2024 John C. Butler Excellence in Teaching Award Announced
The John C. Butler Excellence in Teaching Award recognizes NSM faculty, who have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments in teaching and a track record of dedication to the teaching mission of the College.
The 2024 Butler Award winner is Guoning Chen, associate professor, Computer Science. Congratulations Guoning for your outstanding teaching!
Typically, two awards are made yearly: one to a tenured/tenure-track faculty member and one to an instructional faculty member. Selection of an awardee in either of the categories is contingent upon receipt of no less than three competitive applications in said category.
In addition to formal classroom or lab teaching, tenured/tenure-track faculty members may also be evaluated on the basis of their graduate student training. Each award comes with a monetary award, a plaque, and a nameplate on a plaque in the Dean’s Office. The award recipients are also recognized at NSM’s Faculty Recognition Luncheon held in the fall.
Teaching Innovations
Chen’s teaching portfolio includes COSC 1437 Introduction to Programming and COSC 6344 Visualization, courses that have benefited from his innovative teaching approaches and continuous improvement.
COSC 1437, a required course for undergraduate computer science majors, focuses on C++ programming and object-oriented programming. Chen was among the first in the computer science department to integrate an online learning platform and an auto-grading system specifically for programming. He co-led a redesign of the course, transitioning it to a mastery learning format coupled with a flipped-classroom model.
In COSC 6344, a graduate course related to data science, Chen teaches students how data visualization can address practical problems across various domains. To enhance the course, Chen and a teaching assistant developed an auto-grading system for programming assignments and exams, which they found provided a more accurate assessment of student performance.
Butler Award applicants are judged on their teaching/training record via their CV, teaching statement, student evaluations of teaching including their comments, grade distributions, and letters from students and faculty.
Recommendations to the Dean for potential winners of the awards are made by an ad hoc college-wide committee consisting of one representative from each department comprised of a mix of tenured/tenure-track and non-tenure track faculty.
For information about the application process, visit the Butler Award webpage or contact Scott Gilbertson (srgilbertson@uh.edu).
Chen joins a long line of faculty who have been recognized by their students and peers for excellence in teaching. Prior winners are listed on the Recognition and Awards webpage.