When Department of Psychology professor Tanya Martini was called onto the stage at Fall Convocation earlier this month, it was confirmation to her that she’s surrounded by good people: Good students, good admin staff, and good senior administrators.

“It’s nice to be recognized by your peers, but the reality is, I get a lot of support and I get it from a lot of quarters,” said Martini, who won the Distinguished Teaching Award earlier this month. “Good things happen in the classroom because I have great support from people you wouldn’t even think of.”

Anna Lathrop, Vice-Provost, Teaching and Learning, Brock University said Martini demonstrates excellence in teaching and educational leadership, the two criteria for the Distinguished Teaching award.

“I’m absolutely delighted she’s the recipient of the Distinguished Teaching award,” said Lathrop. “She’s incredibly engaging and exceptionally student-centered. She’s very interested in student retention and success and that translates into the work she does for the students and around the campus.”

Originally from Toronto, Martini taught at the University of Windsor before coming to Brock in 2003. Her work incorporates outstanding evidence of teaching excellence that is not only indicative of stellar classroom performance but also reflected educational leadership, both within the department and throughout the institution.

In large undergraduate classes and in courses known to have challenging content, Martini consistently receives high course evaluations. Her contributions to curriculum and program development show the impact of her teaching and learning beyond the classroom. Her ongoing commitment in the areas of learning outcomes, e-portfolio development, and a newly-proposed course for student transferrable skill development are significant contributions to student learning. Martini, who has also been involved in researching the long-term positive impact of Brock’s Experience BU campus-wide co-curriculum, is an outstanding educator and pedagogical leader.

Martini said people like Lathrop have allowed her and others involved in Brock’s Centre for Pedagogical Innovation to introduce new teaching initiatives.

Martini also credited her students for making the teaching environment a dynamic one.

“Good things don’t happen in the classroom unless the students get invested. It’s nice to be recognized, but at the same time, I sit back and think, I’m only part of this equation that’s making the learning possible. Anybody who teaches a good course probably has enough humility know they don’t do it by themselves,” Martini said.

Martini will give a public address on teaching at the Centre for Pedagogical Innovation’s annual Tribute to Teaching event, Dec. 10 from noon to 1:30 p.m. at Alphie’s Trough. Members of the Brock community interested in attending should email cpi@brocku.ca.