By Colt Taylor/ campus editor
Photos by Bogdan Sierra Miranda/The Collegian
Chemistry professor Susan Patrick’s attention to her audience and flexible teaching style has made her a favorite among her students for making a complicated subject feel simple.
Patrick, who won the NE Campus Chancellor’s Award, has worked to revise the chemistry program to keep it up to the standards of the NE science department while also making it easier for students to understand and learn the material, chemistry professor Lillian Hansen said.
Patrick offers strategies for learning critical thinking skills as well as online resources to help contribute to her students’ success.
“Dr. Patrick’s commitment to teaching is clearly evident,” said nursing student Aisha Barnes in her letter of recommendation for the Chancellor’s Award. “She made class practical, enjoyable and a safe place to learn.”
Patrick’s dedication has led her to develop material not only for her own classes but other chemistry classes as well. Previously, the lab manual used in the course was being rewritten slightly each semester and had to be paid for each time it was revised, Patrick said.
The new manual, which was written over the summer with help from her colleagues, costs far less and is an overall better product suited specifically to the beginning chemistry course, Patrick said.
The materials within the lab manual have also been posted online for the student’s convenience, Hansen said in her letter of recommendation.
Patrick’s students agree that the resources she provides and her style of teaching help them learn some of the most complicated material with ease.
“I left her class feeling like I actually understood chemistry, which I never thought I really would,” nursing student Keri Vaughn said in her recommendation letter.
The course material is presented differently depending on the students in the class, Patrick said. Chemistry majors are taught differently from students with other majors.
“I try to evaluate my audience,” Patrick said.
Beyond the classroom, Patrick involves herself in other important duties. Taking up classes other teachers will miss due to illness or leave of absence is just one of the ways she contributes to the entire department, Hansen said.
“She is talented, caring, dedicated and focused on the needs of her students,” dental hygiene student Ashley Lindley said.
Many of Patrick’s students praise her method of making the class enjoyable and understandable, Vaughn said. According to Barnes, Patrick has a commitment to teaching in a practical manner that challenges her students to think critically.
Teaching problem solving for critical thinking requires application of knowledge, Patrick said.
“They come in afraid, and then they see what they can do,” she said.
