Chiara Torriani
Senior Instructor Chiara Torriani has shown exceptional professionalism and flexibility in agreeing to teach Italian 3015 in Fall, 2020. Italian 3015 is the course we offer to increase our students’ writing skills so that they can be prepared for the upper level Italian courses in Literature and Culture. It is a very difficult course to teach since it requires intensive preparation followed by extensive hours devoted to correcting papers and homework.
Chiara did an exemplary job in spite of the fact that she had to completely re-organize the class to teach it on Zoom. She also familiarized herself with new technology (she was praised by the ALTEC office on their webpage) and she used the program CANVA to help the students create a beautiful electronic newsletter.
In spite of having several setbacks, Chiara was able to re-organize herself and to learn new skills in order to continue to support the Department in such difficult times.
Chiara is highly valued as an exemplary member of our teaching community.
The Department would like to thank this year's committee: Élisabeth Arnould-Bloomfield, Cosetta Seno, and Alina Van Nelson.
The Department of French and Italian’s Teaching Award is bestowed upon a faculty member of any rank by their colleagues. It may be granted to recognize a colleague’s excellence in the classroom. It may also be awarded based on a colleague’s excellence in the endeavors that comprise the invisible labor necessary to improve student learning and maintain a dynamic, compelling, and meaningful curriculum. These pedagogical endeavors might include, but are not limited to, mentoring in all its forms (undergraduate, graduate, and collegial), developing and promoting interdisciplinary teaching, creating exciting opportunities for learning outside of the traditional classroom, advancing the effective use of digital technologies and online learning, nurturing diversity through pedagogy, expanding the department’s pedagogical reach by creating and teaching large classes, creatively expanding our curriculum in other ways, and other efforts deemed to significantly enhance the department’s pedagogical mission.