Dr. Paul Hooker, senior lecturer, Department of Chemistry, is the latest UW-Madison REACH instructor to be honored with a prestigious teaching award since the inception of the initiative in 2014. In each of the past four years, one or more REACH instructors has been recognized for their excellence in teaching by their department and colleagues, and bestowed an award.
Dr. Hooker was presented with the 26th annual UW System Alliant Energy/Underkofler Excellence in Teaching Award this past October 2018. Dr. Hooker has played a pivotal role in the REACH transformations in the Department of Chemistry. He has helped identify new and consistent course learning outcomes for a sequence of general chemistry courses that affect approximately 3,000 students per year, and has implemented a number of active learning techniques in the courses he teaches.
The REACH Initiative is a cross-campus effort that aims to improve student learning by increasing students’ engagement in large, introductory courses. One of the core components of the initiative is to support pedagogical development and departmental collaboration to create a foundation of evidence-based practices within and across courses that encourages innovation.
Since 2014, the following nine REACH instructors have received a campus or UW System teaching award:
- Paul Hooker, Dept. of Chemistry, UW System Alliant Energy/Underkofler Excellence in Teaching Award (2018)
- Professor Thomas Brunold, Dept. of Chemistry, Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award (2018)
- Assistant Professor Jerome Camal, Dept. of Anthropology, Chancellor’s Inclusive Excellence Award (2018)
- Associate Professor Jordan Schmidt, Dept. of Chemistry, Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award (2017)
- Professor Claire Wendland, Dept. of Anthropology, Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award (2017)
- Professor John Moore, Dept. of Chemistry, Van Hise Outreach Teaching Award (2016) and UW System Alliant Energy/Underkofler Excellence in Teaching Award (2014)
- Assistant Professor Daniel Erman, Dept. of Mathematics, William H. Kiekhofer Teaching Award (2016)
- Professor Jonathan Gray, Dept. of Communication Arts, Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award (2015)
- Professor and Department Chair Sissel Schroeder, Dept. of Anthropology, Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award (2014)
Find more information about the UW-Madison faculty Distinguished Teaching Awards.
The REACH Initiative is led by the Office of the Provost and DoIT Academic Technology in partnership with participating schools, colleges and departments.