Seven Northwestern State University faculty have been recognized with the 2021 Excellence in Teaching Award.
Here is a profile of one of this year’s honorees.
Name: Margaret E. Cochran
Academic college/department: Louisiana Scholars’ College
Number of years at Northwestern State: 28
Why is teaching important to you? I love sharing my expertise and excitement about my discipline with my students and helping them learn to think for themselves, especially in novel situations.
Why do you believe you are an effective teacher? I spend a great deal of time and effort thinking about what I want to convey to my students and how best to do that. I constantly revise my ecology courses to include recent research and pull data for use in my statistics classes from the news and current situations of interest.
As a teacher, what brings you a feeling of accomplishment when working with students? I especially enjoy three things: the “ah ha” moment when a student connects a theoretical concept with something they see in the real world, that moment of understanding after a student has struggled with a concept they find difficult and hearing from former students that they are still using and enjoying things I taught them in their everyday life.
How has the past year affected your teaching methods? While I prefer the dialog of a face-to-face class, I try hard to provide further support when a student cannot attend or must attend virtually, so they can have the most interactive and engaging experience possible. While the learning experience when viewing a narrated PowerPoint is different from participating in a live “chalk talk,” it may be beneficial for all the students in the class.
Have you learned anything during the last year that will make you a better teacher? I spend more time each class connecting to my students and acknowledging the challenges they may be experiencing, while still encouraging them and supporting them to carry on and persevere.
