Posted on May 29: Professor Teaches Students the Joy of Discovery
[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/wilsonDN.jpg” caption=”Jean Wilson”]
“A place of mutual discovery” is how Jean Wilson, associate professor of Comparative Literature in the Faculty of Humanities and in McMaster's interdisciplinary Arts & Science program, characterizes her classroom. At a University committed to inspiring innovation and discovery, Wilson is one of the leading inspirations.
A recipient of a 2002 Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) teaching award, Wilson has been a scholar-role model for many students.
Andrea Dumbrell, hoping to fulfill the “humanities” requirement on her medical school applications, enrolled in one of Wilson's comparative literature courses in her second year. Three years later, as she reflects on her choice to study literature at the master's and doctoral levels, she is convinced that Wilson's enthusiasm and dedication influenced her decision to pursue a different career path.
The OCUFA teaching awards were established in 1973 to recognize outstanding teachers in Ontario universities. OCUFA, founded in 1964, is the provincial body charged with the responsibility for formulating views on matters of concern to faculty and for discussing these with the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) and the Ministry of Education and Training.
Dr. Henry Jacek, President of OCUFA, explains, “The Teaching Awards are presented to professors who inspire and inform through their teaching, course development, and research. They make a difference both to their academic discipline, and to the lives of their students, by offering the best they can professionally.”
Wilson's best includes detailed marking of assignments and extended office hours. “I put a lot of effort into the setting and marking of assignments and exams,” she explains. “I see marking as an opportunity to get to know my students.”
And many students take advantage of opportunities to get to know their favourite professor. States another former student, “[Dr. Wilson] was the only professor I have ever known whose office hours habitually ran over time. To catch up with my classmates, I had only to check outside her office.”
Dr. Wilson's commitment has not gone unrecognized. She has been nominated annually for the McMaster Students Union Teaching Award, which she has won three times, including an unprecedented two years in a row. More recently, Wilson received the highest honour for teaching at McMaster, the President's Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Just as students' eyes have been opened to new discoveries, Wilson continues to learn in every course she offers. “Teaching, in my experience, is profoundly transformative,” she explains. “The students in my classes play a crucial role in a process that never ceases to amaze me… I'm discovering with them, and I think that's the basis of what I do.”
Photo Caption: Professor Jean Wilson brushes up on her summer reading in preparation for more discoveries with her students this fall.Photo Credit: Julia Thomson
