E&H Assistant Professor of Education Sandy Frederick Receives State Award for Innovative Teaching
Dr. Sandy Frederick, Assistant Professor of Education at Emory & Henry College, has received the 2021-22 Faculty Impact Award from the Virginia Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators (VACTE).
“Reflective teachers are effective teachers,” Frederick says of her approach to training young professionals in the E&H education program. As Chair of the Education Department and Director of the Neff Center for Teacher Education, Frederick embeds reflective feedback for all aspiring teachers throughout their four years of college, asserting that research proves this to be an extremely effective approach to learning.
“I want to prepare students for the realities of teaching,” Frederick says, who develops exercises that push students to apply theoretical knowledge to classroom activities and gain peer and instructor feedback immediately so that they may quickly learn and apply effective teaching strategies.
“I love to hear fellow students give real authentic feedback to their peers, picking up on the pedagogical practices and using the appropriate language,” she says. “And I don’t have to say it; their peers are saying it.”
Frederick was nominated for the Faculty Impact Award by a former student, Josie Salyer, ’22, one of the many students who has given Frederick feedback on her own teaching. “For me, it’s so much more than just the teaching,” Frederick says. “It’s about building relationships and engaging in reflective practices yourself.”
Salyer stated in the nomination letter: “Dr. Frederick made me feel as though my opinion mattered in everything we did. She valued my input and suggestions, which showed me that she believed in me and wanted to help me reach my fullest potential as a prospective teacher.”
Beginning her fifth year at the college this fall, Frederick says she is living out her calling. “I don’t ever dread coming to work,” she says. “In this department, our effects are exponential if we have just one good teacher go out and affect many, many lives.”
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