The recipients of the 2019 Amit and Meena Chakma Awards for Exceptional Teaching by a Student were announced today by Associate Vice-President, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs Jeff Casello. Two Science graduate students were among the four winners.
The Amit & Meena Chakma Awards for Exceptional Teaching by a Student were established through a generous gift by Dr. & Mrs. Chakma to recognize and promote teaching excellence of our next generation of educators.
The recipients of the 2019 Amit & Meena Chakma Award for Exceptional Teaching by a Student were: Marcus Abramovitch (Science), Apratim Chakraborty (Engineering), Heidi Fernandes (Science) and Caelan Wang (Mathematics).
Recipients are chosen by the selection committee which assesses the candidates intellectual rigor and communication skills in the interpretation and presentation of subject matter. Concern for and sensitivity to the academic need of the student is an important criterion. The value of the award is $1,000.
The awards will be presented at the Spring Convocation this June.
Marcus Abramovitch - Department of Chemistry
Marcus Abramovitch, a PhD candidate in Professor Linda Nazar's lab in the Department of Chemistry and a member of WIN, is recognized by students and faculty members for his leadership, patience and dedication in teaching.
A student described Abramovitch’s teaching as exceptional because of “his passion towards the subject and his passion towards his students.”
Abramovitch is characterized by his students as “very open and approachable” who often went out of his way to be available and present in his students’ learning. He would “question, probe, and attempt to get the student to explain his/her reasoning for their thoughts instead of simply giving the answer”.
Many students reflected that Abramovitch had made a significant impact on their learning personally and made working with him very engaging and beneficial.
A faculty member who supervised Abramovitch in his teaching commented that he “put himself 300 per cent into the course material, not just in time, but in effort that was well appreciated by the students”.
Additionally, he filled in for six lectures “with aplomb and excellence.” A student highlighted that Abramovitch “went above and beyond the expectations for his role as a TA and even took on teaching the course.”
Abramovitch has been a teaching assistant for CHEM 310. He also received the 2018 Waterloo Institute of Nanotechnology (WIN) Fellowship.