Celebration of Teaching Honors Two Engineering Professors
Oct. 3, 2024 - Two engineering faculty were recognized with Celebration of Teaching awards at the recent UCI Teach Day held by the Division of Teaching Excellence and Innovation. David Copp, assistant professor of teaching in mechanical and aerospace engineering, was acknowledged as a Dean’s Honoree and was honorably mentioned in the Dr. De Gallow Professor of the Year and Excellence in Pedagogy categories. Christine King, associate professor of teaching in biomedical engineering, was given an honorable mention in the Dr. De Gallow Professor of the Year Award.
The annual Celebration of Teaching awards recognize faculty, instructors and teaching assistants who have demonstrated excellence in undergraduate teaching at UCI.
Copp was selected for being a superb teacher, innovator and mentor who has made a huge impact on engineering students and the curriculum. He teaches large-enrollment lecture, lab and project-based undergraduate courses, and is also an adviser for undergraduate design projects that serve around 400 students each year, including students from multiple departments.
He co-developed the new Capstone Design course to pilot open-ended, real-world projects with smaller, focused teams that meet weekly with a project sponsor. This alternative to large-team projects emphasizes individual student contributions and provides a more equitable environment for all students to participate. He also fully redesigned several courses using specification grading, an equitable method that emphasizes students’ demonstration of learning as either sufficient for passing or not, rather than accumulating points to earn a desired grade. This type of grading has been shown to positively impact first generation and low-income students by improving their learning strategies, persistence in STEM majors and self-efficacy.
Copp says he is grateful for being recognized for doing what he enjoys. “UCI provides excellent resources to help instructors make their classes supportive and engaging,” said Copp, “and I will continue to leverage these resources to help future engineers make the positive impact they want in the world.”
King, an instructor and mentor, has developed innovative approaches in research, teaching and service that have consistently engaged engineering undergraduates. She is committed to providing an active and immersive learning environment in the classroom; teaching students skills that will make them competitive for industry positions; and individualized and small-group mentorship. King has garnered considerable extramural and intramural funding, including a competitive five-year NIH R25 award to create a virtual reality platform for identifying unmet clinical needs, which allows students to experience clinical immersion virtually.
Also this past summer, the Division of Teaching Excellence and Innovation announced the second cohort of the UCI Faculty Academy for Teaching Excellence (FATE). Three engineering faculty – King, associate professor of biomedical engineering Jim Brody, and associate professor of teaching in mechanical and aerospace engineering Natascha Buswell – were among 20 campuswide selected for the honor. FATE Fellows are professors who have demonstrated a commitment to creating learning environments that foster the growth of all students while developing their own skills as peer-recognized model educators.
Brody, Buswell and King will participate in discussions addressing all aspects of the teaching experience, from pedagogical techniques to course policies to departmental and universitywide issues. Fellows advise campus leadership on targeted projects that advance teaching excellence.
Through FATE, the Office of the Vice Provost of Teaching and Learning aims to create a community of individuals with a shared desire to promote student success. Membership is an honor bestowed on those faculty who pledge to continue growing in their roles as educators and mentors.
– Lori Brandt
