Faculty News Category
05.08.2012
The Alumni Association honored 21 NC State professors last week for their outstanding work in the classroom, in the laboratory and in the field. We talked (via email) with some of the recipients about their work and the keys to being a successful professor.
Today we’re visiting with Hiller Spires, a professor in the College of Education and a senior research fellow at the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation. Spires is one of two professors being recognized as Distinguished Graduate Professors.
What is the key to being a successful teacher? Any success I’ve had as a teacher is derived, I think, from my passion for compelling ideas and creating conditions for students to be curious and intellectually challenged. I’ve found that students more often than not rise to the learning occasion. I see my role as setting high expectations, modeling intellectual curiosity and being available to mentor, challenge and provide resources for students to be successful. I’m not afraid to show my enthusiasm and students tell me that it is contagious. “If you tell me, I will listen. If you show me, I will see. If you let me experience, I will learn.” This well-known quote by Lao Tau aptly captures my philosophy of teaching.
What gives you the greatest satisfaction as a professor? My favorite aspect of graduate teaching is engaging my students as co-researchers. I enjoy supporting students as they learn the rigors of the educational research process, including publishing findings and sharing them with professional audiences at conferences. It’s rewarding to watch as students become confident in their new-found knowledge and skills. I take satisfaction knowing that I have a part in contributing to the next generation of educational researchers.
05.07.2012
The Alumni Association honored 21 NC State professors last week for their outstanding work in the classroom, in the laboratory and in the field. We talked (via email) with some of the recipients about their work and the keys to being a successful professor.
Today we’re visiting with Jay Levine, a professor of epidemiology and public health in the College of Veterinary Medicine. He is also an associate curator at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences. Levine is one of three professors being recognized with Outstanding Extension and Outreach Awards.
What is the key to being a successful teacher? Enjoying teaching, a bit of theatre, and focusing on the key elements of what you feel students may need to know, rather than on just presenting facts.
What gives you the greatest satisfaction as a professor? Seeing personal growth in students I’ve worked with. Watching them take on new challenges and watching them move beyond the things I’ve introduced them to. Perhaps the things I’ve enjoyed the most is taking time from the rigors of running a laboratory and teaching to work with young future scientists; helping instill a sense of wonder about the beauty of the natural world.
05.04.2012
The Alumni Association honored 21 NC State professors Thursday for their outstanding work in the classroom, in the laboratory and in the field. We talked (via email) with some of the recipients about their work and the keys to being a successful professor.
Today we’re visiting with Jennifer L. Campbell, a professor of biology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Campbell is one of seven professors being recognized with Outstanding Teacher Awards.
What is the key to being a successful teacher? Well, much of what I would have said is already written in Jan Spears’ article unfortunately. I’ll try to be original! I agree with her 100% that flexibility and relevance are essential to successful teaching. You must be unafraid to change course as appropriate and keep your message, materials, and the work you require of them current if you want students to remain engaged and invested in the course. I also believe that the more of the course your students “own,” so to speak, the better quality their work will be and the more they will retain from it. To that end, it is important to encourage collaboration - in a sense turning the classroom into a group focused on some common goal.
It’s important to be kind and compassionate while challenging students to think more deeply, work harder, and keep a clear focus of their goals — both immediate and long term. In my class I try to create an atmosphere where everyone feels comfortable speaking out about difficult issues. I do this so that students can both better understand and clarify their own thoughts on a particular subject while at the same time acknowledging the often opposing views of others. I also make it clear that it is okay not to have a “right” answer, and in fact for many of the issues we tackle, no right answer exists. Once freed of fear of saying the wrong thing, we can all work together to learn.
What gives you the greatest satisfaction as a professor? I have been teaching long enough now that I have seen several students go on to graduate school or enter the work force. While that in and of itself gives me satisfaction, honestly what makes me feel the greatest sense of accomplishment is when they contact me via email or find me on Facebook to check in and let me know how things are going, or simply send me a link to a news article connected to the course materials I taught them that “they thought I should show to the students.” To me that means that the seeds of information I planted however many years ago are still there, still having an impact, still making them think.
05.03.2012
The Alumni Association will honor 21 NC State professors this afternoon for their outstanding work in the classroom, in the laboratory and in the field. We talked (via email) with some of the recipients about their work and the keys to being a successful professor.
Today we’re visiting with Michael Dickey, an assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering in the College of Engineering. Dickey is one of seven professors being recognized with Outstanding Teacher Awards.
What is the key to being a successful teacher? I think caring goes a long way. I chose this profession because I wanted to make a difference in the lives of students. On a more pragmatic level, I make a significant effort to create engaging lectures by using active learning principles and by trying to relate material to the diverse interests and learning styles of the students in the class. Finally, I have had very good mentors (including my parents) who have helped me improve as a teacher.
What gives you the greatest satisfaction as a professor? Seeing students succeed and seeing the ‘light bulb’ turn on both give me great satisfaction!
05.02.2012
The Alumni Association will honor 21 NC State professors on Thursday for their outstanding work in the classroom, in the laboratory and in the field. We talked (via email) with some of the recipients about their work and the keys to being a successful professor.
Today we’re visiting with David W.W. Jones, an assistant professor of agricultural and extension education in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Jones is one of seven professors being recognized with Outstanding Teacher Awards.
What is the key to being a successful teacher? It has always been my top priority as a teacher to build relationships with my students. I personally believe that the foundation of life is relationships. As a teacher we spend a great deal of time with our students and we have the opportunity to influence and impact lives. By getting to know what students want, feel and need, it allows me the opportunity to help fulfill those needs. As we go through our lives we will continue to create relationships. These relationships include our co-workers, significant others in our lives, our children and our friends. The best teachers in my life have always been those individuals that I had the strongest relationship with.
What gives you the greatest satisfaction as a professor? My greatest satisfaction as a professor has come from watching my students leave my courses and go out and share what they have thought about during my courses. When I get a note from one of my former students mentioning an assignment that changed their lives or influences their attitude it makes me smile. One of my assignments early in the Introduction to Leadership course is for the student to work diligently for one week to have a, “Tigger Day” every day. A “Tigger Day” is one of those days where nothing can go wrong … everything is OK. It’s a mind set to look at ALL activities in a positive way. It is an activity that years later students come up to me and tell me their having a “Tigger Day” and smile. It’s a great day for me when someone tells me to have a “Tigger Day” because I realize that I’ve influenced others in a positive way.
05.01.2012
The Alumni Association will honor 21 NC State professors on May 3 for their outstanding work in the classroom, in the laboratory and in the field. We talked (via email) with some of the recipients about their work and the keys to being a successful professor.
Today we’re visiting with Maria Oliver-Hoyo, an associate professor of chemical education in the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. Oliver-Hoyo is one of six professors being recognized as Distinguished Undergraduate Professors.
What is the key to being a successful teacher? Listening to students and to yourself … The moment an educator thinks he/she has all the answers, effectiveness is lost. Listening to what students have to say should trigger reflection about our own practices. The teaching process is the ultimate learning experience and learning is an endless process.
What gives you the greatest satisfaction as a professor? There is nothing like witnessing a student’s “Aha” moment or receiving communication from a former student letting you know how they are doing.
04.30.2012
The Alumni Association will honor 21 NC State professors on May 3 for their outstanding work in the classroom, in the laboratory and in the field. We talked (via email) with some of the recipients about their work and the keys to being a successful professor.
Today we’re visiting with Jessica DeCuir-Gunby, an associate professor of education in the College of Education. DeCuir-Gunby is one of seven professors being recognized with Outstanding Teacher Awards.
What is the key to being a successful teacher? I feel there are several keys to being a successful teacher. First, it is important to establish a healthy student-teacher relationship that is based upon trust and respect; this helps to create a welcoming learning community. I also think that a successful teacher is encouraging; it is imperative to help motivate students to believe in their abilities both in and outside of the classroom. Third, a successful teacher uses culturally relevant methods to help students learn course content; it is necessary to incorporate students’ experiences as well as popular culture and recent events into course materials. Last, a successful teacher makes course content applicable to students’ futures; it is essential to provide real-world activities that can be applied to students’ professional lives.
What gives you the greatest satisfaction as a professor? I love receiving correspondence from former students stating how they were able to use what they learned in my class in their respective professions. I receive great satisfaction knowing that my courses are directly applicable to my students’ lives. I also receive satisfaction when students decide to continue their learning based upon taking one of my courses. It is quite humbling to know that I have helped inspire students to further their education.
04.28.2012
The Alumni Association will honor 21 NC State professors on May 3 for their outstanding work in the classroom, in the laboratory and in the field. We talked (via email) with some of the recipients about their work and the keys to being a successful professor.
Today we’re visiting with Don Thrall, a professor in the Department of Molecular Biomedical Science in the College of Veterinary Medicine. Thrall is one of three professors being recognized with Outstanding Extension and Outreach Awards.
What is the key to being a successful teacher? There are certainly others who are more adept at teaching than I, but I think patience and flexibility are important attributes. Many times helping someone become proficient requires reviewing the same point or concept on multiple occasions. Using different scenarios or examples to emphasize the same point has also been an effective method for me.
What gives you the greatest satisfaction as a professor? No question, the success of those you have helped instruct. It isn’t one’s personal advances but the advances, and the maturation of thinking and analytical skills, in your students that gives extreme satisfaction.
04.27.2012
The Alumni Association will honor 21 NC State professors on May 3 for their outstanding work in the classroom, in the laboratory and in the field. We talked (via email) with some of the recipients about their work and the keys to being a successful professor.
Today we’re visiting with Barry Croom, a professor of agricultural and extension education in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Croom is one of six professors being recognized as Distinguished Undergraduate Professors.
What is the key to being a successful teacher? There is no “magic bullet” to being a successful teacher. It’s a combination of knowledge, experience, skill, magic and luck. You see, the success of any teacher is dependent on how successfully the students learn. It’s not about what the teacher does in the classroom. It’s about what the student does. Learning is not a linear function. It’s organic, and depends upon the whole of a student’s life experiences up to and including their time in our classrooms. Successful teachers are those who understand that learning does not wait to occur in the classroom, nor does it always happen as we think it might when we are presenting a lesson. Great teachers pay attention to what the students are doing and thinking both inside and outside the classroom. The successful teacher thinks about student learning all the time, and continually devises ways to get students closer to the content of the lesson.
As a result of this continual focus on student learning, the best teachers create some amazing experiences that help students gain the most benefit from the lesson content. This occasionally means deviating from the prepared script of a lesson, and teaching a lesson differently than the way it was taught last semester. As one of my great teachers once said in a classroom over in Harrelson Hall, “We have the outline of lessons in the syllabus. We may complete them all, or we may not. In this course, we will go as far as you are willing to go.” Great teachers take
students as far as they can go.
What gives you the greatest satisfaction as a professor? My job is divided into two basic functions – teaching and research. As a researcher, my greatest satisfaction comes when a project significantly advances the knowledge base in my field. It is satisfying when my students see a practical and immediate use for my research.
With regard to teaching, the “teachable moment” is immensely satisfying. Whenever I cultivate interest in a lesson to the point where it is visibly evidence on the students’ faces and in their posture, that’s a good day at the office. I also find it satisfying when I see students apply the “triple transfer of learning.” That is, when students take subject matter that I taught them, and they teach it correctly to others, then I know they’ve learned the lesson well.
04.26.2012
The Alumni Association will honor 21 NC State professors on May 3 for their outstanding work in the classroom, in the laboratory and in the field. We talked (via email) with some of the recipients about their work and the keys to being a successful professor.
Today we’re visiting with Shevaun Neupert, an associate professor of psychology in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Neupert is one of seven professors being recognized as Outstanding Teachers.
What is the key to being a successful teacher? I’m sure there are several keys to being a successful teacher. In a sense, if you consider each student a lock, no one key will fit everyone. The ability to be flexible, teach material in a variety of ways, and listen to students’ feedback are all important. Some of the ways that I strive to be a successful teacher are to: a) convey my enthusiasm for teaching in general and the course material specifically; b) provide students with the tools they need to be successful; and c) make clear connections between the course material and its application to students’ lives and careers.
What gives you the greatest satisfaction as a professor? Because many graduate students begin my quantitative courses with an apprehension (and some with an outright fear) of statistics, I take the time to explain that my goal is for each student to master the information and that I will do everything I can to facilitate the process. Sometimes this takes the form of encouraging words when trying to learn a new statistical software program, sometimes it means that I share stories of the difficulties I encountered when I first started learning the material, and many times it means meeting with students outside of class to make sure the material and its application are understood. I strive to give them a positive experience with a topic that many consider their least favorite when the semester begins. I am thrilled when students approach me at the end of the semester and tell me that they actually enjoyed learning about statistics. Many students ask me to serve on their master’s and doctoral committees, and my greatest satisfaction is seeing them apply the training they learned in my classes to their own research areas.
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