丁香园AV

By Huyen Pham

Humanities Undergraduate Chair  received this year鈥檚 Cormack Teaching Award in recognition of her 鈥減assionate commitment to the importance of liberal arts in the 21st century university.鈥�

Since joining 丁香园AV in the fall of 2005 shortly after receiving her PhD in History at Brown University, O鈥橞rien has become a favourite among students, earning a reputation as an enthusiastic professor who motivates her students by making them feel valued in the classroom and stimulates their interest by creating an environment that encourages engagement and participation. As a recent student said:

鈥淧rofessor O鈥橞rien is one of the best instructors I鈥檝e ever had. Not only is she extremely knowledgeable but she is also very passionate. She cares immensely about her students and makes an extra effort to interact, help, and communicate with us. Though I tend to struggle with the course material, she is always available to help.鈥�

When asked why she thought students respond so positively to her teaching methods and philosophy, O鈥橞rian identifies her genuine passion for what she teaches and its value in post-secondary education as one of the reasons.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 help but be enthusiastic,鈥� she says, 鈥渁nd that kind of passion can be contagious鈥撯�搃t certainly was for me when I was an undergraduate!鈥�

O鈥橞rien also describes her seminars as 鈥渕arathons of intense thinking and talking鈥� but also a place where students have 鈥渇un while [they] learn.鈥� The latter is made possible by her commitment to connecting with and helping each of her students individually, whether it is a mid-semester email to see how things are going or a coaching session about joining class discussion.

While COVID-19 has changed the teacher-student dynamic completely and made student engagement more of a challenge for many, O鈥橞rien found a way to connect with her students by asking them to reflect on the Black Death while living through a pandemic themselves:

鈥淟ast fall, I asked students in my medieval and Renaissance history course to read Giovanni Boccaccio鈥檚 famous eye-witness account of the plague in Florence in 1348. One student read a passage in a way that startled me: she recognized in it the isolation, the loneliness she felt from being in lockdown and unable to see her friends. The words just jumped off the page for her because she knew instantly from her own experience what that isolation felt like. It was a remarkable moment. She saw in this text the mental toll of the Black Death on a level that I never had before. At the same time, I think that seeing people facing the same struggles in Boccaccio鈥檚 text made her feel understood鈥撯�揳nd perhaps, even less alone.鈥�

By teaching her 鈥渟tudents to slow down so they can think, to linger over words as they read, and to re-read so that they can really focus鈥� through 鈥渁ll the noise,鈥� O鈥橞rien says her hope is that students 鈥渃ome away with an appreciation for that quiet of the mind where they can tend to their ideas and watch them grow.鈥�

In closing, how does one become a good teacher while navigating through one鈥檚 own 鈥渘oise鈥�? As a mentor to emerging scholars balancing research and teaching responsibilities, O鈥橞rien considers the difficulty balancing being teacher and researcher:

鈥淚 find it very challenging to work on my research during my teaching semesters (and I know I鈥檓 not alone). I need to give all my attention and energy to my students and my courses to 鈥渄o it right鈥� (or at least feel that I鈥檓 doing it right).鈥�

Kindness toward oneself and finding balance are key, she notes: 鈥淚鈥檇 say don鈥檛 be too ambitious about being a scholar and a teacher simultaneously and be kind to yourself as you try to figure out that balance. There鈥檚 no one right way to do it. Find your own rhythm, and really protect your time when you have that space to read, think, write, and work on your own projects.鈥�

At the same time, O鈥橞rien says finding connection and crossover between one鈥檚 teaching and research is another good strategy.

鈥淚 recommend looking for ways to make connections between your teaching and your research. I鈥檝e done this more and more in my courses, whether it鈥檚 by assigning sources I鈥檓 writing about or reshaping certain classes to take on issues and questions that I鈥檓 grappling with in my own work. I find that putting my teaching and research in conversation with one another is both intellectually energizing and immensely constructive. And I鈥檓 never more passionate in the classroom than when I鈥檓 talking about my own research!鈥�