Celebrating Teaching Day 2025
Over 140 faculty members gathered on March 28th, 2025, for the Center for Teaching and Learning’s annual Celebrating Teaching Day. “Celebrating Teaching Day honors teaching excellence throughout Georgia Tech’s seven colleges,” said the Center’s Executive Director, Laura Carruth. “This event brings together colleagues from different disciplines through a shared love of teaching and learning. We’re proud to recognize instructors for their hard work and dedication in the classroom, lab, and beyond.”
During the event, faculty who received 2024 Thank-a-Teacher notes were recognized for their positive impact on students. “You are one of the most influential people in my life, changing its path for the best. Your trust in me, your encouragement, support, and guidance are treasures that I carry. You make people shine. May your brightest days be ahead,” read one note, written to Claire Arthur from a Music 6204 student.
Members of the Center’s faculty learning communities were acknowledged for their commitment to pedagogical growth and collaboration. “Participants in CTL’s ongoing groups and communities spend a year learning about teaching approaches and practices that help them be even more effective instructors.” said Carol Subiño Sullivan, the Center’s assistant director of Faculty Teaching and Learning Initiatives. “We’re thankful for their dedication to creating meaningful, challenging and supportive learning experiences for their students.”
Amanda Nolen, the Center’s assistant director for Evaluation and Assessment, presented the lists of all 2024 Course Instructor Opinion Survey (CIOS) Honor Roll and CIOS Award recipients. These instructors were recognized by their classes for enthusiasm, engagement, and care for students. Forty faculty members received the CIOS Award in 2024 and over 200 individual instructors were recognized on the semester Honor Rolls.
When asked how she helps her students thrive, Biomedical Engineering’s Alpa Gautam – a Faculty Teaching Award winner, Honor Roll recipient, and Thank-a-Teacher honoree – noted that she strives to be a gateway, not a gatekeeper, to understanding. “My goal is to help all students achieve their academic potential—not by reducing rigor, but by increasing equitable access through multimodal learning tools, hyperlinked textbook chapters, and case-based Problem-Solving Sessions that support both foundational and higher-order thinking,” said Gautam. “I also use my Metacognitive Teaching Framework to analyze exam data, allowing me to refine instruction mid-course and restructure formative assessments in future semesters to improve learning outcomes.”
In addition to recognizing individual faculty members, Celebrating Teaching Day seeks to facilitate idea-sharing, community-building, and innovation centered around excellence in teaching. This year’s event featured a poster session showcasing innovative teaching and learning projects happening across Georgia Tech, from reflective teaching to sustainable computing. Attendees had a chance to engage with faculty poster presenters to learn about new instructional approaches and other methods to enhance student learning. The poster session featured work by 2024 Provost Teaching and Learning Initiative, Transformative Teaching and Learning, and Undergraduate Sustainability Education Innovation grant recipients, participants in the Class of 1969 Teaching Fellows, the Hesburgh Award Fellows and many others.
The event culminated in a keynote address delivered by Robert Talbert, co-author of Grading For Growth: A Guide to Alternative Grading Practices that Promote Authentic Learning and Student Engagement in Higher Education. Talbert’s insights on authentic, humane, and trustworthy ways to evaluate student work provided a valuable perspective on alternative grading practices.
CTL extends its heartfelt thanks to all the incredible instructors in attendance, each of whom contributes to the culture of teaching excellence at Georgia Tech.
For other lists of recognized faculty, please visit the following links:
- 2024 Thank-a-Teacher Recipients
- 2024 Spring, Summer, and Fall CIOS Honor Rolls
- 2024 CIOS Award Winners
- 2024 Provost Teaching and Learning Initiatives
- 2024 Transformative Teaching and Learning Grants
- Faculty Teaching Award Recipients – Coming Soon!
