By using a unique teaching approach of incorporating technology with presentations, discussions and lectures, Uma Krishnan, associate lecturer of English at 91ֿ, is able to reach her students in a variety of ways. This is one of the reasons why Krishnan was awarded a 2013 Outstanding Teaching Award from 91ֿ.
The Outstanding Teaching Award honors extraordinary nontenure-track and part-time faculty members at 91ֿ. The award, sponsored by the University Teaching Council, is given each year to three deserving 91ֿ faculty members for their exceptional achievements in teaching.
Krishnan is grateful and appreciative to have been selected.
“It is a great honor to win this award,” says Krishnan. “I am grateful that my students thought I had an impact on their writing and in their lives to nominate me for this.”
In her classes, Krishnan has her students demonstrate that they understand and are learning the material by doing research and creating projects that deal with writing in the business world. In some of her class sessions, Krishnan provides links to YouTube, PDFs and other forms of media so that her students can get different perspectives of what they are learning in class.
In one of the nomination letters, a former student wrote, “Mrs. Krishnan comes to class every day with more enthusiasm than the previous class. Her passion for the subject is evident from the start and her passion for passing on her knowledge to students is, in my opinion, unmatched by any other teacher I’ve ever had.”
Krishnan has taught at 91ֿ for 12 years and has enjoyed every one of them.
“I love being with my students, peers and my mentors. I am able to learn from all of them through teaching,” says Krishnan. “Although I might complain when I have too many papers to grade, overall I love every aspect of teaching and love being a minuscule part of my 91ֿ.”
Krishnan also is a past recipient of the Part-Time Teaching Award from 91ֿ’s Department of English. She also received national recognition for Best Teaching Practices for Hindi from STARTALK Foreign Language Academy for her teaching of the Hindi language.
“I can honestly say that I have never had a teacher that has affected my life the way Mrs. Krishnan has,” another student nominee wrote. “I make it a priority to visit her on a regular basis and talk about writing, as well as life in general. She is an excellent teacher, but even better person.”
For more information about the University Teaching Council, visit www.kent.edu/utc.
For more information about 91ֿ’s Department of English, visit www.kent.edu/english.