Sean Maurice is the recipient of two teaching awards this sprig. (Photo Courtesy, UNBC)

By Veronica Beltran

teaching awards

UNBC Northern Medical Program faculty member receives two teaching awards

May 29, 2020 | 10:16 AM

PRINCE GEORGE— A UNBC Northern Medical Program faculty member is being honoured for his dedication to teaching, with two teaching awards, this spring.

Dr. Sean Maurice is the recent recipient of both the 2019-20 Robert W. Tait Annual Lecture on Implementing Teaching Excellence Award at UNBC, and a 2019-20 Killam Teaching Prize from the University of British Columbia.

“It’s humbling to have received both of these awards from UNBC and UBC respectively. It means that both institutions value teaching as well educational leadership.”—Dr. Sean Maurice

Dr. Maurice joined the Northern Medical Program (NMP) in 2007 as a senior lab instructor and now also holds the roles of MEDD Site Director — Years one and two with NMP, NMP Assistant Director of Histology, and Affiliate Senior Instructor with UBC.

The Robert W. Tait Annual Lecture on Implementing Teaching Excellence Award, recognizes excellence in the delivery of teaching and learning activities at UNBC. Recipients are asked to deliver a special lecture on an aspect of pedagogy, which reflects their personal teaching experiences and philosophy.

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“Sean has been a leading member of our teaching faculty and has made huge contributions across all areas of the pre-clinical curriculum.”—Dr. Paul Winwood, Associate Vice President, NMP, UNBC; and Regional Associate Dean, Northern BC, UBC Faculty of Medicine

Dr. Maurice’s presentation will have to wait until the fall due to the COVID-19 situation.

The Killam Teaching Prize recognizes UBC faculty who demonstrate excellence in teaching. The recipients are nominated by students, colleagues and alumni. Dr. Maurice is one of only 22 faculty members from across UBC to receive the prize, this year.

Maurice spends some of his time in the outdoors and says that some aspects of teaching can relate to outdoor adventures. Using that comparison he explains that this encourages preparedness, a willingness to embrace uncertainty and a desire to create a space where students feel empowered.

“Comparing a classroom to avalanche terrain might seem odd, but in a classroom, an instructor never fully knows what will happen and nor do students.”—Dr. Sean Maurice

“Students ought to be motivated and curious to learn new material, and instructors try to help by presenting a problem or a real-life application to hook their interest. It needs to be appropriately challenging, but safe enough for them to engage with the material – without undue risk of embarrassment or failure – and it needs to allow them to apply their knowledge to solve problems,” adds Maurice.