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Call for Applications: Sears Helgoth Distinguished Teaching Award

The Sears Helgoth Distinguished Teaching Award recognizes the University of Northern Colorado’s commitment to high-quality and innovative teaching along with the historical importance of the teaching mission at UNC by rewarding a faculty member who has made outstanding contributions to teaching and learning that result in the enhancement of the intellectual development and lives of students.

The Sears Helgoth Distinguished Teaching Award recognizes the University of Northern Colorado’s commitment to high-quality and innovative teaching along with the historical importance of the teaching mission at UNC by rewarding a faculty member who has made outstanding contributions to teaching and learning that result in the enhancement of the intellectual development and lives of students.

The award, supported by the generosity of Kathleen Sears and Jim Helgoth and administered by the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, is given annually to a faculty member who has demonstrated continued excellence in instruction at UNC. The recipient will receive a plaque and a monetary award, currently $6,000.

Applications and nominations for the Sears Helgoth Distinguished Teaching Award may be submitted via Digital Measures through March 2, 2020.

Applications for the Distinguished Teaching Award may be submitted and/or nominated by UNC faculty, including contract renewable faculty and staff. Applications will be reviewed, and the awardee selected by a committee of assistant/associate deans and previous award recipients. The selection committee is composed of one representative per academic college and the Libraries. The dean of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences chairs the committee.

The committee recognizes all instructional activity in an applicant's career. In spite of the complexities of judging between the various disciplines and delivery methods, the committee has the pleasure of selecting the most distinguished teacher among many.

To apply for this award, please submit the following materials via Digital Measures (hard copies will not be accepted):

  1. Application letter (no more than three pages) that addresses the scoring rubric and includes:
    1. Summary of the materials included in the application
    2. Overview of course evaluations
    3. Teaching philosophy
    4. Outline of assessment practices
    5. Discussion of student learning outcomes
    6. Evidence of continuous improvement/reflective practice in teaching
    7. Evidence of innovative pedagogy
  2. Course evaluations from students. Applicants are encouraged to aggregate the data where possible
  3. Syllabi and course materials
  4. Assessments, e.g., examinations, project requirements, scoring rubrics
  5. Peer/supervisor evaluations of teaching
  6. Letter of support from Chair/Director
  7. Vita

The committee will give consideration in the review process to documentation that reflects excellence in instruction, including student evaluations and comments (shown in original data and aggregations), teaching philosophy statement, attention given to assessments and feedback to students, and the use of innovative pedagogy, with primary emphasis given to data from student evaluations and feedback. The scoring rubric used by the committee includes: course evaluations, teaching philosophy, assessments information, student outcomes, evidence of reflective practice, innovative pedagogy and overall impression.

The deadline for receipt of completed application materials is March 2, 2020. All materials must be submitted via Digital Measures. Please contact Corey Pierce, associate dean of CEBS, so that he can launch a workflow for applicants.

Please direct questions to Eugene Sheehan, dean of CEBS.

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