Excellence in Teaching Award - Lauren Gantz, English
In the first weeks of Introduction to Ethnic Literature of the U.S., Lauren Gantz's students huddle in small groups, whispering conspiratorially about two paragraphs from Sandra Cisneros's short story, "Mericans."
Together, they compile a list of interesting details in the narrator's description of her "awful" grandmother. As each team reports its findings, Gantz records students' observations on the board. Murmurs of surprise go around the room – "Oh, wow! I completely missed that." Gantz uses versions of this close-reading exercise in all her literature classes because it requires students to reflect on their own reading practices.
This exercise embodies Gantz's teaching philosophy, which emphasizes the collaborative nature of meaning-making and the importance of critical self-reflection. Gantz, an assistant professor in the Department of English, was recently honored with an Excellence in Teaching Award from UW-Stevens Point.
"While I ask my students to be self-reflective and collaborative in their work, I strive to do the same with my teaching," she says. "This became more urgent than ever in the wake of the pandemic, as I – like so many faculty – had to make an abrupt switch to online teaching for the first time in my career.
"In early March, I sough advice from grad school colleagues with extensive online teaching experience. As a result, I got a head start on many practices later endorsed by the university, including student surveys, reduced assignments and weekly check-in emails. Over the summer, I continued to develop my online pedagogy by participating in the CITL online course design institute. My efforts to self-educate and rethink my teaching paid off."
Gantz's colleagues' classroom evaluations emphasize her high degree of preparedness and the overall excellence of her teaching. They draw particular attention to her preparation, organization and ability to elicit thoughtful responses on the difficult subject of her area of expertise – race and ethic studies.
Gantz has used her research in this area of expertise to revitalize and develop new English courses that have value well beyond the department. For example, to coordinate with the "Ancestors Beneath Our Feet: Burial Project," this year she is offering a Major Authors of Ethnic Literature course, and this fall she will teach Native American literature. She has also developed courses on Asian American literature (including Hmong authors) and Chicano/Chicana literature to reflect and encompass some of the diversity in our region.
"The classroom climate Dr. Gantz creates and the way she encourages students to explore and learn about multiple perspectives are invaluable contributions to our campus and are models for teaching excellence," says Rebecca Stephens, professor and chair of the Department of English.
See also:
Excellence in Teaching, Scholarship and Service Award - David Barry
Carolyn Rolfson Sargis Award - Tina Rajski
Excellence in Teaching Award - Kyle Herrman, Kate Kipp, Erin Speetzen
University Scholar Award - Chris Diehm, Alex Ingersoll
University Service Award - Jennifer Collins, Shelly Janowski, Kathryn McGarry
Academic Staff Spirit of Community Service Award - Lisa Golda
Outstanding Work Performance Award - Janette Baumann, Corinna Neeb, Lisa Nelson, Heather Springer
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