Early Career Teaching Award

Danielle Bentley receives Early Career Teaching Award

lanthierj — Fri, 16 Apr 2021 20:59:42 +0000

Danielle Bentley receives Early Career Teaching Award

Teaching

lanthierj Fri, 04/16/2021 - 16:59

Faculty

St. George

Temerty Faculty of Medicine

Early Career Teaching Award

Women in STEM

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Danielle Bentley of the UUֱ��’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine has been recognized with an Early Career Teaching Award.

“I have the privilege of teaching one of the most inherently relevant subjects within the general sciences: human anatomy,” says Bentley. “At its core, anatomy is personal. And while we all may have bodies of our own, many students find the details of what lay just beneath their skin to be incredibly overwhelming and cognitively demanding.”

An assistant professor, teaching stream, Bentley teaches a wide array of students, including undergraduate, graduate, allied health, and medical students from the Faculty of Arts & Science, Institute of Medical Science, department of radiation sciences, department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology, and the MD Program.

Known for designing courses to meet the vocational expectations of each student cohort, Bentley seeks to enable students to apply foundational anatomical knowledge to real-life scenarios. From dissection labs to virtual learning platforms, she creates dynamic and engaging classrooms, using embedded clinical applications to demonstrate the relevance of anatomy as an essential building block to the study of the human body.

“As an anatomy educator, I am sincerely dedicated to creating a learning experience that enables my students to conquer the challenge of anatomy by using evidence-based teaching practices that place my students at the centre of my efforts. I succeed as a teacher when they succeed as a student.”

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Jacqueline Smith receives Early Career Teaching Award

lanthierj — Fri, 16 Apr 2021 20:27:56 +0000

Jacqueline Smith receives Early Career Teaching Award

Teaching

lanthierj Fri, 04/16/2021 - 16:27

Faculty

St. George

Early Career Teaching Award

Faculty of Arts & Science

Department of Computer Science

Women in STEM

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Jacqueline Smith of the UUֱ��’s Faculty of Arts & Science has been recognized with an Early Career Teaching Award.

“Learning something new can be uncomfortable, and I believe that good teaching supports students in moving through that discomfort,” says Smith, an assistant professor, teaching stream, in the department of computer science. “In my classes, I aim to provide students with that support in many ways, such as by normalizing the frustration that comes with learning to program, and by creating opportunities for them feel more connected to me and to their peers.”

Smith's efforts to improve the student experience include focusing on active learning in large introductory courses and piloting, with Professor Alán Aspuru-Guzik, a new course on applied computing for students from other scientific fields. She has also worked to improve the process for admission to computer science at UUֱ�� and, with colleague Jennifer Campbell, developed second-year learning communities to help students connect with each other and with the computer science community.

“We know that access to computer science is not equitably distributed in high school and earlier,” Smith says. “It is important to me to ensure that students with no prior exposure to the discipline are set up for success in my courses.”

Smith also works to support other teachers, guiding instructors as they moved courses online, designing and delivering training for teaching assistants and helping colleagues implement best practices in inclusive teaching.

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Classroom challenges as research questions: Rachel La Touche receives Early Career Teaching Award

lanthierj — Thu, 18 Jun 2020 21:05:41 +0000

Classroom challenges as research questions: Rachel La Touche receives Early Career Teaching Award

Teaching

lanthierj Thu, 06/18/2020 - 17:05

Faculty

St. George

Early Career Teaching Award

Faculty of Arts & Science

Department of Sociology

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Rachel La Touche, an assistant professor, teaching stream, in the department of sociology in the Faculty of Arts and Science, has received the Early Career Teaching Award – which recognizes exceptional commitment to student learning, pedagogy and teaching innovation.

La Touche’s research focuses on decolonization, inequality, mental health and teaching pedagogy in higher education. She mentors undergraduate and graduate students and has published about teaching and learning pedagogy. She also volunteers as a tutor for a non-profit afterschool program.

La Touche is committed to creating an inclusive and accessible learning environment for students. “When I tackle classroom challenges as research questions, it requires me to consider a broad spectrum of factors in student learning – such as family life, employment and learning challenges,” says La Touche. She is dedicated to discovering innovative teaching techniques.

“Receiving this award makes me hungry for the next challenge,” says La Touche. “I plan to turn my attention to developing teaching resources, assessment tools and innovative and accessible course design for the unique needs of students and faculty in today’s higher ed.”

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Andrea Charise receives Early Career Teaching Award

lanthierj — Thu, 18 Jun 2020 20:25:59 +0000

Andrea Charise receives Early Career Teaching Award

Teaching

lanthierj Thu, 06/18/2020 - 16:25

Faculty

Scarborough

Early Career Teaching Award

UUֱ�� Scarborough

Centre for Health & Society

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(photo by Jennifer Rowsom)

For her leadership in interdisciplinary teaching that spans health humanities and arts-based health research methods, Assistant Professor Andrea Charise of UUֱ�� Scarborough has been honoured with the Early Career Teaching Award.

“This award is so meaningful on a personal level because my teaching often involves working with students who have little to no background in the humanities, let alone literature or the arts,” says Charise, who over her career has received numerous teaching awards and research grants in both health sciences and literary studies.

An assistant professor in the Interdisciplinary Centre for Health & Society, Charise’s research often focuses on aging, old age and intergenerational relationships.

In 2017, Charise led the development of Canada's first – and currently only – minor program in health humanities at UUֱ�� Scarborough. She is also the founding director and principal investigator of SCOPE, an arts- and humanities-based research and education initiative.

“My aim has always been to give students a strong sense of what the arts and humanities bring to our understanding of health and illness. And in turn, why what we think of as health and wellness must actively integrate the arts and creative practices more broadly.”

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Transformation, healing, empowerment and community: Jill Carter receives Early Career Teaching Award

lanthierj — Thu, 18 Jun 2020 15:23:15 +0000

Transformation, healing, empowerment and community: Jill Carter receives Early Career Teaching Award

Teaching

lanthierj Thu, 06/18/2020 - 11:23

Faculty

St. George

Early Career Teaching Award

Faculty of Arts & Science

Centre for Drama

Theatre & Performance Studies

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Assistant Professor Jill Carter, at the Centre for Drama, Theatre & Performance Studies in the Faculty of Arts & Science, has received the Early Career Teaching Award – which recognizes exceptional commitment to student learning, pedagogy, and teaching innovation.

An Anishinaabe-Ashkenazi researcher, Carter uses theatre to empower Indigenous communities. She incorporates Indigenous storytelling, knowledge systems, and pedagogical models into contemporary theatre performance and transforms narratives of oppression into creative work.

“Indigenous students have long comprised the most underserved and underrepresented body of students in North America,” says Carter. “I devise program initiatives that specifically address their experience.”

Carter has worked on the Jackman Humanities Institute’s Re-Membering Ourselves in Deep Time project, as well as with First Story Toronto as researcher and tour guide. She values community engagement, activism, and collaborative learning outside the university.

Carter says she is both humbled and heartened by the award and it will “reinvigorate my desire to infuse younger generations with respect, dedication and passion for the craft of making theatre.”

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Suzanne Wood receives Early Career Teaching Award

lanthierj — Thu, 18 Jun 2020 14:28:24 +0000

Suzanne Wood receives Early Career Teaching Award

Teaching

lanthierj Thu, 06/18/2020 - 10:28

Faculty

St. George

Early Career Teaching Award

Faculty of Arts & Science

Department of Psychology

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For empowering and engaging with student researchers in her work, Suzanne Wood, an assistant professor of psychology in the Faculty of Arts & Science, has been recognized with the Early Career Teaching Award.

“My approach to teaching is to focus first on which skills you want to develop, and the decisions about content and activities will fall into place after you’ve laid out those goals,” says Wood, who encourages students to take leadership roles in projects.

Wood researches student learning and health from a neuroscientific and psychopharmacological perspective, such as in the use of study drugs and psychedelics as cognitive enhancers.

In the classroom, she uses a variety of methods to hone students’ critical thinking skills. She has her students debate each other, critique original scientific literature and compare popular writing about a scientific topic with a peer-reviewed research article.

Wood regularly reflects upon and assesses her pedagogical techniques – in her first year of appointment, she initiated a departmental teaching community to share experiences and best practices with fellow educators.

“Receiving this award encourages me to keep challenging my students and myself to think in new ways.”

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