The Excellence in Teaching (EIT) Committee wishes to congratulate the following faculty, who, through their diligence, creativity and caring, have made exceptional contributions in the classroom and beyond at Central Connecticut State University. We all owe them a debt of gratitude for their service and for all that they add to our community.
We had a very large number of strong nominees this year, and we award you this distinction with pride and gratitude. It was a privilege to discover the many unique and exciting classroom strategies used and to learn of your efforts on behalf of the larger CCSU community.
It is important to note that the selection process for the EIT Committee is based on a set of EIT Committee criteria and for the nominee to have been selected for the Honor Roll, the nominee must have demonstrated evidence of most, or all, of these criteria in some form – a worthy accomplishment for which all are to be heartily congratulated.
On February 22nd, the EIT Committee will begin the process of interviewing the Semi-Finalists for the 2012 Excellence in Teaching Award. Once the finalists have been chosen, the committee will visit the classrooms of each finalist and then vote on the winner, which will be announced at the First Annual Faculty Day, in the Constitution Room, Memorial Hall, on Friday, April 19th, from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. sponsored by the Center for Teaching and Faculty Development (CTFD) and the EIT Committee. There will be programming for all faculty in the morning, a faculty lunch at noon and the EIT awards from 12:30 to 2:00 PM. To learn more, please visit the CTFD website at www.ccsu.edu/CTFD.
We invite the CCSU community to celebrate the fine work of all full-time and part-time faculty on the Honor Roll, the Semi-finalists and Finalists.
Since the EIT Award is combining with the CTFD First Annual Faculty Day event, the ceremony promises to be exciting, collegial, and wonderfully celebratory of all that CCSU does well.
Regards,
Excellence in Teaching Committee, 2012:
Bin (Brenda) Zhou, Co-Chair, Engineering
David Cappella, Co-Chair, English
Mary Collins, English
Barbara Clark, Teacher Education
Sahar Khan, Student
Rachel Schwell, Mathematical Sciences
Sarah Stookey, Management and Organization
*****
CCSU 2012 EIT Honor Roll, Full-Time
Nidal Al-Masoud, Engineering
Tanetta Andersson, Sociology
Carrie Andreoletti, Psychological Science
Stuart Barnett, English
Maria Casas, Modern Languages
Stacy Christensen, Nursing
Diana Cohen, Political Science
Cheryl Crespi, Accounting
Sally Drew, Teacher Education
Monique Durant, Accounting
Mark Evans, Physics & Earth Science
Marianne Fallon, Psychological Science
Joseph Farhat, Finance
James French, Teacher Education
Vicente Garcia, Art
Gilbert Gigliotti, English
Susan Gilmore, English
Ivan Gotchev, Mathematical Sciences
Robin Kalder, Mathematical Sciences
Brian Kershner, Music
Cherie King, Counseling & Family Therapy
Susan Koski, Criminology & Criminal Justice
Frederic Latour, Mathematical Sciences
MaryAnn Mahony, History
Beth Merenstein, Sociology
Edward Moore, Engineering
Brian Osoba, Economics
Fiona Pearson, Sociology
Irena Pevac, Computer Science
Aimee Pozorski, English
Jared Ragusett, Economics
Linda Reeder, Manufacturing & Construction Management
Karen Ritzenhoff, Communication
Delia Sanders, Social Work
Xiaoping Shen, Geography
Jason Sikorski, Psychological Science
Sheila Siragusa, Theatre
Robbin Smith, Political Science
John Tully, History
Thomas Vasko, Engineering
Linda Wagner, Nursing
Sean Walsh, Physical Education & Human Performance
Chad Williams, Computer Science
CCSU 2012 EIT Honor Roll, Part-Time
David Barlar, Accounting
Cheryl Fox, Mathematical Sciences
Kerry Meehan, Teacher Education
Adrienne Milics, Management Information Systems
Kristi Moran, Mathematical Sciences
Kara Russell, English
Donald Rogers, History
Jennifer Walther, Physical Education & Exercise Science
CCSU EIT Semi-finalists, Full-Time
Nidal Al-Masoud, Engineering
Diana Cohen, Political Science
Sally Drew, Teacher Education
Monique Durant, Accounting
Marianne Fallon, Psychological Science
James French, Teacher Education
Frederic Latour, Mathematical Sciences
Fiona Pearson, Sociology
Aimee Pozorski, English
Karen Ritzenhoff, Communication
Delia Sanders, Social Work
Jason Sikorski, Psychological Science
Robbin Smith, Political Science
CCSU EIT Semi-finalists, Part-Time
Kara Russell, English
Donald Rogers, History
Jennifer Walther, Physical Education & Exercise Science
2011-2012 EIT AWARDS CEREMONY
A Celebration of Great Teaching at CCSU
Faculty, administrators, and students from all across the campus came together on Friday, March 9, in the Bellin Room to celebrate some of the finest teachers on campus. The Excellence in Teaching Award Committee announced the Honor Roll, Semi-finalists and Finalists.
Dr. Carl Lovitt announced the winner of the Full-time Faculty EIT Award, Dr. David Cappella, English, and the winner of the Part-time Faculty EIT Award, Amanda Greenwell, English.
Please see the video link below to watch the seven EIT Award Finalists reflect on their teaching philosophies and in action in the classroom. A huge thanks to Ryan Wark in Technology for producing this terrific clip. Once I get permission, I hope to also post the Teaching Philosophy Statements of many of the nominees.
So a huge congratulations to all of the faculty honored on Friday. ALL of them were nominated by students and submitted thoughtful applications to the EIT Awards Committee.
The EIT Awards FINALISTS VIDEO
2011 Excellence in Teaching Award (EIT) Finalists
Abigail Adams, Anthropology
Dr. Adams understands that students can learn in a myriad of ways and incorporates a huge range of techniques in her anthropology classes, from field research and trips aboard to papers and oral presentations. “My hope is that my students will draw on what they learn with me in their own professional, civic and personal lives and that they will expand their personal repertoire of ways to build a healthy society.” Many of the students who wrote recommendations discussed her commitment to their welfare, not just as scholars, but also as individuals.
Candace Barrington, English
Cooking for a medieval feast, staging scenes from medieval plays, learning the odd sounds of Old English—these are just a few of the unexpected things CCSU students must do in Dr. Barrington’s extremely interactive Chaucer class. Her strategy: begin with high expectations; articulate clearly defined processes and outcomes; use frequent targeted practice; provide regular feedback; create a community of learners. “Long ago,” she wrote in her Teaching Philosophy Statement, “I realized that I must teach students where they are. That is, if students cannot properly complete an assignment, I do not assume they are incapable. I assume there’s a fundamental skill they don’t know. I teach those skills.”
In their recommendations for Dr. Barrington, the students emphasized her sincere interest in their progress as scholars and as individuals, and her demanding but fair standards. "I sought to prove to her that I was capable of great work," one student wrote. "She wouldn't settle for average and that meant I wouuldn't either."
David Cappella, English
Dr. Cappella, Co-Director of the Central Connecticut National Writing Project and a professor of English Education classes and Young Adult Literature, sees himself as “a guide, a mentor, a coach…. I can be the living map available to my students as they begin their trek into the intellectual high country of the subject matter.”
In their recommendations, his students celebrated his big heart and intense engagement with them and the material. “One of the most enlightening teaching experiences I had with Dr. Cappella,” one student writes, “was not through his stories, but how he handled a student who was very nervous during a class presentation. She was visibly nervous, shaking and quivering in her speech. Dr. Cappella did not allow her to fail. Instead, he guided her, allowing her a few moments to compose herself. He told her silence was fine.”
Fred Latour, Mathematics
With terrific logic and passion, Dr. Latour laid out his teaching principles in his Teaching Philosophy Statement for the EIT Committee: 1) It is very important to make sure that my enthusiasm for the subject is obvious. 2) I always keep in mind my students’ reasons for taking a course and talk about why the material is relevant to their field of study. 3) I have many office hours. 4) I assign homework problems each week—the only way to learn mathematics is to do mathematics.
His students clearly felt he achieved his own objectives and spoke about the same core issues when praising his teaching. One student wrote: “There are many things that make Dr. Latour standout as an excellent teacher, but the specific attributes I would touch on are his love and passion for math, his amazing ability to bring clarity to sometimes confusing material, and the unique approach he takes in helping students prepare for tests.”
Seunghun Lee, Linguistics
Dr. Lee understands many students find linguistics extremely challenging and has developed creative teaching techniques to help them manage the daunting material, include electronic “clickers” that allow him to gauge how well the class is understanding his lecture even as he gives it. If too many students “click,” he slows down and revisits the material.
All of the students who wrote recommendations on his behalf commented on his work ethic and accessibility. “Even after the semester was over, Dr. Lee continued to guide me and other students through the process of preparing our individual presentations [for a conference].” In 2010, three of his LING 598 students presented papers at a TESOL conference at Columbia University in New York; in 2011 that number jumped to six.
PART-TIME EIT FINALISTS
Amanda Greenwell, English
“My philosophy of teaching is quite simple,” Dr. Greenwell says. “Begin by envisioning the end result and work backwards from there. Meet the students where they are but expect them to rise to excellence.”
Kara Russell, English
Dr. Russell accepts that good teaching requires a delicate balance of comfort and discomfort in the classroom both for the teacher and the students. Her students praised her ability to “teach all different type of learners—at the same time!”
With terrific logic and passion, Dr. Latour laid out his teaching principles in his Teaching Philosophy Statement for the EIT Committee: 1) It is very important to make sure that my enthusiasm for the subject is obvious. 2) I always keep in mind my students’ reasons for taking a course and talk about why the material is relevant to their field of study. 3) I have many office hours. 4) I assign homework problems each week—the only way to learn mathematics is to do mathematics.
Dr. Lee understands many students find linguistics extremely challenging and has developed creative teaching techniques to help them manage the daunting material, include electronic “clickers” that allow him to gauge how well the class is understanding his lecture even as he gives it. If too many students “click,” he slows down and revisits the material.
“My philosophy of teaching is quite simple,” Dr. Greenwell says. “Begin by envisioning the end result and work backwards from there. Meet the students where they are but expect them to rise to excellence.”
Dr. Russell accepts that good teaching requires a delicate balance of comfort and discomfort in the classroom both for the teacher and the students. Her students praised her ability to “teach all different type of learners—at the same time!”