Early Career Teaching Awards

The annual awards are given to faculty members who demonstrate an exceptional commitment to student learning, pedagogical engagement and teaching innovation.

They are named for Cheryl Regehr, a professor in the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work and a champion of teaching excellence and innovation who served as U of T’s vice-president and provost for a decade.

The award recipients are:

S. Trimble – assistant professor, teaching stream in the Women and Gender Studies Institute at the Faculty of Arts & Science
Alison Olechowski – assistant professor in the department of mechanical and industrial engineering, the Institute for Studies in Transdisciplinary Engineering Education and Practice and the Troost Institute for Leadership Education in Engineering at the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering
Spyridon Kotsovilis – assistant professor, teaching stream in the department of political science at U of T Mississauga
Jasty Singh – assistant professor, teaching stream in the department of immunology at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Roberta K. Timothy – assistant professor, teaching stream in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health

The recipients will be honoured at the annual Excellence in Teaching Reception in the fall.

Five University of Toronto faculty recognized with Early Career Teaching Awards

lanthierj — Mon, 01 May 2023 15:48:55 +0000

Five University of Toronto faculty recognized with Early Career Teaching Awards

Teaching

lanthierj Mon, 05/01/2023 - 11:48

Faculty

St. George

Scarborough

Early Career Teaching Awards

landscape

Clockwise from top left: Elham Marzi, Alexandra Bolintineanu, George Ibrahim, Sanghyun (Kris) Kim and Uahikea Maile

The University of Toronto has recognized five outstanding teachers – Alexandra Bolintineanu, George Ibrahim, Sanghyun (Kris) Kim, Uahikea Maile and Elham Marzi – with the Early Career Teaching Award.

“These faculty members are enriching the experiences of students through exciting and creative teaching practices,” says Susan McCahan, vice-provost, innovations in undergraduate education. “The University of Toronto congratulates them on their exceptional commitment to student learning, pedagogical engagement and teaching innovation.”

An assistant professor, teaching stream, in the Faculty of Arts & Science, Bolintineanu created a minor program in digital humanities combining research and critical analysis with experiential learning. Students visit rare book collections and museums, and work with text encoding, digital mapping, data visualization, augmented and virtual reality and 3D printing.

Daniel Gregory receives Early Career Teaching Award

lanthierj — Fri, 16 Apr 2021 20:36:14 +0000

Daniel Gregory receives Early Career Teaching Award

Teaching

lanthierj Fri, 04/16/2021 - 16:36

Faculty

St. George

Early Career Teaching Awards

Faculty of Arts & Science

Department of Earth Sciences

landscape

Daniel Gregory, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Arts & Science, has been recognized with an Early Career Teaching Award.

Gregory, who joined the department of Earth sciences at the St. George campus in 2018, specializes in economic geology and geochemistry – and his approach to teaching emphasizes bridging the gap between academic research and industry advancements.

Gregory uses a variety of methods to spark students’ curiosity. He uses a portable XRF, a common tool in the mining industry, to teach how hydrothermal fluids change rock chemistry through blind target exercises and offers students opportunities to teach what they have learned through flipped classroom techniques and the use of imperfect rock samples to identify gaps in learning and reasoning. During the past year, he developed an online field course that allowed students to complete a simulated field-based mapping excursion. He often includes industry-level competitions, such as open data challenges, to encourage students to think beyond classroom applications.

“I emphasize experiential learning approaches to let students immerse themselves into the problem solving process,” Gregory says, “Providing realistic opportunities –such as open data mining challenges – for students to 'show what they know' is a holistic approach to apply their knowledge to real world problems.

“In the near future, I will also work with a team of other professors to develop and use strategic board games to teach key concepts in mineral exploration.”

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Olivier St-Cyr receives Early Career Teaching Award

lanthierj — Fri, 16 Apr 2021 19:38:06 +0000

Olivier St-Cyr receives Early Career Teaching Award

Teaching

lanthierj Fri, 04/16/2021 - 15:38

Faculty

St. George

Early Career Teaching Awards

Faculty of Information

landscape

Olivier St-Cyr, an assistant professor, teaching stream, in the Faculty of Information, has been recognized with an Early Career Teaching Award.

At the Faculty of Information, St-Cyr created the curriculum for the User Experience Design (UXD) Concentration in the Master of Information (MI) degree and designed and oversaw the construction of two cutting-edge active learning spaces in the Bissell Building to support his teaching. The spaces are St-Cyr’s teaching research labs, acting as exploratory sandboxes – and are used by other professors at the faculty.

“My teaching bridges UXD theory and practice and is informed by industry approaches. In our design studios, students not only learn the principles of UX design, but get to experience design at firsthand”, says St-Cyr.

In his UXD capstone course, St-Cyr has adopted a Community-Engaged Learning (CEL) framework to support students’ experiential learning. “I love using CEL for my capstone course. It makes the projects relevant to students and allows them to learn from and contribute to the life of community organizations,” says St-Cyr, whose students engage with grassroots community partners across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and beyond to complete a major UX design project during the winter semester.

“Receiving this award makes me realize how amazing my students are and motivates me to keep designing innovative learning experiences at the Faculty of Information.”

Four University of Toronto faculty members recognized for outstanding teaching

lanthierj — Fri, 16 Apr 2021 18:34:29 +0000

Four University of Toronto faculty members recognized for outstanding teaching

Teaching

lanthierj Fri, 04/16/2021 - 14:34

Faculty

St. George

Early Career Teaching Awards

Faculty of Arts & Science

Temerty Faculty of Medicine

Faculty of Information

Department of Earth Sciences

Department of Computer Science

landscape

(L-R) Olivier St. Cyr, Danielle Bentley, Jacqueline Smith, Gregory Daniel

The University of Toronto has recognized four faculty members – Danielle Bentley, Daniel Gregory, Jacqueline Smith and Olivier St-Cyr – with Early Career Teaching Awards for the 2020-2021 academic year.

The awards honour outstanding teachers who demonstrate great commitment to student learning and engagement, and to teaching innovation. Winners receive $3,000 and are celebrated at an Excellence in Teaching reception.

“These extraordinary teachers have provided a truly exceptional experience for students in an unprecedented time,” said Mark Schmuckler, U of T’s acting vice-provost, academic programs and acting vice-provost, innovations in undergraduate education. “From the creation of community-engaged learning opportunities with grassroots organizations, to the establishment of learning communities for students newly admitted to competitive programs, or the development of online excursions that simulate field-based work, their creative and innovative approach to teaching and learning has inspired and engaged students.

“The university congratulates them on their remarkable accomplishments.”

This year's winners are:

Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, Danielle Bentley of the Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Assistant Professor Daniel Gregory of the department of Earth Sciences in the Faculty of Arts & Science
Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, Jacqueline Smith of the department of computer science in the Faculty of Arts & Science
Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, Olivier St-Cyr of the Faculty of Information

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Early Career Teaching Awards recognize four remarkable faculty members

lanthierj — Thu, 18 Jun 2020 19:26:04 +0000

Early Career Teaching Awards recognize four remarkable faculty members

Teaching

lanthierj Thu, 06/18/2020 - 15:26

Faculty

St. George

Scarborough

Early Career Teaching Awards

landscape

Clockwise from top left: Jill Carter, Rachel La Touche, Andrea Charise and Suzanne Wood

The University of Toronto has recognized four faculty members – Jill Carter, Andrea Charise, Rachel La Touche and Suzanne Wood – with Early Career Teaching Awards for the 2019-2020 academic year.

The awards honour superb teachers who demonstrate outstanding commitment to student learning and engagement, and to teaching innovation. Winners receive $3,000 and are celebrated at an Excellence in Teaching reception.

“This year's winners do an outstanding job of building community for students and integrating equity, diversity and inclusivity into their curricular and co-curricular programming,” said Professor Susan McCahan, U of T’s vice-provost, academic programs and innovations in undergraduate education. “From in-class debates and performance to Indigenous storytelling, they have used their creativity and passion to engage and inspire their students – providing an exceptional learning experience.

“On behalf of the university, I congratulate them on their remarkable achievements.”

This year's winners are:

Jill Carter, assistant professor, Centre for Drama, Theatre & Performance Studies, Transitional Year Program, and the Centre for Indigenous Studies in the Faculty of Arts & Science
Andrea Charise, assistant professor, Interdisciplinary Centre for Health & Society, U of T Scarborough
Rachel La Touche, assistant professor, teaching stream, department of sociology, Faculty of Arts & Science
Suzanne Wood, assistant professor, department of psychology, Faculty of Arts & Science

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Early Career Teaching Awards

Five faculty members recognized with Cheryl Regehr Early Career Teaching Awards

Read more about the Cheryl Regehr Early Career Teaching Awards

Five University of Toronto faculty recognized with Early Career Teaching Awards

Read more about Bolintineanu

Read more about Ibrahim

Read more about Kim

Read more about Maile

Read more about Marzi

Daniel Gregory receives Early Career Teaching Award

Olivier St-Cyr receives Early Career Teaching Award

Read more about St-Cyr's approach to teaching

Four University of Toronto faculty members recognized for outstanding teaching

Early Career Teaching Awards recognize four remarkable faculty members