people. The school features hybrid classes, in which students are on campus part of the week, while some of the material can be learned from home. Both technical and professional skills are developed and nurtured this way.

There are many ski resorts near the Ogden campus, but, Professor Mack says with a slight smile on his face, that is no reason to skip class. :)

Transcript | Meet Noel Mack: Instructor at Stevens-Henager College

My name is Noel Mack. I'm a chiropractor in Utah. I've practiced in the Northern Utah area for a period of time. A friend of mine who was also working for Stevens-Henager College mentioned they needed a few adjunct instructors to help out. I really had no idea what I was getting myself into when I got started there. I found that I actually kind of liked teaching. I teach a fairly good number of the anatomy and physiology--some of the different programs that we have. With the medical specialties we've got courses that involve hands-on training -- laboratory work. If the course is purely theoretical, then it's mostly lecture-driven, but there are certainly activities we do in the class, so it's not just the student sitting there and trying to absorb the material like a sponge.

With the Ogden campus, we're close to a couple of ski resorts there, but that's no excuse to skip classes. When it snows you still have to show up in class!

We have what are called "hybrid classes," where the students are on campus part of the week and part of it is distance learning. It's not exactly like an online class where they have no face-to-face time with the instructor. So when they're in class, they have an opportunity to work hands-on. They have opportunities to meet with me, if they're having any additional problems or questions or concerns about the materials they have in the class. It also gives me an opportunity to set them up for the things that they have to do for their online assignments.

I have to admit, with a bit of an impish smile, that I like it when mistakes are made, because students really learn better when there's a mistake and they see the opposite of what they think things should look like and what they really are sometimes. They learn how to problem solve when a mistake is made.

We focus not only on helping them develop their actual technical skills but also how to be a professional within the field that they're in. We're helping them to feel confident that now that they've got the skills and the education, they can walk into the career field and feel some confidence that they'll be able to find a job and fit well into that career that they've chosen to go into.

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