Arizona Western College names 2019 Teachers of the Year
March 11, 2019Yuma, AZ (March 11, 2019) - Arizona Western College’s 2019 Teacher of the Year honorees are full-time faculty member Fabiana Bowles, Professor of Nursing, and associate faculty member Alma Barrandey, Director of the Child Development Learning Laboratory.
Of the 26 qualified nominations that were made by students and staff, the winners were selected for this prestigious honor based on exemplary performance in the classroom; being accepted and respected by their colleagues and administrators; being innovative, creative and enthusiastic; being involved in professional enrichment; demonstrating outstanding contributions and/or leadership in their workplace and beyond; and exhibiting a willingness to share their expertise with others.
Bowles and Barrandey will be recognized for their work at AWC, in the community, and their dedication to their students’ education at the 32nd Annual Teacher of the Year banquet at the Yuma Civic Center on Tuesday, April 23.
Through a partnership with the AWC Foundation, this year’s awardees were given the Frances Morris Endowed Faculty Achievement Award and the Shadle-Edgecombe Endowed Faculty Achievement Award to honor their hard work. These awards are in addition to a tuition waiver for three credits/units at Northern Arizona University-Yuma for academic year 2019-2020, an opportunity to travel to a professional conference of their choice, and a special parking spot on campus. Additionally, Bowles will also have the responsibility of selecting a student who is a high school senior or a student already attending AWC for the Teacher of the Year Presidential Scholarship.
Excerpt from Fabiana Bowles’s Teaching Philosophy Statement:
“In an ever-changing profession such as nursing, teaching students to embrace technology and the resources available to them is an important part of my teaching philosophy. Updating and changing with the times is as critical to nursing as it is with the education profession. Through technology, the ability to reach out to all types of learners with different mediums ensures material taught will be retained and useful to the student. Demonstrating that there is more than one way to do things or learn things teaches the student to find other methods or mediums to enhance their own learning. Teaching students to use their resources, not only to read a textbook from front to back, allows me to help prepare the nurses of the future. Flexibility and evolution continue to be driving forces in my profession and development as a nurse educator. Change is constant and inevitable, and I am continually changing and reinventing my teaching style.”
Excerpt from Alma Barrandey’s Teaching Philosophy Statement:
“Students learn best by participating in their own learning through hands-on experiences. Even if students are hesitant to participate, teachers need to encourage the sharing of experiences. When students fully engage in their learning, they can truly demonstrate their understanding of the subject. My goal for my students is for them to learn how to apply everything that they learn in my classroom to their own classrooms. I give them practical experiences that they can use with their students. I want them to feel secure that they are using the best practice with young children and that they are aware of what quality in the preschool classroom looks like. Students who are well prepared will feel secure to run high quality classrooms for young children in the future.”
Contact:
Joann Chang
Center for Instructional Excellence Director/Professor of Biology
Arizona Western College
Joann.Chang@azwestern.edu
(928) 344-7665