2019 College of Arts Teaching Awards
GTA Teaching Excellence Award:
Lisa Baer
Lisa is a PhD student in history and who has also designed and taught a course for the First Year Seminar program. One of Lisa’s nominators writes: “Lisa is a dedicated teacher who takes her passion for education outside the classroom… she was an excellent teaching assistant, working closely with students to help them acquire the skills necessary to do well in the course. Lisa was extremely generous and patient with students.” Lisa is also described as “a model of intellectual curiosity, [and] a mentor for the students.” Lisa’s courses, the time and effort she invests in designing and continually improving them, as well as her commitment to teaching, to instructor and student support, and her genuine interest in their success make her the deserving recipient of this year’s GTA Teaching Excellence Award.
Congratulations, Lisa!
COA Sessional and CLA Teaching Award:
Dr. Sierra Dye
Dr. Sierra Dye has been a sessional instructor in the History Department since 2013 where she’s primarily taught Online courses, which she has also developed. Students describe Sierra’s courses as “the best history course and the best-organized online course” they have taken. They write: “Dr. Dye does a wonderful job at keeping students on track and really makes her passion evident in her upkeep with the course material.”
This course “really challenged my critical thinking… [and] deepened my love for history,” states another student. And yet another student writes: “Dr. Dye was extremely helpful in making sure we were keeping on track and focused on making sure we understood what is expected of us and how to succeed.”
Congratulations Dr. Dye for winning this well-deserved honour!
Faculty Teaching Excellence Award:
Dr. Jennifer Schacker
Her care for students, graduate and undergraduate, as well as her support of peers make Dr. Jennifer Schacker from the School of English and Theatre Studies this year’s recipient of the Faculty Teaching Excellence Award. Graduate students describe Dr. Schacker as “an excellent supervisor, providing […] an ideal combination of structure, flexibility and support.”
A 4th-year English student writes: “Whether it is in a seminar or a lecture, Professor Schacker is a brilliant educator that ensures that the students’ learning environment is an open and safe one.” A colleague writes: “For well over the last decade I regularly run my course designs by her; when I’m faced with complex problems in the classroom I turn to her for advice; when I’m trying to devise solutions to curricular problems, she is my primary interlocutor. I go to her because her sense of course design, of the social dynamics of the classroom, and of the curricular implications of what we do in our teaching is second to none.”
In students’ evaluations, comments like the following are the norm and speak to how much Professor Schacker's style and knowledge are admired, respected, and appreciated:
- “Throughout the semester, I was constantly encouraged to push my ideas further and to think more critically”
- “my writing/analytical skills have become so much stronger”
- “One of the best classes I’ve taken yet. Prof. Schacker’s material was clear, interesting, beautifully built in terms of progression, and Prof Schacker herself prioritized the student’s understanding.”
- “Dr. Schacker was an amazing professor, and super passionate about the topic! She made every class so mind blowing and fun…”
We thank and congratulate Dr. Schacker for her exemplary work as teacher, colleague, and student mentor. Congratulations!