Marine biologist Dr Tim Stevens has received the Vice Chancellor’s Award for Griffith University Teacher of the Year. The award was presented at the Teaching Excellence Gala Night on Thursday (November 6).
Part of the School of Environment’s Australian Rivers Institute, Dr Stevens’ lifelong love of the ocean has fuelled his commitment to teaching young people about the wonders of marine life, although he remains modest about his achievements.
“I just do what I do. I’ve always been curious about the ocean and the marine world and to be able to convey that to undergraduates is a privilege. Sometimes I’m amazed that everyone doesn’t want to be a marine biologist,” he said.
Dr Stevens’ teaching philosophy is driven by experiential learning, creating engaging course content and encouraging active participation and reflection.
As part of his teaching outreach, this year Dr Stevens — in collaboration with the Queensland Museum — launched an app, Coastal Life of South East Queensland, which is a comprehensive resource of information and images with value for secondary students, undergraduates and the broader community.
Dr Stevens, who also won a Sciences Group Award for Excellence in Teaching, is one of many Griffith lecturers who were recognised at this year’s awards held at the Gold Coast and Nathan campuses.
Thursday’s event celebrated the achievements of winners of national Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning, national learning and teaching fellowships and grants, and winners of Griffith Awards for Excellence in Teaching.
Academic Provost Professor Adam Shoemaker offered his congratulations to the staff nominated by their students and peers.
“The scheme is always highly competitive and the quality of applications this year is nothing short of outstanding,” he said.
“As colleagues would be aware, Griffith is one of only two Australian universities this year which had a 100 per cent success rate in its OLT national teaching citation applications.”
Details of award recipients can be found at the links below.