Alan Blizzard Teaching Award
Feature Article
Philosophy profs earn team teaching award
How do you turn a 280-person class of undergraduates and an abstract subject like philosophy into something students rave about and actually understand? Call in the "super section"—a team of lecturers in the University of Alberta's Department of Philosophy that has just won the prestigious Alan Blizzard Award. The national prize, awarded by the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, recognizes team teaching at the post-secondary level.
Original: ExpressNews
The Alan Blizzard Teaching Award was developed by the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE) to stimulate and reward collaboration in teaching and to encourage scholarship in teaching and learning. The award is given to collaborative projects that increase the effectiveness of student learning. The first Alan Blizzard Teaching Award was given in 2000.
Teams from the University of Alberta that have received the award:
2003
; "Dr. David Kahane")
- Cressida Heyes
- David Kahane
- Jennifer Welchman
- Paul Beach
- Cristina Bercea
- Jeff Hodgson
- Lisa Kretz
- Brian Leahy
- Chris Lepock
- Chris McTavish
- Elizabeth Pansiuk
- Jennifer Runke
- John Simpson
- Leah Armontrout Spencer
This team was led by Cressida Heyes, David Kahane, and Jennifer Welchman, three professors from the Department of Philosophy. Along with a team of eleven teaching assistants, the professors used innovative techniques to allow the students of the Philosophy 101 Super Section an unprecedented accessibility to their professors via web-boards, electronic wizardry, and the course website. The site contains material that connects philosophy with everyday issues and also includes a discussion environment where students can talk to each other about what they're learning.
2000
; "Dr. David Cook")
- Ross Bayne
- Moira Bazin
- David Cook
- Cheryl Cox
- Rosemarie Cunningham
- Rene Day
- Joan Loomis
- Linda McCargar
- Don Philippon
- Jan Pimlott
- Elizabeth Taylor
- Eli Whitney
These professors came together from all faculties related to the health sciences to provide a truly interdisciplinary class. Members of the teaching team came from the Faculties of Medicine and Dentistry; Agriculture, Forestry, and Home Economics; Rehabilitation Medicine; Nursing; and Pharmacy. The course, a required inter-professional course for all health sciences students at the University of Alberta, helped students from dental hygiene, medicine, nursing, nutrition, occupational therapy, pharmacy, and physical and recreation therapy learn to work together in a team to assess patient needs and provide better healthcare.