Teaching Excellence Award

In recognition of the involvement of faculty members in pursuit of teaching excellence, and in order to promote the continuation of such involvement, The Research Foundation established the Teaching Excellence Award for nursing faculty members at Avila University, Rockhurst University/Research College of Nursing and William Jewell College. These awards will be made annually in the spring and announced at a ceremony or other suitable occasion. This award is given to faculty members who have made a positive difference in the teaching climate of the College or University and includes a $1,000 honorarium.

The Dean and/or the appropriate committee nominate and recommend the recipient of the award. The Dean and/or appropriate committee invites all teaching faculty to submit nominations for the annual Teaching Excellence Award. Nominations will be accepted from nursing faculty who have a teaching appointment at Avila University, Rockhurst University/Research College of Nursing and William Jewell College or from any member of the College or University administration. Faculty members may self-nominate.

The focus of the Teaching Excellence Award is on the "Scholarship of Teaching" as defined by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) in the Position Statement on Defining Scholarship for the Discipline of Nursing. The following definition and criteria are based on this position statement.

Eligibility: Eligibility for the award is open to all nursing faculty who teach at Avila University, Rockhurst University/Research College of Nursing and William Jewell College.

Faculty members will be eligible for the award once every two years.

Definition of the Scholarship of Teaching: "The Scholarship of teaching is inquiry that produces knowledge to support the transfer of the science and art of nursing from the expert to the novice, building bridges between the teacher's understanding and the student's learning (Boyer, 1990). This scholarly approach supports the development of educational environments that embrace diverse learning styles, and increasingly, places the focus of education on the learner (Edgerton, 1997)." "The Scholarship of teaching is conducted through application of knowledge of the discipline or specialty area in the teaching-learning process, the development of innovative teaching and evaluation methods, program development, learning outcome evaluation, and professional role modeling."

Criteria: In order to aid the nominator the following criteria for teaching excellence are suggested. Faculty members can be nominated on any one or more of these criteria, or on criteria developed and articulated by the nominator. Please consider for nomination any individual faculty member who:

1. Has demonstrated model teaching that has been emulated or proved successful over time.
2. Through activities has inspired other teachers or has encouraged other faculty to take a more active interest in their teaching.
3. Has developed or originated new subject (content) areas in the discipline or nursing.
4. Has devised new, original, or pioneering, teaching methods or processes of instructional support.
5. Has developed programs and learning outcome evaluation methods supportive of excellent teaching.
6. Has demonstrated leadership in mentoring faculty or students.
7. Has developed educational programs for lifelong learning or leadership in shaping educational policy.

Supporting documentation: Supporting documentation should be submitted and may include:

1. Presentations related to teaching and learning.
2. Accreditation or other comprehensive program reports;
3. Successful applications of technology to teaching and learning;
4. Positive peer assessments of innovations in teaching;
5. State, regional, national, or international recognition as a master teacher;
6. Grant awards in support of teaching and learning;
7. Design of outcome studies or evaluation/assessment programs;
8. Peer-reviewed publications of research related to teaching methodology or learning outcomes, case studies related to teaching-learning, learning theory development, and development or testing of educational models or theories.

Process for Nomination and determination of recipient: Submit the following information to the Dean and/or appropriate committee by November 1:

• Name and academic rank of the nominee
• A short essay from nominee that describes how the nominee meets the criteria named above (no more than one typed page)
• Appropriate supporting documentation
• Curriculum Vita
• Letter of support from a peer

The Research Foundation will inform the Dean and the recipient prior to public announcement so that the faculty member may be present on the occasion of the award.

The Research Foundation, formerly the fund raising entity for Research Medical Center, became a separate non-profit organization following the sale of Health Midwest/Research Medical Center to HCA, a for-profit company, on April 1, 2003. The Foundation exists for the continued benefit of the community and its improved health status.