We are pleased to announce that one of the winners of this year’s Faculty of Science Excellence in Science Teaching Awards is Professor Stefan Idziak from the Department of Physics and Astronomy.
Professor Idziak was an early adopter of innovative, pedagogically-sound teaching techniques. He frequently uses clickers to encourage students to ask questions and interact among themselves, and recently has introduced a project component to the SCI 206 course where student groups produce an explanation of how something works, using any medium other than a written report. The resulting collection of videos, songs, poems and other interesting formats produced over the years demonstrate that students really do have an interest in exploring the world from a physics perspective.
“Professor Idziak has created a wonderful, inclusive learning environment that makes me as a student feel welcome,” says one of his students. Another student says “During our very first lecture, Professor Idziak told us that his secondary goal (to teaching us the material) was to make all of us enjoy physics a little bit more.”
Congratulations Stefan!
About ESTA
The Excellence in Science Teaching Award (ESTA) was established to recognize and reward excellence in teaching and outstanding instructors within the Faculty of Science. This award was initiated by Earth and Environmental Sciences Professor Mario Coniglio in 2011 when he was the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies in the Faculty of Science. Each year, the ESTA award is awarded to a maximum of two candidates from the Faculty of Science who have demonstrated sustained, high quality teaching.