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Teaching awards
2024 Awards for Excellence in Teaching
SFU's 2024 Excellence in Teaching Award winners are empowering students by creating inclusive, inspiring and interactive learning spaces.
2024 Excellence in Teaching Award
Megan Barker, senior lecturer, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science
Megan Barker is dedicated to delivering innovative, evidence-based pedagogy and cultivating communities of enthusiastic and inspired learners. Students in her classes are exposed to hands-on research as early as their first year, where they are given the opportunity to design and lead their own research projects. Barker is also dedicated to mentoring her teaching assistants so that are equipped with the skills they need to thrive in her classes and beyond.
Barker's dedication to teaching effectiveness is evident in her extensive research on teaching methodology. She also fosters a culture of teaching excellence across SFU by creating platforms for instructors to discuss and share teaching practices such as the Sharp Ideas in Teaching and Learning seminar.
To learn more, read the full story.
2024 Excellence in Teaching Award
Rosemary-Claire Collard, Associate Professor, Department of Geography, Faculty of Environment
Rosemary-Claire Collard creates learner-centred classrooms where students feel connected, supported and inspired. She offers diverse assessment options for students, collaborates with them on class expectations and regularly integrates student feedback into her course designs to improve her teaching effectiveness. Collard is recognized and respected by her students as a champion for their learning and success.
Collard’s research focuses on the political economy of environmental change, specifically the drivers behind dwindling wildlife populations and endangered and extinct species. Collard is co-director of The Extinction Paradox, a collaborative research program between SFU and the University of British Columbia, and the author of Animal Traffic: Lively Capital in the Global Exotic Pet Trade (2020, Duke University Press).
To learn more, read the full story.
2024 Excellence in Teaching Award
Henny Yeung, Associate Professor, Department of Linguistics
Henny Yeung creates innovative learning environments that inspire his students to explore linguistics in new ways. In addition to delivering experiential learning activities that help students connect course material to their everyday lives, Yeung creates opportunities for them to apply what they have learned in community to deepen their understanding. For example, in one of his courses students design and implement language games with children at local organizations like Science World and the SFU Childcare Society.
As director of the Language Learning and Development (LangDev) Lab, Yeung conducts research on how infants and young children acquire their native language(s), as well as how adults learn a new language. His work explores many aspects of language but focuses on the perceptual and cognitive foundations of speech sound learning.
To learn more, read the full story.
2024 Early Career Award for Excellence in Teaching
Scott MacEachern, Lecturer, Accounting, Beedie School of Business
With an extensive industry background, Scott MacEachern instills a passion for learning in his students by creating interactive environments where they apply course concepts to real-world scenarios. Dedicated to helping students thrive and succeed, MacEachern is continually refining his teaching by incorporating student feedback into the design of his courses.
MacEachern is a chartered professional accountant with a Master of Science degree in professional accounting from Colorado State University. Before transitioning to academia, MacEachern spent over a decade in the financial accounting industry, serving as CFO of a public multinational fibre optic deployment company, an auditor for a Big 4 accounting firm, and a partner at his own firm. In 2022, MacEachern was recognized with the TD Canada Trust Distinguished Teaching Award.
To learn more, read the full story.
2024 Early Career Award for Excellence in Teaching
Rylan Simpson, assistant professor, School of Criminology, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Rylan Simpson makes learning exciting, relevant and interactive for his students by connecting course concepts to real-world applications. Simpson brings his research into the classroom and creates opportunities for his students to engage with police officers and senior police administrators on course topics. Simpson's teaching philosophy aims to inspire his students' curiosity and passion for criminology and show them firsthand the value of higher education.
As a court-recognized expert in policing, Simpson conducts research related to public perceptions of police, police organizations, and police effectiveness. He has participated in more than 1,600 hours of ride-alongs with police agencies from around the world, including in Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. He completed his PhD in Criminology, Law and Society at the University of California, Irvine.
To learn more, read the full story.
2024 Early Career Award for Excellence in Teaching
Travis Salway, Associate Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences
Travis Salway delivers active and inclusive learning spaces to help his students thrive. Salway not only creates opportunities for students to bring their whole selves into the classroom but empowers them to take assignments in directions that are meaningful to their lives. In addition, Salway helps make materials and concepts accessible to diverse learners by integrating experiential activities into his teaching and courses.
Salway is a social epidemiologist dedicated to understanding and improving the health of Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (2S/LGBTQ) populations. Salway directs the REAFFIRM Collaborative, an interdisciplinary team studying effects of 2S/LGBTQ identity (in)validation. He founded MindMapBC.ca, a 2S/LGBTQ-affirming mental health service finder.
To learn more, read the full story.