The recipient of the 2019 Dr. Joe Burnworth Teaching Award joined the Taylor University faculty the fall of 2014 and almost immediately developed a reputation among his colleagues as an innovative teacher who is passionate about student learning. This recipient constantly seeks to improve learning outcomes, focusing on how and why his students learn, which is evident in his course evaluations that consistently show very high scores for “making learning stimulating and fun.”
This recipient invests significant time, thought and passion into finding ways to further motivate deeper learning. Here are just a few examples: he explicitly discusses the role of failure in the learning process; he engages classroom technologies that prompt deeper engagement; and he constantly seeks ways to expand active participation and metacognitive growth.
This recipient, like Joe Burnworth, is not only a great classroom teacher, but also seeks to connect with students holistically. Students frequently comment on how this recipient makes time for them: When a student was discouraged, he met with the student and has written notes of encouragement on students’ papers; when a student began to give up, he pointed out the learning that the student had already achieved and expressed confidence in her potential; when a strong student showed evidence of greater potential, he challenged that student in ways that motivated higher levels of commitment.
This awardee expands learning beyond the classroom by engaging his students in scholarship, modeling intellectual passion and curiosity while also teaching and mentoring significant scholarly work. He not only worked with his students on research and publication, but he also noticed that females in his major were not as engaged in scholarship so he created an opportunity for them to attend a national conference where they met with top female scholars.
This year’s Burnworth awardee not only invests in his students but also invests in helping his colleagues improve as teachers, being a frequent participant and presenter in BCTLE events and his school’s discussions on pedagogy. He truly enjoys sharing his passion for student learning through these formal venues as well as through informal hallway conversations about pedagogy and student learning, becoming a Taylor leader on engaged pedagogies and student learning.
Congrats Dr. Thompson!
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