Seven Northwestern State University faculty have been recognized with the 2021 Excellence in Teaching Award.
Here is a profile of one of this year’s honorees.
Name: Jessica Church
Academic college/department: Gallaspy College of Education and Human Development
Number of years at Northwestern State: Full time for 2 years and 3 years of adjunct instruction.
Why is teaching important to you? Being an educator is the career that develops all other careers. When teaching in K-12 schools, I educated future scientists, engineers, educators, mechanics and so many more. Now at the collegiate level, I am developing the educators of tomorrow who will impact the lives of hundreds and thousands of other students. My students are the reason I teach. Knowing they are becoming successful educators inspires me to continue to innovate and develop creative lessons throughout my courses. I aim to be the model they will be in their classrooms. I believe that teaching is the job that allows you to be creative, innovative, and impactful. I love teaching because it challenges me to learn, reflect, and refine my practices. As an educator of educators, it is my job to be their role model to push them when they’re challenged, to support them in their successes, and to develop their skills so they can create future writers, musicians, astronauts and so many more.
Why do you believe you are an effective teacher? I am an effective teacher because my students are engaged in their course work and in their field experiences with teachers across the region. In the last two years, I began an Educators Rising Collegiate organization here at Northwestern, and I feel this is effective because I am supporting and building a network of preservice and professional educators. The organization has 23 future educators as members and has hosted two state conferences. I feel effective because we are developing Educators Rising in schools in our region and supporting future educators in middle and high schools. In addition, my previous students are thriving as new educators in their own classrooms. It is wonderful to connect with my prior students through social media to see them teaching innovative discovery-based science lessons, decorating their classrooms and challenging their own students.
As a teacher, what brings you a feeling of accomplishment when working with students? I feel accomplished when I receive text messages, emails, and phone calls from my current and past students, sharing their accomplishments. That quick excited phone call or text makes my day. It is rewarding, and I feel accomplished when that my students want to tell me about passing a challenging course, passing the Praxis and getting their first teaching position.
How has the past year affected your teaching methods? The past year has challenged me to become a more innovator instructor building courses that provide future educators with the tools to teach face to face and virtually. I discovered new platforms and methods to implement in my classes to increase engagement and interaction such as Nearpod, Google Apps (forms and Jamboard), and Flipgrid. Not only did I implement these strategies in my online courses, they became part of my face to face classes as well. 21st Century educators need to be ready to teach in person and virtually.
Have you learned anything during the last year that will make you a better teacher? I learned to have grace and flexibility with myself and my students. I have also learned to incorporate more videos and technology opportunities for my students in all of my courses.
To learn more about Mrs. Church, go to https://vimeo.com/584678638
