AnneMarie Conley

Assistant Professor
School of Education

May 1, 2013

AnneMarie Conley Honored for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching

Assistant Professor AnneMarie Conley was honored for excellence in undergraduate teaching during the April 12th University of California, Irvine Celebration of Teaching Awards.

The afternoon celebration was co-hosted by the UC Irvine Division of Undergraduate Educationand the Teaching, Learning, and Technology Center (TLTC).

2013 marked the 20th year of this annual event.

Text of Award Presentation to AnneMarie Conley

The School of Education is pleased to acknowledge Assistant Professor AnneMarie Conley’s excellence in undergraduate teaching. As a course instructor and mentor, Dr. Conley has an infectious passion for the subjects she teaches and a deep caring about student learning.

Dr. Conley teaches two popular core courses for the minor in Educational Studies program: “Adolescent Development in Education” and “Learning and Cognition in Educational Settings.” Although course sections often enroll over 100 students, her students and Teaching Assistants praise her abilities to engage undergraduates in critical thinking through small and large group discussions and to encourage the sharing of diverse opinions.

Her course evaluations, which consistently earn aggregate mean ratings of 4.4 or higher on a 5-point scale, offer additional evidence from students that Dr. Conley demonstrates a deep and passionate understanding of her subject matter, she is genuinely concerned with student learning, and she consistently welcomes student input and encourages participation.

Student comments highlight Dr. Conley’s ability to make course concepts comprehensible with real life examples. A Teaching Assistant for the adolescent development course described how she was inspired by Dr. Conley’s skill at challenging students to push their thinking in a non-threatening and motivating way.

AnneMarie Conley has also inspired undergraduates to engage in educational research, hosting students to participate in directed research projects with her graduate students. In 2012 and 2013 she has mentored a team of undergraduate and graduate students to design iPad-based learning games as part of the university’s Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) Multidisciplinary Design Program (MDP). This is a project of which Dr. Conley is particularly proud, and undergraduates have referred to her as their biggest fan as she helped them to navigate a complex research and design task, to work collaboratively with other faculty members, and to prepare a proposal for a Games, Learning, and Society conference.

Dr. Conley also contributes to the development of future university instructors as a mentor for Teaching Assistants and Teaching Associates. Each year she has guided graduate students’ development of pedagogical skills and shared with them her passion for her courses.

For her success as a teacher and mentor of undergraduates, and as an exemplary model for future university instructors, Assistant Professor AnneMarie Conley is well-deserving of this award for excellence in teaching.

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