At the faculty workshop on Saturday, June 18, 2011 we proudly presented the 2011 CAPS Adjunct Excellence Award to Mr. Frank Longo.
Frank teaches finance and accounting in the CAPS program.
When students attest that Frank takes the mystery out of finance and, moreover, convinces them that "finance is fun", you know a special teacher is in your midst.
The selection process was multi-faceted. We first cemented the criteria: "The winner should be an instructor who brings not only knowledge and expertise into the classroom, but also passion for the material, respect and care for the students, a patient and uplifting demeanor, and a genuine love for teaching. Ultimately, this instructor's students achieve deep learning in a meaningful and relevant fashion" ** see footnote below **
We next asked students to nominate instructors based on that criteria; they embraced the request: 47 students submitted nominations, in some cases accompanied by a page-long testament, and 25 different instructors received nominations. Read these stats as you will, but I think an easy take-away is that your students appreciate the efforts behind quality teaching and will go out of their way to acknowledge it.
Finally, a panel of 5 CAPS staff members reviewed each nomination and thoroughly deliberated until consensus was reached.
How did we decide upon Frank Longo? The words of his students (below) will provide you the answer.
“He has a genuine love for teaching”
“He connects with his students”
Frank teaches finance and accounting in the CAPS program.
When students attest that Frank takes the mystery out of finance and, moreover, convinces them that "finance is fun", you know a special teacher is in your midst.
The selection process was multi-faceted. We first cemented the criteria: "The winner should be an instructor who brings not only knowledge and expertise into the classroom, but also passion for the material, respect and care for the students, a patient and uplifting demeanor, and a genuine love for teaching. Ultimately, this instructor's students achieve deep learning in a meaningful and relevant fashion" ** see footnote below **
We next asked students to nominate instructors based on that criteria; they embraced the request: 47 students submitted nominations, in some cases accompanied by a page-long testament, and 25 different instructors received nominations. Read these stats as you will, but I think an easy take-away is that your students appreciate the efforts behind quality teaching and will go out of their way to acknowledge it.
Finally, a panel of 5 CAPS staff members reviewed each nomination and thoroughly deliberated until consensus was reached.
How did we decide upon Frank Longo? The words of his students (below) will provide you the answer.
“He has a genuine love for teaching”
“He connects with his students”
“His passion for the course comes through with transferred excitement”
“He makes our entire class want to be taught”
“He has the ability to effectively identify and address individual needs of students while moving the whole class forward effectively.”
“He has a willingness to work with our class until we get what is being taught. If it takes additional hours to get us there, he puts in those hours.”
“His teaching approach is multi-faceted providing an enriched learning environment.”
“He used a variety of tools for learning.”
“He understands that finance is a course that builds.”
“His use of humor keeps students motivated and engaged.”
“He has the most patience of anyone I know.”
“He gave me the confidence to really break through and understand.”
“He helped me to see that finance is fun or in my case a whole lot less scary.”
Congratulations, Frank, and thank you for your hard work, your dedication to your students, and your commitment to teaching excellence.
**A footnote: You should know that we had Scott Williams in mind when setting our criteria for this award. A model adjunct and good friend, Scott passed away in December; he was a quiet mentor to many and an irreplaceable part of the CAPS fabric. When Scott offered advice it was wise to listen. Unfailingly honest and caring, he worked from the assumption that his students and colleagues had the responsibility -- and the ability -- to set and meet high expectations. Too late, I know, but to honor his good works we named Scott as an honorary recipient of the CAPS Adjunct Excellence Award.
In Memory of our Friend, Scott R. Williams
