Graduate School recognizes outstanding graduate teaching assistants

Doctoral student Hannah Peach and master’s candidate Jessica Morton are the 2015 Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award recipients, presented by the Graduate School and Center for Graduate Life.

The honor recognizes one doctoral and one master’s student who were nominated by their faculty supervisors for their work as teaching assistants. These separate awards allow UNC Charlotte to recognize the different types of tasks and demands placed upon graduate teaching assistants at their respective level.

Peach is a student in the Ph.D. in Health Psychology Program; Morton is pursuing a master’s degree in English.

Nominees must submit applications with original classroom materials, undergraduate students’ evaluations, letters of recommendation, a teaching philosophy and other evidence of their skill in the craft of teaching and their commitment to improve student learning.

“The experience of working as a graduate teaching assistant was so fulfilling,” stated Morton, “I’m now seriously considering a career in teaching.”

Winners were chosen by a faculty panel of judges from nine doctoral and four master’s nominees. Students from programs in public policy, organizational science, health psychology, biology, geography and urban regional analysis, curriculum and instruction, infrastructure and environmental systems, English and kinesiology were nominated.

“The Graduate School takes seriously its commitment to support teaching excellence. Graduate students need experience teaching, and we need them to be effective in that role. By offering training, workshops and a credit-bearing course, the Graduate School strives to ensure that GTAs learn from the experience and are successful in their teaching. We’re very proud of the winners and all of the nominees this year,” said Tom Reynolds, associate provost and dean of the Graduate School.