College of Engineering Excellence in Instruction Award for Lecturers

Cover Sheet

Purpose of the Award

Outstanding undergraduate teachers demonstrate superior ability in communicating the chosen material to the students and stimulate their desire to master the material. Outstanding teachers also recognize that their teaching responsibility to is an evolving and iterative process, resulting in innovative pedagogical technique. The purpose of the Excellence in Instruction Award is to honor academic staff with the rank of Senior Lecturer or Lecturer for outstanding undergraduate teaching on the West Lafayette campus in the College of Engineering.

Due: December 18, 2024

A. Procedures for Making Nominations

Nominations will be made by the respective academic units for forwarding to the college by December 18, 2024. The method of selecting the nominees shall be determined by the respective academic units, subject only to the following restrictions:

  1. The Excellence in Instruction Award recognizes outstanding Senior Lecturers and Lecturers.
  2. Each academic unit’s procedure shall make some explicit provisions for securing representative student judgment in their unit concerning appropriate nominations.
  3. The nominee shall have had some primary classroom responsibility for a course of undergraduate instruction during one of the immediately preceding two regular semesters of nomination, excluding the summer session (spring 2023 or fall 2023).
  4. A nomination not to exceed six pages (8½ x 11), excluding the required cover page (see last page), shall be prepared for each nominee. All nominations should have at least one inch margins, use a Times New Roman font, and have a font size of not less than 12 pt. It is recommended that the nomination consist of a written brief addressing the criteria for the award followed by additional pages of supporting materials (evaluations, statement of teaching philosophy, student statements, etc.). However, at the discretion of the nominator, a blending of the brief and the supporting materials may be used as long as the document does not exceed six pages. Additional materials beyond six pages will be removed and not considered.
    • Nominations for the Excellence in Instruction Award should include a list of all undergraduate classes and corresponding course evaluations for at least the past three academic years.
  5. A person shall not be eligible for nomination for three (3) years following receipt of the College of Engineering Excellence in Instruction Award. However, units should feel free to resubmit nominations which were made previously but did not receive an award.
  6. Each of the academic units may submit one nominee for the College of Engineering Excellence in Instruction Award. Nominations from the academic units should be emailed to Kathy Heath at heathk@purdue.edu by 5:00 p.m., December 18, 2024.

B. Structure of Brief

  1. Cover page (does not count toward 6-page limit)
  2. List of undergraduate courses taught (number and title) with dates and number of students enrolled in courses; e.g., HDFS 318, Developmental Assessment - second semester, 2018-19, 30 students enrolled.
  3. Nominee's effectiveness to be judged on the following criteria:
    1. Instructional effectiveness
    2. Course instruction improvement and innovation. Why was a particular course modification or innovation impactful? What is the goal of a course and how do you know you achieved that goal?
    3. Dissemination of teaching effectiveness, which may include the scholarship of teaching and learning. This could be through presentations, workshops, peer-reviewed publications, etc.
    Give sufficient evidence on each of the above points so that members of the selection committee, many of whom will not be personally acquainted with the candidate's abilities, may make an informed evaluation. Academic units are encouraged to include information related to instructor effectiveness. This may include information related to course and instructor evaluations. However, there are student representatives from each unit who advocate on behalf of candidates.
  4. Nominee’s professional activities directly related to undergraduate education.
  5. Teaching honors and awards received by nominee.

C. Selection Committee

  1. The Committee shall be chaired by the Dean of the College of Engineering or their designee.
  2. The Committee shall be made up of one associate head of undergraduate education and one student from each of the academic units of the college.
  3. The name of the faculty and student representative chosen to serve on the Selection Committee should be forwarded by each academic unit to Kathy Heath at heathk@purdue.edu by December 18, 2024.
  4. The Committee shall make its selection, based upon the content of the submitted nomination documents and the oral briefs presented to them, at a meeting on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, 2:00-2:45, ARMS 3041.

D. Presentation of Awards

Recipients of the College of Engineering Excellence in Instruction Award will receive a plaque and a $4,000 award.

The top recipient will be forwarded as the college's nominee for the university's Excellence in Instruction Award.