Presented annually, the Brock Teaching Awards are presented to instructors and faculty members who, in the opinion of the Brock community, have made significant contributions to the teaching and learning environment at Brock University.

Award Categories & Past Recipients

Application Guidelines

DEADLINE

Application packages should be submitted to the Centre for Pedagogical Innovation (CPI) by the first Friday in November.

ELIGIBILITY

Eligibility criteria is specific to each award. For all awards, previous recipients of other teaching awards (Brock-wide or Faculty-specific) are eligible to apply, but must be nominated for the specific award in order to be considered.  Additionally, previous candidates must be re-nominated to be reconsidered for an award, provided that they still meet the eligibility criteria.

• Clarke Thomson Award for Excellence in Sessional Teaching. All instructors on contracts or limited-term appointments who teach undergraduate classes and who have been teaching at Brock University for two or more years are eligible.
• Don Ursino Award for Excellence in Teaching of Large Classes. Any instructor (full-time faculty, sessional instructor, graduate student) who has taught a large class (enrollment of 100+ students) within the last academic year at Brock University is eligible. For the purposes of the award, a ‘large class’ consists of 100 or more students. However, given the diversity of enrollment in programs across the University, there may be smaller class sizes that still constitute a ‘large’ class in nature. In such cases, candidates should include a statement signed by the Department Chair, Program Director or Dean/Associate Dean as to why the classes of the nominee should be considered large by standards applicable to that Department or Program.
• Brock University Award for Excellence in Teaching for Early Career Faculty. Any tenure-track faculty member at Brock University in his/her first 5 years of service is eligible. Previous recipients of other teaching awards are eligible.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Each candidate must submit an application package in the form of a dossier to the Centre for Pedagogical Innovation to be considered for an award. The dossier should not exceed 40 pages and should ideally be submitted digitally. Each page should be clearly numbered. Dossiers that are well-organized, and especially those that help the selection committee quickly find key pieces of evidence, are especially appreciated. It also means that a dossier prepared for some other purpose (teaching position, tenure, another teaching award, etc.) should be revised to fit the criteria and documentation required for the award. The same can be said of supporting letters – these should be recent and address the criteria for the award. Additionally, nominators and candidates need to bear in mind that the selection committee may not be familiar with all disciplinary or institutional norms of teaching. This means that context and a clear explanation of the significance of the achievements of the candidate should be provided, rather than simply listing the achievements. The nomination should contain pertinent evidence of achievement for each of the criteria for the award.

Candidates should include the following items in their dossier:

• Letter of nomination from any member of the Brock University community (i.e. student, teaching assistant/seminar leader/lab demonstrate/course coordinator, colleague, administrator, staff) outlining the reason for the nomination and why the candidate meets the criteria of the award.
• Letters of support from colleagues, students, administrators, staff, and/or others who have perspective on their teaching within the context of the award criteria.
• Statement of teaching philosophy written by the candidate.
• List of courses taught and enrollment figures. Provide course titles, including the level of instruction (for example, undergraduate/graduate, first year/second year, etc.); semester/date; class size; and other pertinent information. This list should be provided in a tabular format.
• Summary of student course experience surveys including explanation or context of how ratings are collected and/or trends emerging from the ratings.
• Brief CV (no more than 8 pages double-spaced)
• Additional documentation pertaining to excellence in teaching. Examples of evidence may include, but is not limited to:
  • evidence of professional development in post-secondary teaching (e.g. participation in Instructional Skills Workshop, CPI-hosted teaching and learning events, Faculty/Department-specific communities of practice, professional development completed through other institutions)
  • course development/innovation efforts
  • list of teaching awards or commendations
  • examples of course material

Selection Process & Award Presentation

All application packages will be adjudicated by a selection committee consisting of cross-Faculty representation including students, faculty/instructors, and administrators.

CPI makes all possible efforts to ensure that the selection committee for each award consists of representation from all Faculties. A nominator of a candidate for is not eligible to serve on the selection committee for the award for that year.

The selected award recipients will be recognized at CPI’s annual Tribute to Teaching event at the end of the Fall term. Each recipient will receive a framed certificate and grant. Additionally, a plaque recognizing these achievements will be displayed in CPI.

Please note that the selection committee reserves the right not to select an award recipient in any given year or to select multiple recipients.