Recognizing Teaching Excellence

May 12, 2021

Four teaching assistants named as 2021 Outstanding TA award recipients for their excellence in the classroom.

CBS recently announced the four recipients of the 2021 Outstanding Teaching Award. The award is given to teaching assistants who have shown excellence in teaching or other forms of instruction that enhance the educational experience of students in the College. This year’s recipients are:

Abby Guthmann
Graduate student in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior
Teaching Assistant in EEB 3412 lab

“Abby’s success as a teacher comes from the fact that she clearly cares so deeply both about what she’s teaching and who she’s teaching it to. A philosophy of kindness underlies a deep dedication to curiosity, enabling her to encourage students to explore new ideas while making sure that her students have the skills and resources necessary to succeed.” - student nominator

Molly Kuhs
Graduate student in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior
Teaching assistant in EEB 3408w

“Molly’s students felt that she cared about them as well as their success in the course. She made class enjoyable and she was kind to them, and she made herself very available outside of class for additional help.” - faculty nominator

Arad Moghadasi
Graduate student in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics
Teaching assistant in INMD 6802

“Immediately it was clear that while Arad was teaching me simple molecular biology techniques and assays, he stressed the importance of fundamentally understanding the biology behind an experiment instead of just being able to technically execute it. In essence, he was teaching me how to do science, instead of just instructing me to perform tasks.” - student nominator

Jane Yap
UMN undergraduate
Teaching assistant for BIOL 1012

“I have yet to have a TA that not only knows the course material thoroughly, but can also create an incredibly positive, friendly, and welcoming environment for their students like Jane can. Whether it’s putting memes in her slideshow, sharing goofy mnemonics, or playing her Spotify playlist during work time, Jane is both engaging and relatable for her students.” - student nominator