Utilizing a personable approach that always seeks to improve the learning experience for his students, Dr. Olu Awosoga has been named a University of Lethbridge Board of Governors Teaching Chair.
Guided by a belief that the most effective teaching reaches students on an individual level, Awosoga sees teaching and learning as a partnership between the teacher and the student, one that motivates critical thinking and prompts students to take accountability for their learning journey.
Awosoga, an associate professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences, will be celebrated as a new Board of Governors Teaching Chair at 2019 Spring Convocation Ceremony II on Thursday, May 30 at 2:30 p.m. in the 1st Choice Savings Centre gymnasium.
Born and raised in Nigeria before moving first to the United States and then to Canada, Awosoga spent the majority of his academic years in Nigeria. Specializing in statistical analysis, he began as an academic assistant in the Faculty of Health Sciences in 2009. By 2011, he was a research affiliate with the Prentice Institute for Global Population & Economy, and in 2018 he was named an associate member of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science.
His personable nature and a desire to continually improve the learning experience for his students have guided Awosoga as he employs many innovative tactics in his classroom. Understanding that his accent may be difficult for some students to understand, he created lecture materials with PowerPoint slides and an audio track with a female voice to augment his lessons. He regularly uses blended classroom approaches, along with team-based learning, to encourage active engagement, and administers an anonymous mid-term evaluation so that he can address problems and adjust his lessons for the second half of the term.
Testament to Awosoga’s excellence as an instructor is the consistently positive feedback he receives despite the challenging material he is teaching. His blend of compassion and practicality allows his students to tackle intimidating course material with confidence, knowing that he will do whatever it takes to make sure nobody is left behind.