Two students from the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science are recipients of the 2016 Amit and Meena Chakma Awards for Exceptional Teaching by a Student. The awards were presented to PhD candidates John Doucette and Hadi Hosseini at Monday’s meeting of the University of Waterloo’s senate. Doucette and Hosseini join two PhD candidates - one from engineering, one from science. Rationale behind their awards were presented in today's daily bulletin:
John Doucette, a doctoral candidate at the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo, is recognized for being approachable, thorough, and passionate about teaching. When ranking Doucette’s teaching on a scale from one (unsatisfactory) to four (outstanding), one student asked, “Can I give John a five? Because he deserves one. John is phenomenal!” And another student remarked that “even though it was an 8:30 a.m. lecture, his classes were always full.” A faculty member praised Doucette by expressing that he “is a top-ranked candidate, with an unmatched array of talents and experience.” Doucette began his undergraduate studies at the age of 15. Given his long and proven track record for exceptional teaching, Doucette is a very deserving recipient of this award.
Hadi Hosseini is a highly-motivated PhD candidate at the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science. He is able to get his students actively involved in the classroom and encourages them to answer (and ask) questions. He shows students that he is genuinely interested in them by learning their names and entertaining “tangential conversations about Computer Science after lectures.” This personal engagement is reflected in Hosseini’s high course evaluations. One undergraduate student commented that “he clearly showed that he cared about his students and their success.” Along with his studies and teaching, Hosseini works at the Centre for Teaching Excellence as a teaching assistant workshop facilitator to help guide other Waterloo graduate students in advancing their knowledge, techniques, and skills as instructors. One professor remarked that, “As a teaching assistant, Hosseini has always done a phenomenal job.”
