Titans of Teaching

By Ajay Singh

Every year, the Academic Senate’s Committee on Teaching selects six of its members to receive the Distinguished Teaching Award, which represents the highest attainment of academic and professional excellence at UCLA.

This year’s Senate winners will each receive a $6,000 cash award. They will be honored at Covel Commons June 1 by the UCLA Alumni Association and in the fall by the Senate committee and the Office of Instructional Development, which will present awards at the Andrea L. Rich Night to Honor Teaching. Distinguished Teaching Awards also go to three outstanding non-Senate faculty and five teaching assistants.

The 2008 Senate winners are Robert Winter, professor of music (Eby Award for the Art of Teaching); Linda Garro, professor of anthropology (Distinction in Teaching at the Graduate Level Award); Teofilo Ruiz, professor of history; Benjamin Schwartz, professor of chemistry; Elizabeth Bjork, professor of psychology and Senate chair; and Peggy Fong, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology (Mentorship to Undergraduate Students Award.

What do they love most about their jobs? Here are their thoughts:

Elizabeth Bjork:

"When I see students becoming interested in a new topic, learning how to think about an old problem from a new perspective or realizing that they are acquiring the ability to think critically, that makes me feel happy and fulfilled to be a teacher. I try to make students active participants in the learning process — the best way to ensure not only the long-term retention of learning, but also the ability to transfer it to new situations."

Peggy Fong:

"The one thing I say over and over again to my students is that what distinguishes UCLA is its cutting-edge research. The quality of their education goes sky-high if, instead of being undergraduate sponges who sit back and absorb knowledge, students understand how new knowledge is generated outside classroom settings."

Linda Garro:

"I enjoy working closely with students to help them discover their potential as scholars and researchers. One route for doing this is through seminar-style teaching. I strive to orchestrate discussions where at least one observation from each student enriches each class discussion."

Teofilo Ruiz:

"Connecting with students is a reciprocal moment of recognition and discovery. I’m very mobile in the classroom and try to engage students with dramatic moments. I ask them to chant at the beginning of every class and before exams: 'This is not about grades, it’s about learning.'"

Benjamin Schwartz:

"My favorite thing about teaching is getting to interact with bright students who get excited about the same geeky science things I do. I require students to ask a written question pertaining to the lecture material every week. I then answer each student’s question, in writing, which helps their understanding, and allows me to readdress material that most of the class didn’t understand the first time."

Robert Winter:

"I always talk about my classrooms as being sanctuaries — a safe place to take chances, risks and do things. A good teacher is a facilitator and my job is to bring a student with the slightest bit of openness to have a life-changing experience. If I don’t do that to at least one student every day, I feel I have failed. I teach students what they need to know, but I also try to make them curious about the world. So while teaching opera, I talk about politics. One of my classes has 545 students, and the course is paperless: no textbooks, no study guides, no sample test questions."