Principal Daniel Woolf announced today the inaugural winners of the Principal’s Teaching and Learning Awards.

The six awards, created earlier this year, recognize individuals and teams who have shown exceptional innovation and leadership in teaching and learning on campus. The awards are administered by the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL).

“I commend each of the recipients of this year’s awards. They are a dedicated group of faculty and staff who have shown a deep commitment to enhancing the student learning experience at Queen’s,” says Principal Woolf. “There is a great deal of work happening across campus to foster excellence in teaching and learning and I am delighted that these awards can help raise the profile of this initiative.”

Each of the six awards celebrates a different aspect of teaching and learning, such as curriculum development and international education.

“The awards aim to celebrate excellence in strategic areas of teaching and learning at Queen’s and to recognize the faculty and staff members who are making important contributions to that excellence,” says Peter Wolf, Associate Vice-Provost (Teaching and Learning) and Director of the CTL. “I would like to extend my congratulations to all of this year’s winners and to thank everyone who took the time to nominate someone for the awards.”

Formal presentation of the awards will take place at the Teaching Awards Reception to be held in the Agnes Etherington Art Centre on January 27, 2016.

The winners are:

Curriculum Development Award
(Sponsored by Centre for Teaching and Learning)

This following team developed a new curriculum for the Undergraduate School of Medicine’s M.D. program. Working alongside students and researchers, the team developed an innovative new curricular plan for the four-year program, introducing students to evidence-based medicine and research.

Dr. Heather Murray, Department of Emergency Medicine
Dr. Melanie Walker, Division of Cancer Care and Epidemiology
Dr. Linda Levesque, Centre for Health Services and Policy Research
Ms. Sheila Pinchin, School of Medicine
Ms. Suzanne Maranda, Bracken Library
Ms. Sandra Halliday, Bracken Library 

Educational Leadership Award
(Sponsored and coordinated by the Centre for Teaching and Learning)

Dr. Tony Sanfilippo, Associate Dean, Undergraduate Medical Education: Dr. Sanfilippo led the effort to recreate the Undergraduate Medical Program’s curriculum, creating a competency-based program that trains students not just to be physicians, but advocates, scholars and collaborators.

Educational Technology Award 
(Sponsored and coordinated by Information Technology Services)

Dr. Jennifer Hosek, Languages, Literatures and Cultures (faculty recipient): Dr. Hosek adopted and helped spread the use of the web-based tool Linguae Live to languages teaching. The tool connects students with peers from around the globe and allows them to practice language through structured activities and conversation.

Ms. Natalie Simper, Office of the Provost, and Mr. Jake Kaupp, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science (staff co-recipients): They worked to create BASICS, a web application that helps faculty develop and use analytics rubrics to assess student skills and learning outcomes. 

International Educational Innovation Award
(Sponsored and coordinated by the Associate Vice-Principal (International))

Dr. Susan Lord, Department of Film and Media Studies, and Dr. Karen Dubinsky, Global Development Studies: Drs. Lord and Dubinsky co-teach the Global Development Studies class “Cuban Culture and Society,” a course that takes place in Kingston and Havana. The professors have fostered strong ties with their Cuban colleagues to ensure that for years, their students have had an interdisciplinary and international learning experience.

Michael Condra Outstanding Student Service Award
(Sponsored and coordinated by The Office of the Vice-Provost and Dean of Student Affairs)

Ms. Helen Connop, Faculty of Law: For 13 years, Ms. Connop has provided outstanding support to students in the Faculty of Law, including establishing and managing the Academic Assistance Program. The program has a network of over 65 upper-year student tutors who provide support to first-year JD students.

Promoting Student Inquiry Teaching Award
(Sponsored and coordinated by The Queen's Library)

Dr. Gabor Fichtinger, School of Computing: Dr. Fichtinger makes ample effort to teach his students the rigors of scientific inquiry, encouraging students from first-year to their PhD to undertake research studies in his laboratory. Over the past six years, undergraduate students under Dr. Fichtinger’s supervision has authored and co-authored over 50 refereed research publications.