This year’s honorees were invited to share their thoughts about teaching and advising with UDaily. Excerpts from their responses are printed below.
Excellence in Teaching
Stefanie DeVito: “I am honored to be receiving an
Excellence in Teaching Award for 2023. I am grateful for the opportunity
to teach enthusiastic and eager students and to work with dedicated
upper-class students who serve as peer mentors in my classes to amplify
student support and learning. Working with primarily first-year students
in their first semester at UD, my goals for my students include not
only learning the fundamentals of biology, but also to help them develop
academic success skills, including how to take notes, study, manage
their time and be reflective about their learning – skills which I hope
will help them succeed in my course and beyond. As a first-generation
college student myself who was inspired by amazing teachers and
professors throughout my education, giving students the structure and
support they need to succeed in challenging classes and reach their
personal and professional goals is at the core of how I approach every
class. I feel very fortunate to be part of a supportive community of
students and colleagues here at UD!”
Lauren Genova: “Teaching changes lives, and for that
reason is a responsibility I do not take lightly. To me, teaching is so
much more than helping our students learn the content and skills needed
to succeed in our disciplines. It’s about instilling a passion for
lifelong learning in our students. It’s about inspiring our students to
realize their greatest potential and empowering them to discover and
embrace who they truly are. It’s about cheering them on as they reach
their goals and, in some cases, helping them gain the confidence they
need to see themselves as we've always seen them: capable of
accomplishing amazing things. One of my former professors and teaching
mentors, Prof. Hal White, once told me, ‘You are a different teacher to
every one of your students.’ These words have stayed with me ever since
my first day teaching here at UD. For some students, we as their
instructors could be the first to have ever believed in them. For other
students, we as their instructors might serve as their support system:
surely within the classroom itself, but also in other aspects of our
students' multidimensional lives—such as by helping them discover
undergraduate research opportunities which align with their passions, or
by showing up to their concerts or sporting events. We may never know
exactly what impact we make on our students' lives, but one thing that's
certain is that students change instructors' lives as well. To realize
that some of my students have thought so highly of my teaching to
nominate me for the 2023 Excellence in Teaching Award is just one of the
many ways they have left an indelible impression on my life, and for
that I will be forever grateful.”
Christine Hoch: “I am honored to be one of the
recipients of the Excellence in Teaching Awards for 2023. I am fortunate
to teach content in which I have personal experience and interest. This
supports development and delivery of content that is engaging with
real-world application. I am indebted to my colleagues who have
supported me and freely shared their talents and wisdom. I am most
grateful to the students who continue to challenge and inspire me.”
Stephanie Raible: “It is my goal to have students feel
welcome in the classroom and for them to find meaning within the
content. I see my role as being a curator: I present students material,
and it’s their responsibility to make sense of how it makes sense for
them. For me, this award came on the 10th anniversary of teaching, which
makes it an extra special way to celebrate. I cannot thank my students
enough for this recognition.”
Jonathan Russ: “I am humbled and honored to be a
recipient of the University’s Excellence in Teaching Award this year. I
am passionate about teaching, and it is extraordinarily gratifying to
have been nominated by my students for the award. While it may sound
hyperbolic, I truly am living my dream to be a teacher/scholar. After
attending my very first history class as an undergraduate student, I was
so inspired by the soaring rhetoric and the engaging subject matter
that as I departed the lecture hall I thought to myself, ‘THAT is what I
want to do with my life.’ My goal never wavered, and after all these
years, it remains a thrill to engage with our students every day. I
still have butterflies in my stomach at the beginning of every class
because I can barely contain my excitement. There is simply so much
historical research to be shared and discussed, and evidently my passion
for the subject comes through. It is my privilege to teach at the
University of Delaware, and I am very moved to be recognized with the
Excellence in Teaching Award. My heart is filled with gratitude.”
Elizabeth Soslau: “I used to attempt to fill the role
of ‘sage on the stage’ -- meticulously creating lectures. Over time,
I've learned to talk less, listen more, be more curious about my
students and shift instructional power to my students so that I became a
co-learner. These changes contributed to a deep love for teaching and
for my students.”
Excellence in Undergraduate Advising and Mentoring
Amy Hagstrom: “My work in advisement is based on a
mentoring relationship that offers students the opportunity to explore
career ideas as well as problem-solve their life plans and educational
questions. I believe advising a diverse group of students for the global
health minor offered by the College of Health Sciences has altered how I
see the role of advisement, as well. Many students that travel on
study abroad programs did not realize that their courses were (many
times) a component of the courses required for the minor.”
Jennifer Naccarelli: “The process of advisement extends
beyond course planning for degree completion. Advisement sessions are a
critical component of a student’s UD journey. In them students get to
think about, and practice articulating, their future vision for
themselves. And they get to do so in a setting that is free from the
expectations of family and friends, a space carved out for them to
consider life after UD. It is a deeply rewarding experience teaching
students how to translate the most exciting aspects of their coursework
and their acquired experiences into the first steps of their
professional trajectory.”
Erica Selva: “The moment you realize you have connected
with a student to enable them to conquer a fundamental concept is pure
joy and knowing in some small way that may contribute to their future is
the genuine reward of mentoring students.”
Excellence in Graduate Student Teaching
Waleed Abu-Khader: "Being responsible for more than 40
students in one of the toughest courses in civil engineering is not an
easy thing to most people. I saw the loophole when I started teaching,
it’s all about building the proper relationship with the students to
ensure their trust, comfort and that there is no barrier between student
and the instructor. The small age gap helped me build this easily. I
already knew how they think and what methods suit them to deliver the
message. UD has a great campus with a huge diversity of students;
students didn’t only come to study, they wanted to build up their skills
in communication and develop their network. I push my students to
balance between college life and studying, starting by planning dinner
parties and gathering to show them the real practice happening in the
field of civil engineering to get the practical idea not just the
theory. I believe the space given by my teaching adviser helped me a lot
to shine and implement my strategy. In addition, the supportive
Department of Civil Engineering was like a family to me and made me
stand by them whenever they needed me."
David Clymer: “I used to ask ‘Does anybody have any
questions about anything on the screen?’ while teaching Zoom classes
during the pandemic. I am really glad nowadays in class I get to ask
‘Does anybody have any questions about anything on the chalkboard?’ I
aim to effectively communicate my thought process to students in a
logical and concise manner. This is always a challenge when it comes to
physics, for it is a subject that employs advanced mathematics to study
the very abstract fundamental principles of nature. For this reason, at
the beginning of the semester, I tell my students the central theme of
the course. Throughout the semester, this main theme is frequently
revisited and reinforced with the examples they see and through the
techniques they learn. The very essence of classical mechanics (the PHYS
207 class I taught recently) is the idea that force causes
acceleration, meanwhile mechanical energy and momentum are two conserved
quantities of the motion in an isolated system. However, since
temperature is absent from the framework of classical mechanics, we need
statistical thermodynamics (PHYS 616) and its very essence is the idea
that experimentally measurable thermodynamic quantities are dictated by
the possible microstates a system can assume. Class participation and
office hours are the best opportunities for me to engage in discussions
and exchange thoughts with students so that I can become aware of the
pitfalls students may have in their understanding of the course content.
I always encourage students to ask questions and I enjoy answering
their questions and oftentimes elaborating on the concepts relevant to
their questions. To me, teaching would not be so enjoyable without all
these interactions with students.”
Pascal Kataboh: "I am absolutely thrilled to receive
this award! As a graduate student at UD, I made it my personal mission
to help my students not only understand mathematics but also find joy in
it. To me, teaching mathematics isn't simply about showing students how
to solve problems; it's about working alongside them as they learn and
grow in their mathematical abilities. I firmly believe that teaching
with passion and dedication is the key to ensuring our students'
success. Mathematics doesn't have to be a subject shrouded in mystery
and confusion; it can be enjoyable and even fun when we make it
interactive and engage our students in deep discussions. I take great
joy in seeing my students recognize me, even in coffee shops on campus
and enthusiastically want to discuss calculus problems. This is what
teaching is all about: seeing our students grow and thrive. I am
motivated now more than ever to continue working diligently to help our
students become independent problem solvers. I am so grateful for the
tremendous advice and support I have received from some of the fantastic
math instructors here at UD, particularly Drs. Bacuta Cr, Hotchkiss,
Kilikian, and Mr. Brittingham. I could not have achieved this award
without them, and I am so grateful for their guidance."
Amanda Sensi: “I taught CHEMM333/334 Organic Chemistry
for Chemistry Majors. I helped instill basic laboratory techniques in an
organic lab setting. I also wanted to show my students that lab can be
fun yet informative throughout my time teaching.”
