Teaching Professor Collen Craig was awarded a 2024 University of Washington Distinguished Teaching Award as part of this year’s UW Awards for Excellence.
The Distinguished Teaching Award was established in 1970 and is given annually to faculty members. A committee of faculty members, graduate students and staff educators appointed by the UW Center for Teaching & Learning selects recipients based on their mastery of the subject matter; enthusiasm and innovation in the teaching and learning process; ability to inspire independent and original thinking in students; innovations in course and curriculum design; and service as a mentor, collaborator and consultant to other faculty members and teaching assistants. UW faculty members who receive this award are inducted into the UW Teaching Academy, where they will be able to participate in a variety of Academy-sponsored projects and events to further excellence in the teaching and learning process at the UW.
Professor Craig was recognized for her efforts in teaching preparation for general chemistry (CHEM 110) and general chemistry (CHEM 142, 152, and 162). These classes are entry-level chemistry courses that are tailored for first-year students that are still transitioning to new levels of coursework rigor after high school, and many are large-scale lectures of three to six hundred students each. A student notes that she “has never felt embarrassed to ask [Craig] for help or clarity,” and that under Craig she felt she could “take up space in an academically challenging environment.”
Craig aims to develop courses central to her philosophy of allowing students to construct their own understanding of chemistry concepts, as well as create a safe environment for intellectual exploration. In her letter of support, Professor Anne B. McCoy, who had a graduate student working under Craig, has stated that Professor Craig “demonstrates a very thoughtful approach to course design,” generating a more inclusive educational experience in the classroom, and notes that her efforts are “defining the future of teaching in our department.”
Professor Craig’s instructional leadership throughout the COVID-19 era has been invaluable to both students and instructors. Over the course of two months, Craig adapted the curricula of CHEM 152 to a fully flipped classroom model and led a group of four other faculty members to create a total of 80 videos—creating a subset of these videos herself. To this day, her videos are still used to supplement in-person teaching. Additionally, she pioneered the “Catalyze Your Success” Program, a suite of learning strategies Craig designed for improving metacognition and exam performance during the return to in-person teaching. This program not only provides support for student learning, but also improves the communication of available support for students, as well as extra in-person support to increase a sense of community among TAs and chemistry undergraduates. It is also designed to be applicable outside of the in-person teaching transition and can be used for future generations of general chemistry students. Craig has also helped overhaul the TA teaching workshop for incoming chemistry graduate student TAs, including explicit training on learning strategies and metacognitive support to better support incoming lower division undergraduates in the study of chemistry.
In additional to her instructional efforts, Professor Craig serves as the co-founder and the organizer of the Department’s Chemistry Education Group, which provides graduate and undergraduate students the opportunity to conduct research in chemistry teaching, as well as advise chemistry faculty on the implementation of evidence-based teaching practices. During her time at the University, she has mentored over 15 students on projects in chemistry education. Her commitment to mentoring future chemistry educators at both the graduate and undergraduate level further exemplifies her commitment to delivering accessible and effective education in chemistry.
Congratulations, Colleen!
Thanks to Victoria Pang '25 for contributing this story to our news page.
See the UW announcement of the 2024 Awards of Excellence.
Check out Prof. Craig’s profile in the University of Washington Magazine’s Meet the 2024 Teaching Award recipients by Caitlin Klask and the Faculty Staff Insider’s blog post Awards of Excellence recognizes our community’s impact.