The purpose of the Class of 1965 Teaching Excellence Award (TEA) is to recognize excellence in teaching and to promote that standard at the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC). Teaching is to be interpreted in its broadest sense to include everything done by an instructor that intentionally promotes student learning. Often, choosing a single person to receive the Award can be difficult. Accordingly, to recognize the other outstanding candidates in a given year, an Honour List (as defined below) may be created and if so, is made public along with the name of the recipient of the Award. It is intended that students play an important part in the nomination and the selection of the winner of the Award and the Honour List. The TEA Committee (the Committee) will endeavour to obtain a picture of the candidates which is as complete as possible, and will draw on a number of sources of information.
The Award
The Award will be called the TEA and includes a monetary prize. Provided there is a suitable candidate, the name of the recipient of the TEA will be announced at the Spring Convocation. However, the formal presentation of the award will be made at a time and place agreed to by both the Chair and the Class of 1965. Currently, this occurs at a public lecture to be given by the recipient the subsequent fall. The Award will consist of a monetary prize and a framed poster, a replica of which will be put on public display. The currently value of the prize at RMC is $7,500 but this is subject to change.
Eligibility
All academic instructors at the Royal Military College of Canada (full-time, part-time, sessional, military and civilian) are eligible. Former recipients of the award may be nominated in any year. However, they must wait a period of seven (7) years before they will become eligible to win the award again.
Teaching Excellence Award Committee
The Committee membership will consist of:
- at least three faculty members who have won the Award previously (where possible from different faculties and divisions),
- at least two officer cadets, and
- one RMC ex-cadet nominated by the Class of 1965.
If at all possible, Committee members will be bilingual. The Committee composition shall be approved by the Chair.
Normally, no faculty member will serve for more than three consecutive years. To maintain continuity, typically only one faculty member will be replaced in any given year. The representative for the Class of 1965 will normally serve for a three-year term. In the event that the Class of 1965 is unable to nominate a representative, the Chair shall select an RMC ex-cadet to represent the Class of 1965.
The Chair will be designated by the Principal. Currently the position is held by the Vice- Principal Academic.
Nominations
Nominations are invited from students (undergraduate or graduate, civilian or military) and academic faculty. A nomination is made by letter.
In order to be considered complete, a nomination must:
- be submitted by email to the Chair before the deadline;
- have a minimum of five (5) signatures from eligible nominators;
- clearly indicate the reasons why/how the nominee has demonstrated teaching effectiveness; and
- include appropriate supporting material to demonstrate the unique qualities of the nominee.
The exact deadline will be communicated by the Chair each year.
A person can sign only one letter of nomination each year. Self-nomination will not be entertained.
Neither an incomplete nomination received on time, nor a complete one received after the deadline will be considered by the Committee. Furthermore, and in the interest of fairness, the deadline will not be extended to allow more signatures when a nomination is received incomplete. The Committee will not accept a letter expressing the intention to nominate a faculty member at any time after the deadline.
Criteria
The nominators and the Committee should consider the following essential award criteria (the Criteria). All candidates should:
- have a comprehensive knowledge of their instructional subject and an enthusiasm for it;
- communicate this knowledge and enthusiasm effectively, at levels appropriate to the students' capacity;
- organize coherent courses and be well-prepared for teaching sessions in whatever form they may be;
- set high, but achievable standards in courses and motivate students to achieve those standards;
- establish good rapport with students, encourage their participation and stimulate independent thought;
- be available to students outside class hours;
- use methods of evaluation that recognize the student's ability to learn the material and her/his understanding of, and ability to apply that material;
- provide regular and appropriate feedback to students about their performance in the course; and,
- contribute to curriculum development beyond the course level and to the overall improvement of teaching.
The winner of the TEA will be the person who, based on the information presented to the Committee, clearly meets the Criteria listed above and who is found by the Committee to possess an extra pedagogical quality that distinguishes them from the field of nominees.
Procedures
The Call
The Chair will coordinate the call for nominations (the Call). The Call will normally be made during the second month of the winter semester. The Chair will ensure the widest possible timely advertising of the Call including, but not limited to the following:
- email to all officer cadets and faculty,
- RMC Internet page,
- e-Veritas, and
- Faculty Board.
The Evaluation
The Chair shall notify each nominee of their nomination and obtain their written consent to be considered. The Chair will also solicit the nominees’ curriculum vitae and their teaching philosophies prior to the short-listing process. The Committee shall then review the nominations and prepare a short list of candidates who merit further consideration.
This final evaluation will normally consist of 20-30 minute interviews with those who have nominated the short-listed candidates. However, under special circumstances, the evaluation may also include a more in-depth examination, such as visiting classrooms, interviewing the nominees, or other assessment technique approved by the Committee. Should the Committee decide that none of the nominated candidates met the Criteria, then no award will be given.
In addition to choosing the recipient, an Honour List of not more than two individuals may be prepared by the Committee from the names on the short list. The Honour List will be announced at Spring Convocation.
The Chair will forward the name of the recommended recipient and the Honour List to the Principal at least one week prior to the Spring Convocation.
Other Administrative Issues
The Chair shall notify each nominee of their nomination and obtain their written consent to be considered. The Chair will also solicit the nominees’ curriculum vitae and their teaching philosophies prior to the short-listing process. The Committee shall then review the nominations and prepare a short list of candidates who merit further consideration.
This final evaluation will normally consist of 20-30 minute interviews with those who have nominated the short-listed candidates. However, under special circumstances, the evaluation may also include a more in-depth examination, such as visiting classrooms, interviewing the nominees, or other assessment technique approved by the Committee. Should the Committee decide that none of the nominated candidates met the Criteria, then no award will be given.
In addition to choosing the recipient, an Honour List of not more than two individuals may be prepared by the Committee from the names on the short list. The Honour List will be announced at Spring Convocation.
The Chair will forward the name of the recommended recipient and the Honour List to the Principal at least one week prior to the Spring Convocation.
Prepared by: Dr. Stephen Arnold
Reviewed by: Dr. Phil Bates (RMC VPA), Mr. Charles Emond (Class of 1965), Dr. Soundous El Kettani, Kurt Schobel, Dr. Billy Allan
Date: 15 January 2020
Former Winners
- 1992 Dr. W. C. Moffatt
- 1993 Dr. R.D. Weir
- 1994 Dr. E.J. Errington
- 1995 Dr. G. Drolet
- 1996 Dr. G. Quillard
- 1997 Dr. M. Hurley
- 1998 Dr. P. Dunnet
- 1999 Capt. R.G. Goyette
- 2000 Dr. Lucien Haddad
- 2001 LCdr. J.M.P Langlois
- 2002 Dr. David Wehlau
- 2003 Dr. Thomas Racey
- 2004 Dr. James Finan
- 2005 Dr. Stephen Bonnycastle
- 2006 Dr. Ron Weir
- 2007 Dr. Robert Gervais
- 2008 Dr. Jane Boulden & Major Alain Gosselin
- 2009 Capt. Kristen Topping
- 2010 Dr. Heather Evans
- 2011 Dr. Huw Osborne
- 2012 Dr. Yahia Antar
- 2013 Dr. William (Billy) D. E. Allan
- 2014 Dr. Soundouss El Kettani
- 2015 Maj. Andy Belyea, PhD
- 2016 Mr. Kurt Schobel
- 2017 Dr. Jennifer Scott
- 2018 Dr. Nicholas Vlachopoulos
- 2019 Dr. Jing Gai
- 2020 Dr. Jennifer Shore
- 2021 Mme Annie Riel & Dr. Irwin Streight
- 2022 Capt. Arman Poonja