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| Tracy Taylor-Helmick. (Danny Abriel Photo) |
For Nikola Hartling, it was a gesture that made an immeasurable difference in her life. Back when the graduating student was in second year and struggling with university, she found herself in Tracy Taylor-Helmick’s large cognitive psychology class of 200-plus students.
Prior to the second midterm, Ms. Hartling says Dr. Taylor-Helmick suggested applying the cognitive theories taught in class to her study habits and seeing if that would help. It did, reports Ms. Hartling, “and for the first time I got an A+.”
Not only that. The psychology professor sent out congratulatory emails to the students who received an A or an A+ grade, Ms. Hartling among them. But she also received a second email, this one telling her that of all the students in the class, she had made the most improvement.
“For the first time at Dalhousie, I no longer felt like ‘just a number,’ I felt as though someone cared about my success; and at that moment, I realized I wanted that success,” says Ms. Hartling, who treasures that message and reads it over whenever she needs a boost.
No stranger to large classes, Dr. Taylor-Helmick says she makes it her mission to reach out to students—she notices them and she knows their names. It’s that extra effort, not to mention her enthusiasm for the subject matter and engaging style, that has led to her being awarded Dalhousie’s top teaching award, the Alumni Award for Excellence for Teaching.
“I remember being back in their shoes and feeling invisible,” says Dr. Taylor-Helmick, 40, who tries to make herself less anonymous too, by using examples from her own life in her teaching instead of from the textbook. “So I try hard to make sure I can see everyone and to let them know I care.”
But teaching has never been easy. Even after 10 years on faculty at Dalhousie, she still finds her nerves are frayed before the start of class and compares the feeling to mounting the crest of a steep incline in a rollercoaster.
“But it’s manageable anxiety,” she reassures with a smile. “It actually feels like fun. A three-hour class will fly by.”
Teaching award winnersFaculty of Health Professions Teaching Excellence Award: David Gardner, College of Pharmacy Dalhousie Sessional and Part-Time Instructor Awards of Excellence for Teaching: Danièle Allard, Department of French The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Award for Excellence in Teaching: Christopher Bell, Department of History Srini Award for Teaching Excellence in Computer Science: Valdo Keselj Dalhousie Dental Students Society Honours Award: Sachin Seth Faculty of Engineering Excellence in Teaching Award: Gordon Fenton Professor Appreciation Award (Years I & II B.Eng): Chris Watts and Sergei Iakovlev The Dalhousie Law Students' Society and Alumni Association Award for Excellence in Teaching: Jennifer Llewellyn Dalhousie Medical Alumni Association Residency Teaching Award: Allison Ball and Karthik Tennankore Professor of the Year Award, Medical Students' Society: Bill Baldridge and Dana Farina The Silver Shovel Award, Medical Students' Society: Lynne McLeod, Department of Obstetrics and Genealogy Faculty of Science Award for Excellence in Teaching: Neil Burford, Department of Chemistry Nurse Educator Appreciation Award: Kim Hebert, Colleen Kiberd, School of Nursing Dr. Jessie I. MacKnight Award for Excellence in Pharmaceutical Teaching Associate: Hoan Linh Banh Hanna & Harold Barentt Award for Excellence in Teaching First Year Law: Stephen Coughlan Gordon Archibald Teaching Excellence Award, School of Business Administration: Shamsud Chowdhury First-year MBA Professor of the Year Award: Jim Power Second-year MBA Professor of the Year Award: David Roach, Gudrun Curri Commerce Professor of the Year Award: Tammy Crowell | Lea C. Steeves Award for Excellence in Teaching of Continuing Medical Education: James R. Bentley Earth Sciences Professor of the Year Award: Nicholas Culshaw Dr. Forbes Langstroth Memorial Award, Physics & Atmospheric Science: Laurent Kreplak The President's Graduate Teaching Assistant Award:
W. W. Wood Award for Excellence in Dental Education: Cara Tax Dalhousie Student Union Teaching Awards:
Outstanding (staff) advisor: Linda Conrad, Engineering Outstanding (faculty) advisor: Patricia Laws, Chemistry Outstanding graduate advisor: Frank Harvey, Political Science, and Ray Klein, Psychology Dalhousie Association of Psychology Students Excellence in Teaching: Simon Gadbois and Shannon Johnson Dalhousie University Educational Leadership Award: John A Ross, Department of Emergency Medicine -- compiled by Trevor Ritchie |
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