Congratulations to this year's co-winners of the department's Outstanding GSI Award, Megan Kelly and Margarita Maria Rodriguez Morales! This award recognizes exceptional performance in the classroom and dedication to student learning as a Graduate Student Instructor.
Both Megan and Margarita have demonstrated exceptional dedication to teaching. Nominated by U-M Sociology Lecturer Matt Sullivan, it was recognized that Margarita Maria Rodriguez Morales’s instruction in Soc 302 - Health and Society: An Introduction to Sociology was finely tuned to align with broader student learning objectives. "Her unique approach and teaching philosophy not only align with the highest standards of our educational institution but also ensure students grasp and expand upon the subjects at hand,” Sullivan writes. He also notes that Rodriguez Morales’s “remarkable skill for developing original content that creatively builds upon lecture content" inspired this nomination for the Outstanding GSI Award.
Megan Kelly worked with U-M Sociology Assistant Professor Andrei Boutyline to teach Soc 310: Sociological Research Methods. Megan Kelly’s exemplary work shone through her individualized efforts to create manageable course expectations for all students in the classroom. Boutyline argues that Kelly “... supported her students holistically. Be it by teaching them time management and scheduling strategies, coaching them through balancing coursework and life events, or counseling them through the unpredictable ups and downs of empirical research.” Kelly's attentiveness to the varied needs of our undergraduate students has earned her the Outstanding GSI Award in the U-M Sociology Department.
While Margarita and Megan are being recognized for their exceptional instructional contributions, we also encourage you to delve into their individual research areas and work. Visit their profiles (linked above) for more information.
Once again, congratulations to this year's joint recipients of the Outstanding GSI Award. Both of them have also been nominated for the university-wide Rackham Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award by Rackham.
