Master's and doctoral graduate students selected for university's Graduate Student Teaching Excellence awards
Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2016
MANHATTAN — Two Kansas State University graduate students are recipients of the Graduate Student Council Award for Graduate Student Teaching Excellence.
Sponsored by the Graduate Student Council, this award recognizes graduate teaching assistants who have excelled in classroom teaching and promotes awareness of the important contributions graduate students make to the scholarship of the university. The recipients will represent the university as the doctoral and master's nominees for the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools, or MAGS, Excellence in Teaching Award.
The doctoral graduate teaching assistant award winner is Amanda Martens, doctoral student in psychological sciences, Shelby, Iowa. Martens' adviser is Don Saucier, university distinguished teaching scholar and associate professor of psychological sciences.
The master's graduate teaching assistant award winner is Allyson Koziol, master's student in English, Lincoln, Nebraska. Her adviser is Philip Nel, university distinguished professor of English.
Both award recipients say they enjoy teaching.
"Students will email me articles or relay information about their own lives that are applicable to class material," Martens said. "That is my favorite part because it shows me that not only are they paying attention in class, but they are applying what they learned to their own lives and the world around them. As a teacher, there is no better feeling than watching your students connect the dots and sharing their excitement over it with you."
"I believe that the strongest part of my teaching, and perhaps why I was chosen, is my ability to connect with my students on a personal level, through communication in the classroom," Koziol said. "To communicate with my students, it is important that I am as open with them as I can be, while still retaining the teacher persona."
A master's student and a doctoral student are selected for the Graduate Student Council Award for Student Teaching Excellence each year. Each award recipient receives a $500 scholarship, and his or her name and department are engraved on a perpetual plaque to be displayed in the student's department until the next award is given.
"Allyson and Amanda exemplify the quality and dedication of K-State graduate teaching assistants who are committed to facilitating their students' success," said Carol Shanklin, dean of the Graduate School. "Both Allyson and Amanda are outstanding teachers who will be very competitive as K-State nominees for the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools Excellence in Teaching Award."
The MAGS Excellence in Teaching awards were created to recognize the importance of excellence in teaching and mentoring as a component of graduate education and the preparation of graduate students for future service as college and university faculty. Martens and Koziol will compete for a $750 honorarium that will be presented at the 73rd annual MAGS meeting, April 5-7, 2017, in Indianapolis. One master's student and one doctoral student are selected for the MAGS award.
Since the MAGS Excellence in Teaching Award was established in 2011, Kansas State University has had four winners.
The Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools is a regional affiliate of the Council of Graduate Schools. The association's member colleges and universities are accredited institutions of higher education in the central U.S. that offer graduate programs leading to masters, specialist and doctorate degrees.
