Wednesday, February 24, 2016
When soliciting student support of a teaching award nomination, it's important to include enough detail for them to prepare a targeted and effective nomination support letter. We have prepared a one page guideline (PDF) with tips on soliciting student support of a teaching award nomination. The text of the document is included below:
- Clearly state that you are asking for help from the student in order to put together a successful nomination
- Provide the name of the nominee and explain why you are contacting the student (ie because they were a student in a particular class; because a classmate suggested you get in touch)
- Provide the complete and accurate name of the award as well as a link to additional information about the award
- Briefly outline why you feel the nominee is a worthy candidate for the specific award
- Express the value of awards recognizing excellent teaching beyond simply rewarding the recipient (ie establishing ours as a community that values excellent teaching)
- Focus on the role of excellent teaching in supporting students in achieving their learning goals
- Ask the student to send their nomination letter to you (if they are comfortable doing so) in order that all the support letters may be submitted in one package
- Thank the student for their commitment to supporting teaching excellence
-
Provide
specific
details
about
the
expectations
for
support
letters;
a
bulleted
list
is
ideal
- It's important that your support letter be in your own words
- Address your support letter to (quote the award's nomination guidelines)
- Your support letter should express (use the award's criteria to tell the student what to target)
- You can visit the Centre for Teaching Excellence blog for tips on writing effective support letters