UNG Teaching Excellence Award for Tenure-Track Faculty 2018

Posted: October 15, 2018

The Teaching Excellence Award for Tenure-Track Faculty recognizes those who have consistently demonstrated outstanding instruction. The recipients' qualifications may include activities designed to advance the practice of teaching and learning, to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and/or global and multicultural understanding. Additionally, the recipients' qualifications may include effective teaching strategies to enhance student learning, such as active learning, student portfolios, and classroom assessment techniques, and a commitment to enriching academic activities outside of the classroom.

Adam Frey, Assistant Professor of Music, designs individualized lessons for each student according to their needs and personal progress. In that spirit, he participated in the iPad Loan Program to help students improve musicianship skills. Dr. Frey helps each student become the best musician they can be by cultivating problem solving skills, creating self-design exercises, building communications skills, developing industry knowledge, and guiding students toward goals appropriate to the discipline.

Phillip Guerty, Associate Professor of History, uses small group exercises to build community in the classroom and teach students the importance of communication. Dr. Guerty puts students in charge of their own learning using the "flipped classroom" method. He utilizes a mix of high-impact teaching practices, including scaffolding undergraduate research. His classes are highly interactive with small group work, peer review, and multi-platform delivery to help students achieve their goals.

David Osmond, Assistant Professor of Teacher Education, encourages his students to become leaders and provides opportunities to advance their skills. Dr. Osmond emphasizes intercultural learning and extending the classroom beyond its four walls. His courses adhere to the Principles of Excellence advanced by the Association of American Colleges and Universities Liberal Education and America's Promise initiative. "The instructional content and teaching strategies are merely a mechanism to develop lifelong scholars who have a high degree of leadership, creative practice, cultural-fluency, self-efficacy, and cognitive empathy," says Dr. Osmond.