Seven Northwestern State University faculty have been recognized with the 2022 Excellence in Teaching Award.
Here is a profile of one of this year’s honorees.
Name: Melinda Parnell
Academic college/department:Nursing
Number of years at Northwestern State: 6
Why is teaching important to you? Knowledge is power and to empower a student with that knowledge so they can go out into the world into their respective field and effect change is very important to me.
Why do you believe you are an effective teacher? I believe I am an effective teacher because I listen to my students. I try to create an open-door environment where a student can feel free to come voice their needs. To me when I listen to a student it is not just words that I hear but how those words are delivered. Tone, inflection and emotion provide much feedback when I am working with students. Listening allows me an opportunity to self reflect on my performance as well. Is there anything from student interaction that can allow me to do better to improve my performance to make things better for the student.
As a teacher, what brings you a feeling of accomplishment when working with students? There is something in the eyes of a student that lights up when they make the connection between what they learned in the classroom and the application in the clinical setting. As a teacher, getting to see this happen and knowing I had a part in it brings about a sense of accomplishment for myself.
Have the last 2-3 years made you a better teacher? The question asks have the last three years made me a better teacher and the answer is yes. Many times I have told my students that I learn more from them than they do from me. Teaching allows me the opportunity to gain knowledge through the eyes of a student, a different perspective, if you will. So, yes, the more I teach, the more perspective I gain and the better teacher I become.
