Great teaching is at the core of what VIU is all about.

Teaching awards are one of the ways that we celebrate great teaching. Whether it’s VIU’s own Provost Awards for Excellence in Teaching Design and Practice, or the provincial West Coast Teaching Excellence Award, or the Canada-wide 3M National Teaching Fellowship, teaching awards are a way for us to recognize the excellent work that happens in classrooms across our campuses every day.

Maybe you’ve thought about applying for a teaching award, but weren’t sure where to start. Or maybe you weren’t sure why you might put together an application. We asked two award recipients – Jessica Gemella and Pam Shaw – about their experience. Here’s what they had to say in response to the following 5 questions:

1. Why apply for a teaching award? (who should apply?)
2. What ‘material’ will I need to include in my application for a teaching award?
3. How much time should I give myself to apply?
4. Where would you recommend people start their applications? What should they do first?
5. How did you structure your application?

Are you interested in exploring an application for a teaching award? We’re happy to support you with the process – email us at learnsupport@viu.ca, and we’ll get the conversation started.

If you’ re interested one of the West Coast Teaching Excellence Awards or the 3M National Teaching Fellowship, please email learnsupport@viu.ca, as both involve institutional nomination processes.