{"566351":{"#nid":"566351","#data":{"type":"news","title":"College of Sciences Names Carrie Shepler for 2016 Eric R. Immel Memorial Award for Excellence in Teaching","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe College of Sciences has selected \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.chemistry.gatech.edu\/faculty\/Shepler\/\u0022\u003ECarrie G. Shepler\u003C\/a\u003E to receive the 2016 Eric R. Immel Memorial Award for Excellence in Teaching. Shepler is the director of first-year chemistry in the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.chemistry.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Chemistry and Biochemistry\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe award recognizes exemplary teaching in a foundational undergraduate course. It is made possible by an endowment created through the generosity of College of Sciences alumnus Charles J. Crawford (B.S. in Applied Mathematics 1971) in recognition of the contributions and accomplishments of the late \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.math.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech School of Mathematics\u003C\/a\u003E Professor Eric. R. Immel.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe effective teaching of foundational courses is critical to Georgia Tech\u2019s mission to educate and train the next generation of scientists and engineers,\u201d says College of Sciences Dean Paul M. Goldbart. \u201cWe are delighted to recognize Carrie, and thank her, for the tremendous difference she makes, including via her teaching of foundational chemistry.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHere\u2019s how Shepler makes a difference, in her own words:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s less about trying to make a big impact and more about recognizing that I\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003Edo\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003Eimpact individual students. We make impressions and affect others whether it\u2019s intentional or not, so I try to be intentional about it. My goal is to set a good example \u2013 in treating others with respect, being passionate about my job, and enjoying life. I remind myself that students have so much more going on than my one class, and I remind them that they are part of a community at Tech that is full of people who can and want to help inside and outside the classroom.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI\u2019m a big believer in best practices for the individual. What works best for me in the classroom may not be the right fit for another educator. If you\u2019re going to stand in front of students and get them to buy into what you\u2019re doing in the classroom, then you have to believe in your technique.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cFor example, I\u2019ve been doing a lot of \u2018flipping\u2019 in the classroom over the past year.\u0026nbsp;I deliver some content in class in a fairly traditional lecture, and I assign videos for students to watch outside of class for other material in order to free up class time to work problems. This method worked really well for me last year. It was new and exciting for me, and I believed that it was a good way for my students to learn. Because I was enthusiastic about it and could explain why I thought it was good for students, I was able to get them on board. However, I don\u0027t think it\u2019s right for everyone.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMy best practice is to be thoughtful about what I do in the classroom and\u0026nbsp;then communicate my deliberateness and intent to my students\u003Cem\u003E. \u003C\/em\u003EIf I explain that I ask \u2018tricky\u2019 questions because they examine important details, then students begin to understand that I\u2019m serious about making sure that they learn the appropriate material to best prepare them for their future courses and careers. Otherwise, they could assume that I\u2019m just a mean teacher determined to see them fail. Even when they don\u2019t agree with my approach, the vast majority of Tech students appreciates that I\u2019ve given my methods serious thought and that I have their best interest in mind.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Director of first-year chemistry shares her best practices."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDirector of first-year chemistry shares her best practices.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Director of first-year chemistry shares her best practices."}],"uid":"30678","created_gmt":"2016-08-22 17:50:57","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:22:23","author":"A. Maureen Rouhi","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-08-23T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-08-23T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"566361":{"id":"566361","type":"image","title":"Carrie Shepler","body":null,"created":"1471902826","gmt_created":"2016-08-22 21:53:46","changed":"1475895371","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:56:11","alt":"Carrie Shepler","file":{"fid":"206922","name":"carrie.shepler.dsc00237_2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/carrie.shepler.dsc00237_2.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/carrie.shepler.dsc00237_2.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1589976,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/carrie.shepler.dsc00237_2.jpg?itok=_zQMoLW3"}},"566371":{"id":"566371","type":"image","title":"Best Practice","body":null,"created":"1471902968","gmt_created":"2016-08-22 21:56:08","changed":"1475895371","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:56:11","alt":"Best Practice","file":{"fid":"206923","name":"best.practice.capture.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/best.practice.capture.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/best.practice.capture.png","mime":"image\/png","size":44756,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/best.practice.capture.png?itok=2d2TeNbA"}}},"media_ids":["566361","566371"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"29021","name":"carrie shepler"},{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"172281","name":"Eric R. Immel Memorial Award for Excellence in Teaching."},{"id":"166928","name":"School of Chemistry and Biochemistry"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maureen.rouhi@cos.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EA. Maureen Rouhi\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDirector of Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECollege of Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maureen.rouhi@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}