Every year Trent University celebrates teaching excellence with awards that honour exceptional contributions to teaching and learning. Trent University Centre for Teaching and Learning invites students to make a nomination for their course instructors, teaching assistants, and lab demonstrators for the 2020 Teaching Awards.

Students can nominate an instructor, teaching assistant, or colleague for one of four awards presented each year.

The Symons Award for Excellence in Teaching recognizes faculty and staff who stand out from others in encouraging learning, bring unique experiences to the teaching space, challenge students to do their best work, serve as inspiration for students, and demonstrate exemplary concern for students. Dr. Joan Sangster of the Women and Gender Studies department is a past recipient of this award.

The Award for Educational Leadership and Innovation is presented to a member of faculty and staff who make a distinctive impact through their educational leadership and/or innovations in teaching and learning. This award was given to Professor David Newhouse of the Chanie Wenjack School of Indigenous Studies in the 2015-2016 academic year.

The Award for Excellence in Online Teaching is for instructors who have demonstrated a passion for, and commitment to, online teaching and who have implemented effective approaches to fostering active learning and student involvement. Dr. Susan Yates received this award in 2019 for her Biology teaching.

The Award for Excellence in Teaching Assistance recognizes teaching assistants who excel at encouraging learning in workshop, tutorial, seminar, laboratory, or field settings. Sarah McNeilly, a Masters student and Teaching Assistant in the Cultural Studies department, received this award for the 2018-2019 academic year.

Finally, the CUPE 3908-1 Award for Excellence in Teaching celebrates a member of the Trent contract faculty who has a strong, positive impact on students’ learning. Last year, Sam Grey of the International Development Studies department was awarded this accolade.

The deadline for nominations is Thursday, January 31, 2020 at trentu.ca/teaching/nominate. The Teaching Awards Subcommittee meets to go over all the nominations and decides on this year’s successful award recipients. The committee looks for nominations that really “tell the story,” or present specific details about a candidate's interaction with students, and clear examples illustrating their impact on student learning.

Awards will be presented at the annual Celebration of Teaching Excellence on March 31, 2020 in the Alumni Atrium of the Trent Student Centre from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m.

For any questions, please contact Aleyah-Erin Lennon at the Trent University Centre for Teaching and Learning.