Judith Leggatt works hard to ensure her students walk away with something from her classes.
“Students are the centre of a university,” said the Lakehead University English professor.
Leggatt was honoured with the Distinguished Teaching Award this year from Lakehead and was on hand Monday morning for the kick off to Teaching and Learning Week in the LU Agora.
“Teaching is so important to all of the faculty at Lakehead. It’s a huge honour to be recognized amongst a faculty that is so strong in teaching,” Leggatt said, adding she’s proud to be part of the LU team, especially during Teaching and Learning Week.
“There is always the perception that professors care about their research more than their teaching and that teaching takes away from research.
"In an ideal university setting, and I think Lakehead models this, teaching and learning and research are interconnected."
Leggatt often brings her research into the classroom and her research has been inspired by students from time to time.
The connection between teachers and students is important for creating new knowledge, she added.
Teaching and Learning Week provides faculty and other university staff members to discuss and develop new learning strategies and talk about important issues.
The week will feature several events focusing on topics like plagiarism and support for students at risk or distressed.
Provost and vice president of academics Rodney Hanley said the week is a chance for the university to showcase their teaching expertise and the quality of education they have at Lakehead.
“It’s often times when you’re a professor or you’re working at the university it’s easy to come to work, do your thing, not really think about the broader mission of teaching,” he said.
“This gives us the chance to assemble, have different panel discussions talking about issues that extend across the entire university,” Hanley added.
