How to Guide Students Through Real-World Learning Without Losing Them
“The problem is not the absence of structure, but that the structure is not suited to the messiness of the task.”
What This Is
Teaching in the Tide Pool is my work-in-progress book about how to design applied learning experiences that are structured and real, even when the environment is messy.
It documents the method I have developed since 2017 to guide final-year business undergraduates through consulting-style projects with real clients.
The challenges are complex; these students have no prior experience; and the timeline is super-compressed (13 weeks!). And yet, the quality of the outputs are consistently high.
This book unpacks how that happens.
Who Is It For
This book is for educators designing courses with real-world elements, especially those involving client projects, open-ended problem statements, and the need to translate theory into business outcomes.
It is also for those who believe that with the right system, students can far exceed expectations even in ambiguous and uncertain environments.
What You Will Find Inside
- How to scaffold learning without spoon feeding
- How to manage real stakeholders without losing pedagogical focus
- How to help students reflect by surfacing their thinking
- How to prevent silos and create synthesis
- How to use feedback, pacing, and constraints as momentum drivers
- How to design a high-consistency learning environment that still leaves room for surprise
Start Reading
This book is being shared in full, one chapter at a time.
I am sharing this book draft in real time as I work through it because I believe in letting ideas evolve in conversation with others.
You can read it here as it was written — unpolished, structured, and practical.
- Introduction: Why This Book
- Chapter 1 — The Problem Space: Unprepared, Overwhelmed, Misaligned
- Chapter 2 — Framing the Purpose and Experience
→ More chapters are coming soon
→ Join the waitlist to be notified
About the Reflections
Some of the quotes in this book come from my teaching award nomination submissions and a Faculty Spotlight interview between 2021 and 2024.
They were not written for this book, but I have included them because they capture the evolution of my thinking across different cohorts and teaching cycles.
Reference key:
- 2021 SMU-X Excellent Teacher Award Nomination - “2021 Nomination”
- 2022 Outstanding Adjunct Award Nomination - “2022 Nomination”
- 2023 SMU-X Excellent Teacher Award Nomination - “2023 Nomination”
- Faculty Spotlight Series Interview with SMU Centre for Teaching Excellence (CTE) - “2024 Faculty Spotlight”
I'm Dr. Hsin Ning Yong.
I teach students and guide business owners through real-world change with clarity, structure, and care.
If something here sparked a thought, 📩 Drop me a note. I would love to hear from you.