Teaching Outdoors During the Coronavirus Pandemic

At the end of every semester at Georgia Tech — after weeks of faculty grading the work of students — the tables are flipped, and students get to evaluate their teachers and their class experiences using the Course Instructor Opinion Survey (CIOS). 

Faculty members with exceptional scores and response rates are presented with the Center for Teaching and Learning’s (CTL) Student Recognition of Excellence in Teaching: Class of 1934 CIOS Award. This year, 40 College of Sciences faculty and instructors are receiving awards and honors for their work from spring through fall 2020 semesters.

The challenges of teaching classes during Covid-19 necessitated a new recognition from the CTL: The Honor Roll, which includes 32 College of Sciences faculty on its inaugural list.

“Teaching during the pandemic has required everyone to pivot to new ways of teaching, and faculty appreciate hearing that students value their efforts,” says Joyce Weinsheimer, CTL director. The criteria for Honor Roll selection are the same as for the Class of 1934 Award.

The following are the College of Sciences faculty named to both the Class of 1934 and Honor Roll Awards (groups broken up into small and large classes): 

Class of 1934 Award

Small Classes

Mirjana Milosevec Brockett, senior academic professional, School of Biological Sciences

Lutz Warnke, assistant professor, School of Mathematics

Large Classes

Hector Daniel Cervantes Banos, postdoctoral researcher, School of Mathematics

Dan Margalit, professor, School of Mathematics

Dobromir Rahnev, assistant professor, School of Psychology

Amit Reddi, associate professor, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Carrie Shepler, professor, Director of Instructional Activities and Student Experience, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Alonzo Whyte, academic professional, School of Biological Sciences (Neuroscience)

Honor Roll

Small Classes 

School of Biological Sciences — Mirjana Brockett, senior academic professional; Colin Harrison, academic professional

School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences — Heather Chilton, lecturer;  Zachary Handlos, academic professional

School of Mathematics — Lutz Warnke, assistant professor

School of Psychology — Richard Catrambone, professor; Michael Hunter, assistant professor; James Roberts, associate professor

Large Classes 

School of Biological Sciences:

Annalise Paaby, assistant professor; William Ratcliff, associate professor; Raphael Rosenzweig, professor; Emily Weigel, academic professional

School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences:

Samantha Wilson, academic professional

School of Chemistry and Biochemistry:

Meghan Benda, graduate student; Amit Reddi, associate professor; Carrie Shepler, professor, Director of Instructional Activities and Student Experience

School of Mathematics:

Alex Blumenthal, assistant professor; Hector Daniel Cervantes Banos, postdoctoral researcher; Klara Grodzinsky, Director of Teaching Assistants; Miriam Kuzbary, assistant professor; Gary Lavigne, professor; Wenjing Liao, assistant professor; Marissa Loving, postdoctoral researcher; Dan Margalit, professor; Gregory Mayer, Director of Online Learning; Stephanie Reikes, lecturer, Tutoring and Academic Support; Victor Vilaca Da Rocha, assistant professor; Zhiyu Wang, postdoctoral researcher

Neuroscience:

Mary Holder, academic professional; Alonzo Whyte, academic professional

School of Psychology:

Dobromir Rahnev, assistant professor