{"id":42538,"date":"2016-12-08T17:11:34","date_gmt":"2016-12-08T21:11:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=42538"},"modified":"2016-12-13T12:21:19","modified_gmt":"2016-12-13T16:21:19","slug":"creativity-and-innovation-take-time-says-teaching-award-winner-simmons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2016\/12\/creativity-and-innovation-take-time-says-teaching-award-winner-simmons\/","title":{"rendered":"Creativity and innovation take time says teaching award winner Simmons"},"content":{"rendered":"

Assistant professor Nicola Simmons frequently asks herself a question often asked of students: Who cares, and what does it matter?<\/span><\/p>\n

Simmons, from the Faculty of Education, won the Distinguished Teaching Award earlier this year and delivered a keynote address at the 12th annual Centre for Pedagogical Innovation Tribute to Teaching event\u00a0Thursday, Dec. 8.<\/p>\n

An educator who focuses on post-secondary teaching and learning, Simmons\u2019s address \u2014 Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) as the Third Side of the Coin: Connecting Teaching and Research \u2014 was highlighted and driven by her exploration of what scholarship is and how it is applied in academic settings in conjunction with teaching and learning.<\/p>\n

She also looked at how the various spheres of SoTL \u2013 micro, meso, macro, mega \u2013 impact and drive research forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s the culture in your department that would allow you to use language as you move forward,\u201d asked Simmons. \u201cContext matters a lot; thinking about what happens through the stages matter a lot; thinking about how you can connect it beyond the institution matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Simmons confessed that she asks herself that question of who cares and what does it matter?<\/p>\n

\u201cIn some ways it\u2019s easier to think of our teaching and research as separate and that they should stay that way, but that\u2019s not necessarily true,\u201d she said. \u201cCreativity and innovation have become such keywords, but they take time and we don\u2019t get to the deepest and best places in our work when we\u2019re always in a hurry. We need to think about how we can integrate our work to help it feel less fragmented.\u201d<\/p>\n

Simmons believes the scholarship of teaching and learning can be the connective glue that brings the two sides of teaching and research together, contributing to a culture that values these beliefs and progressing our students as we communicate its benefits.<\/p>\n

In addition to Simmons\u2019 address, Robert McGray, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Education was the recipient of the Brock University Award for Excellence in Teaching for Early Career Faculty.<\/p>\n

Nicholas Vesprini, an instructor in Biological Sciences, was the recipient of the Don Ursino Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Large Classes.<\/p>\n

Andrea Bishop, sessional instructor in the Faculty of Education, was the recipient of the Clarke Thomson Award for Excellence in Sessional Teaching.<\/p>\n\n\t