Cassidy Doyle, a doctoral candidate in the School of Aging Studies, won the Provost’s Award for Outstanding Teaching by a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the category of Health/Medicine/Behavioral Science.
Doyle has taught The Life Cycle, an undergraduate course in developmental psychology, for three years and has lectured to over 700 students during her time as a graduate student at USF.
"I firmly believe that passion is contagious, and my goal is to inspire my students each semester to develop a genuine interest in what they are learning through the energy I bring to teaching," wrote Doyle in the teaching portfolio she submitted as part of her application for the award. "By fostering a genuine curiosity for the course material, I aim to create an environment that encourages my students to act on their curiosities by asking questions (both during and after class) and encouraging independent research on topics."
Her teaching portfolio also includes student responses from her course evaluations, with comments such as, "she truly cares about her students and you can tell by the way she greets us, teaches us, opens our minds, and then gives us a farewell."
Emma Devine, a doctoral student in applied behavior analysis, was recognized as the runner-up in the Health/Medicine/Behavioral Science category. Devine has taught Fundamentals of Behavior Analysis and Applied Behavior Analysis & Developmental Disabilities, and was a teaching assistant for Practicum III and Experimental Analysis of Behavior.
The Provost's Award for Outstanding Teaching by a Graduate Teaching Assistant was established in 1998 to recognize the exemplary contributions made by graduate teaching assistants to excellence in undergraduate education, and is administered by the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning.