STM recognizes instructors who made outstanding contributions to teaching at the College

STM’s Teaching Excellence Award (TEA) is given out annually, and it recognizes instructors who have made outstanding contributions to teaching at the College. Students, faculty, and alumni can nominate any instructor teaching in the current year, who is then invited to submit an application package, including student and peer reviews of teaching, a teaching portfolio, and a CV. In recognition of the differing responsibilities and foci of sessional instructors as compared to tenured and tenure-track faculty, the Teaching Committee now selects two distinct award winners: one who is a sessional instructor, and another who is a faculty member. There were 18 nominations received across both categories.

WINNER (Tenure and Tenure-Track):
KYLEE-ANNE HINGSTON(PHD)

The winner of the STM Teaching Award for tenured/tenure stream faculty is Dr. Kylee-Anne Hingston. Across the board, students identified Kylee-Anne as caring, passionate, and inspirational, and communications from former students were glowing with praise. The committee was very impressed with how much work she devotes toward making her

teaching better: Kylee-Anne responds head-on to (reasonable) student criticism and adapts accordingly. The willingness and ability to keep learning and growing is certainly the mark of a really good teacher.

The Committee was very impressed with the syllabi Kylee-Anne builds for her courses—they’re detailed, funny, personable and some of the best we’ve seen. Her scaffolded assignments help the students grow throughout the semester.

Her rubrics are crystal clear and painstakingly crafted, and she encourages her students to publish their papers. She’s had success in this and notes that she “gets pleasure from seeing them improve.” And this fits with her teaching philosophy: learning is a kind of collaborative craft to be honed across the life of both teacher and student, and Kylee-Anne certainly lives this.

Congratulations Kylee-Anne!

WINNER (Term and Sessional)
FACHRIZAL HALIM (PHD)

The winner of the STM Teaching Award for term and sessional instructors is Dr. Fachrizal Halim. The committee was very impressed by his CV and especially his outside-of-university teaching. Fachrizal puts much effort into developing, revising and updating his course materials and is committed to becoming a better teacher. We noted that the tone of his teaching philosophy is supremely kind and personable: Fachrizal is concerned for his students as whole people and he recognizes that they need to do more than learn; they should be responsible, ethical, compassionate, and wise, and he is helping them to cultivate those qualities.

Congratulations, Fachrizal!

HONOURABLE MENTION (Tenure and Tenure-Track):
HENRI BIAHÉ (PHD)

For the STM Teaching Award for tenured/tenure track faculty, an honourable mention goes to Dr. Henri Biahe. Dr. Biahé has been a multiple nominee for teaching awards over his years at STM, and the committee was impressed by the sheer volume of work Henri puts into pre-quizzes and pre-tests, as well as the outside-of-class hours that he devotes to his students. The thirty-minute one-on-one appointments he offers each of his students are above and beyond the call of duty, thus it didn’t surprise the committee that in their reviews, students noted they actively seek out classes he teaches.

Henri's well-developed teaching philosophy stood out to us. In his Statement of Teaching Philosophy, through his invitation to interaction and his belief that good teaching is more than mastery of the subject, he indicates that his classes are guided by humility and relationship. These aren’t merely ideals for Henri: he enacts them by learning student’s names and by investing time outside of class to work one-on-one with students. Congratulations, Henri!

HONOURABLE MENTION (Term and Sessional):
HONGBIN ZHANG

For the STM Term/sessional Teaching Award, an honourable mention goes to Hongbin Zhang. Hongbin’s teaching philosophy, comprised of various elements including Ip Man legendary teacher of Wing Chun kung fu, is quite engaging, and her student evaluations are very positive and reflect the goals expressed in that teaching philosophy. Hongbin thinks about students in their contexts, as individuals who need empathy and care. One student said that they initially ‘dreaded’ taking the course but ended up loving it and now wants to seek a career in economics.

Congratulations, Hongbin!

2023-2024 STM Teaching Excellence Award Nominees
STM instructors nominated by students and/or peers for the STM Teaching Excellence Award:

Syed Azeem
Caroline Arbuckle
Henri Biahé
Shakti Brazier-Tompkins
Carie Buchanan
Tania Duclos
Fachrizal Halim
Rita Hamoline
Paulette Hunter
Kylee-Anne Hingston
Anthony Jenkins
David Lane
David McGrane
Saeed Moshiri
Michael Poellet
Sarah Powrie
Daniel Regnier
Wayne Schlapkohl
Colin Schwartz
Celene Sidloski
Cynthia Wallace
Zachary Yuzwa
Hongbin Zhang

Dr. Celene Sidloski one of only 10 recipients of 2024 USSU Teaching Awards

by Jacquie Berg 

The USSU Teaching Excellence Awards annually recognize instructors who demonstrate teaching excellence at the University of Saskatchewan and St. Thomas More College. As the University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union (USSU) explains, “An excellent teacher not only gives us access to knowledge but also gives us the tools with which to turn that knowledge into wisdom. Students evaluate teachers and their environment in a number of ways; three important areas include enthusiasm, organization, and fairness of evaluation. The culmination of these aspects leads to an environment where students feel free to explore, critique, grow, and become leaders.”

Congratulations Celene on this recognition by your students (one of just 10 recipients campus-wide) as to your inspiring teaching qualities. We are very proud to have you serve as a sessional lecturer at STM.

About Dr. Celene Sidloski:

Raised near Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Dr. Celene Sidloski currently teaches English literature and writing courses at St. Thomas More College (STM), and grammar for the Department of Linguistics at the University of Saskatchewan. She has taught at STM for 22 years.

Celene stated that she feels "especially privileged to teach at the intersection of her greatest loves, grammar (architecture of the language) and poetry, two neglected arts that form the foundation of the classical trivium."

"I truly care about the students," she said. "And as an academic, the world of ideas is exciting to me and so in turn, I want to transmit that knowledge in a way that students can understand and value."

Celene adds that her great literary loves include poetry spanning the complete Western tradition, and the works of Shakespeare, Dickens, G. K. Chesterton, and Flannery O’Connor. In addition to her literary interests, she takes pleasure in the informal study of Thomistic philosophy.

Sidloski is a member of the Executive for the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars Canada, and the founder and director of Rebuilding Catholic Culture, a non-profit apostolate devoted to the exploration of the Catholic intellectual tradition through its art, literature, philosophy, and theology.

As part of the10th anniversary of Rebuilding Catholic Culture, in October of 2023 Celene cohosted the national Fellowship of Catholic Studies Conference entitled “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Catholic Realism in a Postmodern World.” The conference, with sponsorship assistance from STM and the Diocese of Saskatoon, drew scholars from all across Canada and parts of the United States.

Celene finds teaching to be the most fulfilling part of her work, and says that she is "grateful for the receptivity and enthusiasm of her students, who bring her joy every single day."

2023-2024 USSU Teaching Award Nominees
STM instructors nominated for the University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union (USSU)Teaching Award:

Henri Biahé
Carleigh Brady
Jeffrey Klassen
Emily Morris
Sarah Powrie
Lesya Sabada
Charles Smith
Zach Yuzwa
Hongbin Zhang

Congratulations to all the award winners, honourable mentions and nominees for their fine work as teacher-scholars.

Dr. Michael Cichon (PhD)
Teaching and Learning Committee Chair