Outstanding University Graduate Student Teaching – Doctoral I
Josh Fitzgerald
- Doctoral student in the Communication Education program at Illinois State University.
- Master’s degree from Western Illinois 2017.
My motivation to become a college professor comes from…
A desire to have a positive impact on the world. I feel like education can lead to a plethora of positive societal results. So, if I can be a part of those positives, while doing anything I can to assist my students, I feel like I will have made a difference.
The most rewarding aspect of teaching for me is… (and why)
Watching students’ progress over the course of a semester. In the classes I teach, speech assignments are what students dread the most. I really enjoy comparing the students' first speeches to their last ones.
Best compliment that I’ve received from a student was …
The one that makes me laugh, which automatically makes it my favorite, is when my students tell me I deserve a raise, or that they are going to tell everyone they know to take my class. These are obviously silly, humorous comments, but the implication is that the student enjoyed my teaching enough to comment on it.
The one teaching technique or strategy that I would recommend to my colleagues to enhance student learning the most is …
… Try and meet the students where their interests are. Recently, due to the pandemic, I knew I was going to have to make videos for my students. I took this as an opportunity to research what college students are interested in… So, I went on YouTube and started watching videos that I wouldn't typically watch. I noticed that they were very fast-paced, visually enticing, and entertaining. I tried to have my videos for the students have some of these qualities I noticed.
“I will do anything I can to help my students, and I do everything I can to make sure they know that. ”