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Petra Menz Awarded 2023-2024 Faculty of Science Excellence in Teaching Award
Congratulations to Senior Lecturer Petra Menz on being awarded a 2023-2024 Faculty of Science Excellence in Teaching Award. She received this award in recognition of her outstanding teaching expertise, practices, and contributions.
Over the span of a decade, Petra has recreated the MATH 190 course from the ground up. MATH 190 is a course which is taken by aspiring elementary school teachers, some of whom experience mathematical anxiety. Petra’s course design and teaching material provides an accessible learning experience for these students that leads to empowerment in their mathematical ability.
Last year, Petra led a project team that consulted with MATH 190 students about the course’s Canvas design. Their unique viewpoints were invaluable and ultimately guided many design choices to enhance the usability of the MATH 190 Canvas shell.
Petra has also worked to decolonize and indigenize courses that build foundational math skills, such as MATH 190 and FAN X99 A320.
“Challenged by the call to action on reconciliation, Petra informed herself about Indigenous ways of knowing by embarking on a multi-year path of self-discovery through meeting with elders, reading Indigenous stories, poetry and other literature, and taking part in numerous workshops and traditional cultural events,” says nominator and Department Chair Cedric Chauve.
“Thoughtfully and deliberately, [Petra] incorporated Indigenous themed readings, learning material and activities into MATH 190 including Ojibway poetry readings to elicit deep discussions in her mathematics classes about different ways of thinking and experiencing, different world views, and ultimately different ways of learning and teaching.
“The work of Petra to indigenizing the mathematics curriculum will be invaluable to the Department and the Faculty on their path to better serving Indigenous students.”
Learn more about Petra’s Canvas redesign project for MATH 190 here.
Read more about Petra’s experience in indigenizing MATH 190 here.