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Faculty Spotlight Nomination
Twice each semester the Faculty Center for Ignatian Pedagogy features a Faculty Spotlight. The Faculty Spotight showcases a Loyola faculty member who has a project or methodology that exemplifies outstanding teaching practice. Nominate a faculty colleague or yourself to be recognized.
PARTICIPATETitle:
Senior Lecturer, Biology and Director of the Undergraduate Program, LUC Department of Biology
Dr. Patrick Duffie has been a member of Loyola University Chicago’s Department of Biology for twenty-six years. Over the course of this period, he has always recognized the immense value of student diversity to the teaching process and experience.
“My elementary school, junior high, high school, and college were all very homogenous, I think, in terms of the student population. So it wasn’t until I came to Chicago, and Loyola in particular, that I really got exposed to a lot of different people. That, I’ve found, is the most interesting aspect of Loyola. Just hearing where kids are from, what they do, what their backgrounds are, what they’re bringing to Loyola...it makes every semester interesting.”
Because many of his students are freshmen, Dr. Duffie strives to create an academic environment that is “relaxed and comfortable” but also pervaded by enthusiasm for the discipline. Hence, Duffie models his pedagogical practices upon those of the teachers whose courses he most enjoyed and found beneficial:
“In terms of teaching practices, I try to teach the way it has worked for me. I try to show the students that this can be fun, lecture class can be fun. I want participation, which is sometimes hard in biology when our classes get a little bit larger, but I want students to feel like they can approach me. Because I predominantly teach freshmen, I try to instill in them an enjoyment for the course so they can build a good foundation and like what they’re doing. I’ve always tried to make it relaxed, interesting, and not the end of the world because Biology One and Biology Two are just the beginning.”
Hence, Dr. Duffie has effectively combined a vehement enthusiasm for his discipline and students with a fervent commitment to Loyola University Chicago's Ignatian principles and mission of global progress. Such a combination is to be celebrated particularly as Dr. Duffie reaches his twenty-sixth anniversary of service to Loyola in 2016.
Patrick Duffie
Title: Senior Lecturer, Biology and Director of the Undergraduate Program, LUC Department of Biology
Dr. Patrick Duffie has been a member of Loyola University Chicago’s Department of Biology for twenty-six years. Over the course of this period, he has always recognized the immense value of student diversity to the teaching process and experience.
“My elementary school, junior high, high school, and college were all very homogenous, I think, in terms of the student population. So it wasn’t until I came to Chicago, and Loyola in particular, that I really got exposed to a lot of different people. That, I’ve found, is the most interesting aspect of Loyola. Just hearing where kids are from, what they do, what their backgrounds are, what they’re bringing to Loyola...it makes every semester interesting.”
Because many of his students are freshmen, Dr. Duffie strives to create an academic environment that is “relaxed and comfortable” but also pervaded by enthusiasm for the discipline. Hence, Duffie models his pedagogical practices upon those of the teachers whose courses he most enjoyed and found beneficial:
“In terms of teaching practices, I try to teach the way it has worked for me. I try to show the students that this can be fun, lecture class can be fun. I want participation, which is sometimes hard in biology when our classes get a little bit larger, but I want students to feel like they can approach me. Because I predominantly teach freshmen, I try to instill in them an enjoyment for the course so they can build a good foundation and like what they’re doing. I’ve always tried to make it relaxed, interesting, and not the end of the world because Biology One and Biology Two are just the beginning.”
Hence, Dr. Duffie has effectively combined a vehement enthusiasm for his discipline and students with a fervent commitment to Loyola University Chicago's Ignatian principles and mission of global progress. Such a combination is to be celebrated particularly as Dr. Duffie reaches his twenty-sixth anniversary of service to Loyola in 2016.
Interview by Andrew Kelly
Student Worker, Faculty Center for Ignatian Pedagogy
Title:
Instructor, Department of English
Loyola website:
http://luc.edu/english/writinginstructors/alysonpaigewarren.shtml
Alyson Paige Warren obtained her MFAW from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and applies her expertise in creative writing both in her capacity as an Adjunct Instructor in Loyola’s Department of English and as a writer and illustrator of children’s books.
“I’ve definitely been a reader and a writer for as long as I can remember.”
As a member of the English Department, Alyson emphasizes the central role of student involvement in her teaching and assessment practices.
“I consider myself a constructivist. I want to teach the students what they are here to learn and make them a part of that process. I know that listening and being available to students is part of Ignatian pedagogy. I try to be available to them in as many ways as possible and also to support them in as many ways as possible.”
Essential to this effort, Alyson contends, is her employment of a wide variety of “alternative teaching practices” designed to allow students to “engage with the writing process in a new way”.
“I have a heavy online presence with regard to my use of Sakai. I tend to use multiple sign systems in the classroom, anything from listening to podcasts, to watching TED talks, to engaging in performance and debate.”
Such practices, Alyson elucidates, allow her courses to remain dynamic and engaging to her students, whose active involvement in the pedagogical process “keeps the courses fresh… and developing”.
“I think it’s a kind of trap to think that education is a passive process and the professor is just there to dump all this information in your head and you either take it in or you don’t. For me, it’s really about teaching people how to think and exposing them to things.”
This pedagogical philosophy, and its emphasis of active student engagement, has been favorably received, both in the classroom and in evaluations, by those Alyson teaches.
“My evaluations are wonderful; I get really positive feedback from students. I really let them know how important their constructive criticism and feedback are to me, and that, again, is part of Ignatian pedagogy”.
Indeed, Alyson’s commitment to Ignatian pedagogy, and its elemental mission of social justice, further informs her educational practices.
“I encourage my students to be active civil students, civil servants, and members of the community, and I really seek to model in how aware I am of what’s going on with them, in their world, and in the world in general. I believe that education can be transformative. I believe that literature can be transformative. I believe that writing can be transformative. I think that by illustrating to my students that I love what we’re doing, that I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, I’m able to share with them my passion for things that have transformed me and I hope will transform them.”
Interview by Andrew Kelly,
Student Worker, Faculty Center for Ignatian Pedagogy
Sara Gramata
Sara Gramata
Title:
Lecturer/Clinical Instructor, Quinlan School of Business - Marketing
It is difficult to be upbeat and chipper for a 9:20am class every day, but regardless, this professor manages to keep a constant smile on her face and thread jokes into every lesson. For Sara Gramata, teaching has always come naturally—in fact, she found her first pupil when she was just four or five years old. “I adopted a pet lamb and named her Bright Eyes. I not only fed her a bottle of milk before and after school, but read to her daily. I tried to get Bright Eyes to do tricks, but I don't think any of them stuck!” Professor Gramata shares. While her efforts may have been futile when it came to her baby lamb, Sara has carried her nurturing soul and desire to teach throughout the rest of her life.
Sara has been teaching since 2005, but feels that the atmosphere at Loyola surpasses that of any other teaching environment she has experienced. She sees “the Jesuit spirit instilled in many ways around the campus, truly making Loyola unique and genuine.” Loyola has enabled her to work along with students and charities on top of her rigorous teaching schedule.
Having worked in New York City and Chicago as a marketing professional for fifteen years, Sara finds it helpful to include stories of her own personal experiences in her lessons. Additionally, she enjoys using “weekly learning activities” that encourage her students to work together and practice real world problem solving. Regarding her favorite lesson, Sara says it “involves segmenting a target market. The exercise is based on a hypothetical gun range and demonstrates the various audiences who might use [the] service. Students are always surprised to find out there may be many more consumers (who are varied in purpose) accessing a gun range than they originally expected.” Recently, she ran into a student that graduated eight years ago; he still remembered a specific lesson of hers, mentioning that he had used it to help him in his current marketing job.
Most of the best lessons she learned about herself, Sara states, were learned in college. So, she understands her students’ experiences and is able to help them learn both inside and outside of her classroom. Her willingness to care for her students goes above and beyond the responsibility of a professor—she even extends invitations to her students to join her and her family at her home for Thanksgiving and Easter if they do not have anywhere else to go. “Without a doubt it's the students who keep me at Loyola. It's true I learn from them as much as they, hopefully, learn from me. I truly respect the students at Loyola and tease them that once they take my class, they are my students for life. I would do anything to help a student whether it's help find a job or internship, listen to their problems, or help advice on a difficult situation.” With her inherent generosity, extensive knowledge, and an immense love for teaching, Sara Gramata has done—and will continue to do—amazing things for Loyola and its students.
Interview and write up by Mia Sciarrone
Student Worker, Faculty Center for Ignatian Pedagogy