Spring 2020 Teaching Innovation Awards

In the midst of an unprecedented spring semester, and with only 10 days notice, Iowa State’s faculty transitioned more than 6,000 courses to virtual instruction, ensuring students would be able to maintain progress toward their degrees. In celebration of these efforts, the Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost has recognized 36 faculty with Spring 2020 Teaching Innovation Awards.

Each awardee will receive a one-time $1,000 award; funding for the program was provided by a generous (and anonymous) donor to support faculty excellence.

Faculty receiving awards:

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Nancy Boury, assistant professor, plant pathology and microbiology
Boury captured the real-time epidemiology of COVID-19 and translated the spread and biology of the virus into evidence-based lessons for students.

Kathrine Gilbert, associate teaching professor, food science and human nutrition; and
Ken Prusa, professor, food science and human nutrition
Gilbert and Prusa successfully transformed food product development, a hands-on, team-based course, through virtual meetings, synchronous learning, development of infographics, and a virtual graduation to keep students connected

Cynthia Haynes, associate professor, horticulture
Haynes kept learning alive by bringing lessons about plants and their beauty out of the classroom, and into the homes of each of her students.

Jelena Kraft, assistant teaching professor, genetics, development and cell biology
Kraft demonstrated ingenuity and creativity by quickly shifting a large multi-section advanced genetics laboratory course to online format while still providing students with valuable training in molecular genetic research.

Saxon Ryan, assistant teaching professor, agricultural and biosystems engineering
Ryan created first-person laboratory videos to simulate hands on experiences for students in the transition to online courses.

Ivy College of Business
John Burnley, professor of practice, information systems and business analytics
Burnley maintained academic rigor and student care while pivoting his management information systems classes to an online format using multiple technologies and delivery methods.

Christine Denison, associate professor, accounting
Denison made the transition to online learning very smooth, and supported her students every step of the way through online meeting rooms and group virtual projects, while also assisting her department colleagues in making the transition.

Bruce Kraft, professor of practice, finance
Kraft’s transition of two of the most important core courses in the business curriculum to online instruction was called “masterful” by his students, as he struck the perfect balance between asynchronous content delivery and real-time (virtual) accessibility.

Tingting Liu, assistant professor, finance
Liu transformed a travel course to Spain into a virtual team-based exploration of the progression and impact of COVID-19 on Spain and global capital markets.

Abhay Mishra, associate professor, information systems and business analytics
Mishra was able to pivot his class from face-to-face to online instruction without losing his high level of classroom engagement and flexibility.

Beatriz Pereira, assistant professor, marketing
Pereira transitioned her courses to a new teaching format with the same goals being achieved for student learning including a final virtual student presentation to business clients.

Kayla Sander, teaching professor, accounting
Sander’s vision and preparedness made for a smooth transition to online learning in two different ACCT courses: a sophomore-level introductory managerial accounting course and an auditing course taken by senior accounting majors.

College of Design
Raluca Iancu, assistant professor, art and visual culture
Iancu’s demonstrated ingenuity and ‘pedagogy under pressure’ by creating 3D printers for her students to succeed in their printmaking projects and to continue to learn – even as the semester transitioned to a completely online learning environment.

College of Engineering
Jen Heinen, teaching professor, chemical and biological engineering
Heinen is recognized for her outstanding efforts in faculty training and coordination of the online conversion for the entire chemical engineering program.

Phillip Jones, associate professor, electrical and computer engineering; and
Diane Rover, University Professor, electrical and computer engineering
Jones and Rover innovated in rapidly transitioning experiential embedded systems design and testing infrastructure to a virtual learning environment.

Aliye Karabulut-Ilgu, assistant teaching professor, civil, construction, and environmental engineering
Karabulut-Ilgu assisted the entire department in quickly transitioning 10 courses, serving 600 students, including the redevelopment of instructional materials and training instructors.

Joshua Peschel, assistant professor, agricultural and biosystems engineering
Peschel’s graduate class is learning and advancing computer vision in the cloud as their new classroom.

College of Human Sciences
Christina Campbell, associate professor, food science and human nutrition
Campbell created engaging group work that promoted understanding and learning of complex clinical material.

Bria Jenkins, assistant teaching professor, apparel, events, and hospitality management
Jenkins’ compassion and professionalism allowed students in AESHM to maintain their engagement and participation in internship experiences, as these experiences changed during the spring semester.

E. Andrew Pitchford, assistant professor, kinesiology
Pitchford created virtual activities for his undergraduate PE students to continue practicing their teaching and assessment skills, and his graduate students to complete team-based learning activities to develop independent research projects.

Amy Popillion, teaching professor, human development and family studies
Popillion’s innovative conversion of three sections of a large Human Sexuality class created a seamless and effective transition for over 700 students, making the transition through the pandemic less stressful.

Noreen Rodriguez, assistant professor, school of education
Rodríguez used varied teaching methods, including literature circles, reaching of children’s books, small- and whole-group discussions, and incorporated outside resources to help students to interpret content from multiple perspectives.

Kira Werstein, associate teaching professor, kinesiology
Werstein's passion for teaching students to effectively apply research in the real-world helped drive her transition to online instruction as an opportunity to teach innovative skills in virtual exercise leadership, online collaboration, and presentations to a virtual audience.

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Abram Anders, associate professor, English
Anders’ leadership had a dramatic and positive impact on the student experience in all ENGL 150/250 sections involving 69 instructors and 2,688 students in 117 course sections.

Lori Biederman, adjunct associate professor, ecology, evolution, and organismal biology
Biederman rapidly transitioned three large on-campus courses in Biology and Environmental Science to online delivery.

Fabiana DePaula, assistant teaching professor, world languages and cultures
DePaula transitioned  five courses in two languages into a virtual format by integrating the latest technology and maintaining a close relationship with her students.

Katie Fulton, associate teaching professor, English
Fulton’s support this spring semester impacted nearly all members of the English department and was essential in supporting a successful transition to virtual instruction.

Carly Manz, assistant teaching professor, genetics, development, and cell biology
Manz led her team to successfully convert a complex biology lab course online thus enabling experiential learning during the pandemic.

Megan Myers, associate professor, world languages and cultures
Myers transitioned both her Spanish and community-based learning courses online by integrating a wide array of new technologies for language learning and by establishing an effective online platform to help students continue their service learning work with bilingual communities in Perry, IA.

Sara Pistolesi, associate teaching professor, chemistry
Pistolesi directed an effort to create a thoughtful and positive learning experience for 1,100 students over four separate courses who were unable to carry out hands-on laboratory experiments.

Joanna Schroeder, assistant teaching professor, Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication
Schroeder developed an online internship course to help more than 60 students fulfill their required internship experience.

Michael Wigton, associate teaching professor, Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication
Wigton went the extra mile to remain connected with students via personal check-ins and phone calls during the transition to online instruction.

College of Veterinary Medicine
Michael Lyons, associate teaching professor, biomedical sciences
Lyons, working with the BMS 448 instructional team, helped students virtually dissect human anatomy.

Eric Rowe, associate professor, biomedical sciences
Rowe and the BMS331 instructional team, created an entire virtual veterinary anatomy lab in under two weeks.