Loyal Readers!
Vast numbers of my colleagues are thronging to bestow upon me the laurels of honour! There is to be a great feast of...of...
OK, so no one's thronging. I mean, I wouldn't know thronging if I saw it. And there are no "vast numbers." Well, there is Dr Nicoladis, and she's not vast or anything. (She is taller than me, but hey--who isn't?)
Anyway, she wants to nominate me for an award: The Katherine Klawe Prize for Excellence in Teaching. This award goes to instructors in Arts or Science in alternating years. I was nominated two years ago, but didn't win (sob!). So far chemistry has won every time a Science department has been eligible. The thing is...
The thing is that it would help if students who have been (or currently are) in my large classes wrote a letter in support of this nomination. About what? I don't know. The kinds of things I do in large classes? To make it more interesting? Or whatever?
I feel weird about asking for this in my classes, so I'm not going to. I feel weird about asking for this in this blog, but I'm going to ask anyway. So if you have had (or are having) a positive experience in one of my large classes, would you please write a letter on my behalf? I won't even get to see it. (If you're currently in one of my classes, I probably shouldn't see it.)
All you have to do is contact Dr Nicoladis, and she'll give you the details. Her email is elenan@ualberta.ca. Deadline is November 15. Thank you, my loyal minions!
Why aren't you studying?
A Humble Request
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I've been in a few of your classes and they were all large. You do way more than other profs with clickers and labs in big classes. I'll be happy to write a letter for you!
They should just award it to you by default, because, batman tie.
Everything else is irrelevant.
@Anastasia: I know, right?
And I have this cool tie with the "Evolution of Man" guys, but it's actually about stalking.
You know, the one you gave me ;-)
That sounds like a *great* tie.
People actually nominate this guy for teaching awards? Seriously? His exams are all heavily based upon memorization, which is not actual learning. If he actually taught things, perhaps he might deserve an award for it, but until that day comes I sincerely hope he does not win one when there are plenty of far better candidates.
@Anonymous: I'm sorry to hear that your experience in my class did not meet your expectations. If you give me more information about which class you were in, I can try to address some of your concerns about my exams.
However, I'm not sure I understand your criticism of my teaching. Do you mean to say that I did not teach enough material? Was the material not sufficiently in depth?
Finally, I agree that many of my colleagues are outstanding instructors, and I too hope they receive the recognition that they deserve.
Thanks for the feedback.