At yesterday's Day of Teaching the 2021 Teaching Award was announced. Both Tom Classen and Jörg Pietruszka had the pleasure of being nominated for "Great Courses of Imparting Character". This in itself is a great honor because the nominations are made by the students, and our modules are made for them.
Yesterday, however, Tom was especially happy to take home the desired teaching award for his lecture "Chemistry For Medical Students". Not only we, his colleagues at the institute, but also many other members of the WE Chemistry agreed in advance that Tom more than deserves this award, and we are really happy for him.
Tom has been a strong teaching supporter for many years and designs his courses with incredible dedication and fresh ideas. His students can enjoy full body engagement, whether live on stage, or in his numerous teaching videos created over the past two years. Although he missed the dialogue in face-to-face classes, he also approached the necessary online formats with the utmost enthusiasm. He worked his way into green screen technology and video editing and created exciting and, in some cases, really funny videos that were able to take the fear out of chemistry for many medical students. Furthermore, he offered online exercises with screencast solutions and online consultations, which were gratefully accepted by the students.
Dear Tom, we are all very proud of you and share your joy. This award was long overdue. Please continue to put so much heart and engagement into your teaching, it's always a pleasure to see you doing so. :)
Your IBOC
You can read a short interview with Tom on the medical website.