congratulations to dr. mary louise hill, recipient of the
2010 distinguished instructor award.
geology professor receives 2010 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜
distinguished instructor award
by frances harding
dr.
mary louise hill
is an enthusiastic and passionate geologist who believes she can change the
world through education - one student at a time. her approach to teaching is
straightforward: "maintain high expectations for student learning, and provide
the necessary support to help 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛
succeed." her teaching dossier is filled
with letters from grateful 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛
who trace their success back to her. in one
letter, victoria stinson (hbsc'10) praises dr. hill for pushing her academic
abilities further than she ever thought possible and says, "now i know that i
can push myself ever more."
mary louise hill studied geology at carleton
university in ottawa and completed her phd at princeton university in new
jersey. she taught in the department of geology at temple university,
philadelphia, from 1983 to 1999 before coming to lakehead to serve as
vice-president (academic) and provost for five years with president fred
gilbert.
since joining the
department of geology as a full-time
professor in 2004, mary louise hill has been building a research program of
field-based geological investigations in northwestern ontario. most of her
research projects involve the analysis and interpretation of high-temperature
ductile shear zones in archean rock, including deformation of banded iron
formation and implications for economic gold mineralization.
she is a
structural geologist with an interest in metamorphic rock - the type of rock
that makes up a large part of the earth's crust and is formed from tectonic
processes such as continental collisions. the canadian shield is made of
metamorphic rock so it makes a terrific field area for her research.
at
lakehead, mary louise hill teaches one of the most popular science courses, a
first-year geology/environmental studies course called
planet earth
that attracts 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛
of all ages and backgrounds. it is also videoconferenced
to the orillia campus. her goal is to break down some of the barriers people
have about studying science and to get 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛
to think like scientists by
asking "how do we know this is true?" and "how can we test that?"
a bonus
for her 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛
(and for the department of geology) is her success in
encouraging first-year 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛
to choose lakehead's honours degree programs in
geology or environmental studies and earth science.
in her third- and
fourth-year classes for geology majors, mary louise hill gets to know individual
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"well enough to help them build on their strengths and develop other
areas of competence." she is particularly respected for the learning that goes
on in her field schools and in her classes on case studies - where 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛
learn how to make effective oral presentations, defend their ideas with
evidence, and participate in scientific debate.
in another course for
fourth-year civil engineering majors,
basic scientific methods in
geology, she focuses on the interactions between geologists and civil
engineers when they work together as a team on a common project. the tests for
this course require synthesis, analysis, and evaluation. "by treating 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛
in the class as (almost) professional engineers, i earn their respect and
attention, and everyone learns more."
research as teaching
dissemination of research results to other
geologists is also a form of teaching, says mary louise hill, and she gets
enormous satisfaction in sharing the results of her research program at
conferences and professional meetings. "my research at musselwhite mine led to a
new geological and exploration model, with results that extended the life of the
mine," she says. "ideas from my current research on shear-zone-hosted gold
deposits are being tested through active exploration for gold in northwestern
ontario, and i am often consulted and then thanked by geologists in the mining
and exploration sector for helping them see old rocks in new ways."
mary
louise hill is the only female professor in a department that has six full-time
faculty members - a statistic which she says is on par with most geology
departments in canada. she is a role model whether she likes it or not and,
fortunately for lakehead, she likes it. indeed, she says she feels honoured to
have had the opportunity to touch people's lives.
one of her former
世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛
at temple university, dr. gary solar, is now an associate professor and
chair of the department of earth sciences and science education at buffalo state
university in new york. he has received four teaching awards including the 2006
biggs award from the geological society of america, presented for outstanding
earth science teaching.
dr. solar says, "i cannot imagine being an
effective teacher without the tremendous research education i have enjoyed ...
under the supervision of mary lou, both in undergraduate research, then as a
master's student. it is people like mary lou who afforded me opportunities to be
at the forefront of my discipline."
editor's note: dr. mary louise
hill will give a public lecture during 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜
's teaching and
learning week, january 24 to 27, 2011. a symposium on teaching and learning
will be held on january 28, 2011. details to follow.