Jensen Receives Teaching Awards
Alice Jensen, associate professor of nursing at Maryville University, who received her third teaching award of the year
The saying "three's a charm" really rings true for Alice Jensen, associate professor of nursing at Maryville University. On November 18, she received her third teaching award of the year, the Emerson Excellence in Teaching Award. Jensen was among three University faculty members who received the 2007 Maryville Faculty Award earlier this year. She also won the Anna Moudy Award for Excellence in Education in February.
"I have really been blessed to have my teaching recognized with three awards this year," said Jensen. Of the three awards, the Anna Moudy and the Faculty Award were the most meaningful for Jensen because they were from her peers at Maryville. "This fall I began my 19th year at Maryville, so it means a lot and feels good to be recognized."
Over the years, Jensen has reviewed and analyzed her teaching methods. Specifically, she integrated art, music, literature and film into a course in the nursing curriculum that deepens student understanding of concepts and issues.
As a member of the first cohort of research associates in Maryville's Center for Teaching and Learning, Jensen has begun to study the effects of this integration on student learning. Along with Mary Curtis, Ph.D., associate professor of nursing, Jensen presented their results at the International Conference on Human Caring in St. Louis last summer. They wrote an article on their research, which will appear in the International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship.
Jensen also attended the Lilly Conference this fall, where she presented a workshop that included the above research, as well as highlighted some of the teaching strategies that she uses to integrate liberal and professional learning. "It is a gift to be at a University that prizes teaching and offers opportunities to be creative in the classroom, to study one's teaching, and to share it with others," said Jensen.