These 10 professors are best in class
Every year, 10 Canadian professors are recognized for their exceptional contributions to teaching and learning by the 3M National Teaching Fellowship, created by the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education and 3M Canada. All 10 will be profiled on Maclean’s On Campus in the coming weeks, so be sure to check back often. Here are this year’s 10 winners:
Jordan LeBel
John Molson School of Business, Concordia University
The food marketing professor, a highly sought-after chocolate expert, created the award-winning online course “Marketing yourself,” which teaches students how to manage their careers.
Colin Laroque
Department of Geography and Environment, Mount Allison University
Laroque teaches harmony with nature—which he learned from parents and elders—though it is his work with dendrochronology (tree rings and dating objects) that lands him on TV.
Darren Dahl
Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia
Described as “innovative, engaging and unconventional,” Dahl’s teaching style is student-centred, and his “New venture design” course offers students a shot at CBC’s Dragon’s Den.
Kim Fordham Misfeldt
Department of Humanities, Augustana Campus, University of Alberta
The German professor is a “teaching leader,” one who offers “a life-changing, life-altering experience” through language learning (including a summer immersion in Germany) and drama.
Heather Zwicker
Department of English and Film Studies, University of Alberta
The professor of writing and literary theory teaches students how to “read Edmonton” through theoretical texts, local literature, cartography, personal experience and history, changing the way they view their city.
Shelagh Crooks
Department of Philosophy and Education, Saint Mary’s University
A model of collegiality and mentor to both students and faculty, Crooks teaches students the value of critical reflection to shape effective and autonomous thinkers.
Simon Ellis
Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia
As a kid, Ellis wanted to be a Coke-truck driver or a meteorologist, but now the “professor of wood” is so inspiring a student suggested cloning him so he can “teach the world.”
Mark Goldszmidt
Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University
The doctor is listening, even in the often chaotic clinical setting where he practises what he teaches about bedside manner and asks the right questions, a skill hard to teach in the lecture hall.
June Ann Larkin
Women and Gender Studies Institute, University of Toronto
Larkin helps her students see the “transformative power of their academic knowledge” as she encourages community connections at home and in Africa, and guides them “to effect social change through civic engagement.”
Joan Conrod
Rowe School of Business, Dalhousie University
An enthusiastic and demanding accounting professor who emphasizes the ethics of the business, Conrod’s students earn some of the highest pass rates on professional exams and are sought by top firms.