Paff, Showalter receive Eisenhower Award for Distinguished Teaching

宾州大学公园. ——洛丽塔·帕夫, associate professor of business and economics at 宾州州立银行, 斯科特·肖沃尔特, 埃伯利科学学院的化学、生物化学和分子生物学教授, are the recipients of the 2024 弥尔顿年代. Eisenhower Award for Distinguished Teaching.

该奖项旨在表彰在教学和学生支持方面表现卓越的终身教职员工，这些教职员工全职工作至少五年，本科教学是他们职责的主要部分. 弥尔顿年代. Eisenhower, brother of former U.S. 德怀特·D总统. Eisenhower, served as president of Penn State from 1950 to 1956.

洛丽塔Paff

Paff said educating her students comes only after she’s able to connect with them. 她的许多学生都是第一代学生，所以她的最初目标是让自己变得平易近人. That promotes a collaborative learning experience.

“让学生认识到这一点很重要，让教师记住这一点也很有益——今天的专家是昨天的新手,帕夫说. “我经常分享我的第一代经历，因为我试图通过学习学生的名字来建立社区, integrating opportunities for them to get to know each other, facilitating collaboration in- and out-of-class, reaching out when a student is absent and encouraging office visits. These behaviors demonstrate caring because many students won’t care what you know, 或者想学习它, 直到他们知道你在乎他们.”

帕夫说，她想分享她对这门学科的热情，让学生们对这些材料感到兴奋. Topics such as accounting or microeconomics may seem foreign, so s他说 it’s her job to apply the field in a relatable way. She spurs interest through lessons based on the cookie market or greeting cards. 她还发现学生感兴趣的是什么，并将这些选定的主题添加到她的课程计划中. 她还与校园的反种族主义课程(AAC)小组合作，将种族和反种族主义内容纳入其中，以使不同的声音和经历成为特色.

帕夫说:“当我们感兴趣时，我们会更密切地关注，建立更多的联系，更努力地工作。. “My goal is for all students to connect the content to their lived experiences.”

Her students are often learning how to be independent learners. Giving them the tools they’ll need to advance broadly in college is also part of her goals. Many of her students are first- or second-year students, so she begins with detailed learning practices. 晚些时候, she gives students more freedom as they shift to student-created learning plans, self assessments and peer feedback. In her advanced courses, she helps students understand their best way to learn.

Because learning also comes with its challenges, Paff said she balances her high expectations with kindness. She lets students revise submitted assignments so they can learn from their mistakes.

“允许修改提交支持学习，强调过程而不是结果，”帕夫说. “These practices promote intrinsic motivation and tenacity, encouraging students to safely take risks in their learning. In this environment, mistakes aren’t failures; they are an integral part of growth and mastery.”

Nominators said Paff takes a personalized approach to education, engaging them in the topics while making them feel part of the learning process.

“博士最独特的部分. 帕夫的教学是她如何让每个学生在课堂上个性化他们的学习. 在整个学期中，每个学生都可以选择一个个人感兴趣的主题，通过微观经济概念的视角进行研究,一位以前的学生说. “Dr. 帕夫整个学期都和我一起工作，帮助我将研究带入生活，并理解我的数据. 我认为优秀教学的标志是当学生离开教室时发生了变化:更有灵感, more informed and more competent. 我在Dr. Paff’s class was greatly informative and impactful to me then and now, 内部, 在课堂之外.

斯科特·肖沃特

肖沃尔特说，作为一名教育工作者，他的目标是教授科学对全球社会和生活质量的影响. 他知道他的学生可能会在其他地方找工作，只是想对这些主题有一个广泛的了解, or they may seek advanced degrees in his field. In either, there’s some common ground.

“重要的是要谦虚，并认识到在普通化学课堂上的许多学生并不想成为执业化学家,肖沃尔特说. “然而, 他们确实想了解他们所学专业和所选职业的课程的价值. 同样, for those who do desire careers in science, health or engineering it is essential to set their foundation for their long-term study.”

His teaching centers around three core principles.

第一个, he strives to create a learning community by addressing students’ needs, which may be far outside the bounds of the course curriculum. 他说，创建一个学习型社区首先要培养一个积极参与的学生，让他们看到自己所学知识的价值，以及这与成为一个知情的公民和他们的职业目标之间的关系.

知道学生的名字，并提供充足的办公时间，这样他就能更好地了解他们，了解他们对主题的掌握程度，这一点也很重要. 办公时间很重要, 他说, because it’s a chance to demonstrate the value of study groups and peer collaboration. It’s also a chance for him to be a positive role model for a diverse group of students.

“在本科阶段, 支持, 高质量的榜样关系对男女学生在学术和职业决策中都有好处,肖沃尔特说. “这种关系是引导女性和学生从代表性不足的群体走向科学和数学成就的一个预测因素。. In a community that respects the needs of all students, 尊重多样性自然流动，所有参与者的学习成果将最大化.”

Second, Showalter leads with the concepts and the perception of value follows. 他说，如果对化学没有基本的了解，就很难看到这个领域的价值. But, once students begin to learn the core concepts they see how it leads to problem solving.

“Connecting the problems back to the concepts doesn’t generally happen,肖沃尔特说. ”相比之下, the courses I design place the concepts forward, 只有当计算能够在相互矛盾的假设之间起到决定性作用时，才允许稍后进行计算, or when they point logically toward a deeper model.”

Lastly, Showalter said learning is a process that students must achieve for themselves. He said the classroom is just one of many opportunities for them to learn. His role there is to generate action while addressing bottlenecks in learning core concepts.

在一般化学中, 这是通过使用化学演示来挑战先验知识中的误解而严格实现的, or to motivate the development of a new theory,他说.

提名者说，肖瓦尔特通过展示他们在课堂上学到的概念的发展专家的深刻个人经验，使科学人性化. 他们说，他强调他们在成功之前的考验，为学生们建立了相关的主题.

“By introducing us to these faces and stories of past scientists, he fostered a sense of belonging within the scientific community,一位以前的学生说. “通过使化学领域人性化，我们可以开始设想自己是未来的贡献者. 他的教学方法激励我们渴望有一天能把自己的脸投射到黑板上, 标志着我们对科学界和知识进步的贡献.”