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CMU education
professor is Michigan Professor of the Year
Norma Bailey believes in "target
dates" instead of due dates, community standards and shared governance
instead of attendance policies, and opportunities for improvement
instead of hard-and-fast grading policies.
Some would call her unconventional. The Carnegie Foundation for the
Advancement of Teaching calls her the Michigan Professor of the Year.
Bailey, a CMU professor of teacher education and professional
development, was named the 2007 recipient of the award during a Council
for Advancement and Support of Education-sponsored celebration Nov. 15
in Washington, D.C. She was unable to attend the recognition event, but
Bailey said she "feels good to be acknowledged for what I do."
A CMU Excellence in Teaching Award recipient in spring 2007, Bailey was
nominated for the statewide honor by Todd Zakrajsek, director of CMU's
Faculty Center for Innovative Teaching.
"She is an amazing teacher, creating exceptional learning environments
for her students and regularly pushing them to achieve levels of work
that I am convinced they themselves never realized they could
>accomplish," Zakrajsek wrote in his nomination letter. "I can say
without reservation that Dr. Norma Bailey is a rare and exceptional
educator."
Bailey, who has taught at CMU since 1996 and specializes in middle level
education and diversity education, said her approach to teaching is
simple, but she knows it also is effective.
"I want to help produce teachers who understand kids well and also know
how to reach them in age-appropriate ways based on best practices," she
said. "In order to do that, I must live that philosophy, and I do so by
always modeling in my classes that which I expect of them."
CMU President Michael Rao applauded Bailey's commitment to her students.
"Norma Bailey clearly is a professor who takes seriously the great
importance of educating future teachers," he said. "By mentoring
students as young professionals, Professor Bailey creates a climate that
encourages tomorrow's middle-grades teachers to take serious ownership
of their learning and development so that they are compelled to lead as
educators."
Bailey, who has been nominated for the award twice previously, spent
significant time pondering and revising her personal statement following
her 2007 nomination, and she said the result was a sincere piece that
reflects how she feels about students and teaching.
"Professionals are autonomous; they do what's right because it's the
right thing to do, not because an outside force bribes or threatens
them. From day one, these aspiring teachers are treated like young
professionals, are expected to act like young professionals, and they do
so," Bailey wrote in her statement. "There is no attendance policy, but
there is virtually 100% attendance in all classes. Students are expected
to know who their class colleagues are, address their comments and
questions to the whole class, and thus students build a strong learning
community. All work is expected to be in by the end of the semester, and
quality is expected on all work turned in, with revisions to be made if
necessary, resulting in a strong work ethic and exceptional products."
Bailey joins three CMU colleagues who have been named Michigan Professor
of the Year during the past decade: marketing and hospitality services
administration assistant professor Gary Gagnon, the 2005 recipient;
geography professor Mark Francek, the 2002 recipient; and psychology
professor Gary Dunbar, the 1997 recipient.
Recipients of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
awards are evaluated based on several criteria, including their letters
of reference; professional vitae; teaching logs; two-page personal
statements; and evidence of impact in and contributions to undergraduate
teaching, as well as a scholarly approach to teaching and learning. |
