At the Congregation 2021 held on 19 June, the University of Macau (UM) presented the Teaching Excellence Award, which recognises faculty members with outstanding performance in teaching. The recipient in the 2020/2021 academic year is Assistant Professor Jeremy Centeno De Chavez in the Department of English of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities.
Every year, the recipient of the Teaching Excellence Award is selected by a selection committee from nominees, who are faculty-level teaching award recipients, through a rigorous process. Selection criteria include the following: teaching philosophy, depth of knowledge in the subject area, outstanding communication skills and teaching effectiveness, outstanding contributions to the quality of curriculum development, the ability to promote student learning by stimulating and sustaining the intellectual development of students, innovative approach to teaching and learning, and leadership in promoting teaching excellence within and outside the University.
Prof De Chavez thanks the university for the recognition of his work and says that the award makes him want to work even harder to truly deserve this honour. He would also like to share this award with all the dedicated educators at UM who are committed to transforming the lives of their students. As a scholar of humanities, he feels that the presentation of the award to him is particularly meaningful because it shows the university’s recognition of the enduring value and relevance of the humanities. It is also a testament to the fact that UM faculty members not only equip students with the skills they need to face the challenges of the future, but also teach them what it means to live a life worth living. According to Prof De Chavez, the humanities classroom is an ideal place to cultivate in students a sense of wonder, a longing to see the world anew, respect for and understanding of cultural difference, and optimism in the face of rapid global change. He adds that students’ wonder, curiosity and desire for knowledge are the basis for lifelong learning, on which they will find pleasure in learning. In terms of his teaching approaches, Prof De Chavez combines the curriculum with students’ real-life experiences and aspirations to stimulate their curiosity and creativity, which lead them to learn positively and proactively, in the hope of developing creative, independent thinkers with persuasive communication skills and a love of life.
Prof De Chavez joined UM in 2018 as an assistant professor of English literature. He has received a truly global education, having studied in the Philippines, Singapore, Japan, and Canada, and obtained his PhD degree in English literature from Queen’s University in Canada. While his research and teaching areas are primarily in postcolonial studies, global anglophone literature, and critical/cultural theory, he is committed to being a strategic generalist with wide-ranging interests across literary periods, genres, and cultural forms. His forthcoming book Positive Affects and Postcolonial Critique will be published by the international publisher Routledge.
| Source: Rector’s Office |
澳門大學日前在畢業典禮上頒發“澳門大學卓越教學獎＂，鼓勵及表揚在教學方面有傑出表現的教學人員。經過嚴格遴選，2020／2021學年的獎項由人文學院英文系助理教授Jeremy Centeno De Chavez奪得此殊榮。
澳大卓越教學獎的遴選及評審過程十分嚴謹，由具代表性的遴選委員會從眾多學院的提名中選出一名獲獎教師，獲提名者均為學院優秀教師獎得主。評審準則包括教學理念；相關專業知識的深度；傑出的溝通技巧和教學成效；對課程發展有傑出的貢獻；具有激勵學生智力持續發展、引發其積極學習的能力；創新教學方法的運用；推動校內和校外卓越教學的領導才能。
De Chavez感謝澳大對其教學工作的肯定，獎項將成為推動力，令自己努力不懈。他認為獎項屬於澳大所有有致協助學生轉化人生的教育同仁。作為人文學者獲獎，他感到別具意義，澳大肯定了人文領域的價值和適切性，除了培育學生面對未來社會的挑戰外，也重視學生開展豐盛有意義的人生。他認為人文學科的教室是激發學生求知慾的好地方，令他們對世界充滿好奇，理解並尊重文化差異，面對急遽的世界轉變仍保持正面樂觀的心態。De Chavez也表示，學生的好奇心和求知慾是終身學習和享受學習的基礎。他把課程與學生的真實生活經驗和理想結合起來，從而激發學生的好奇心，突破常規，引導他們正向而主動地學習，希望培養出在社會上成為具創意、獨立思考、有良好溝通能力，同時熱愛生活的人才。
De Chavez 於2018年加入澳大，在人文學院任教文學專業。他曾在世界不同地方接受教育，如新加坡、日本、菲律賓。De Chavez在加拿大女皇大學取得英國文學博士學位，其研究及授課領域以後殖民研究、全球英語文學、批判／文化理論為主；他的研究興趣也相當廣泛，涉及不同的文學時期、文種、文化模式等。他的新作《正向影響及後殖民評論》（Positive Affects and Postcolonial Critique）將由國際著名出版社Routledge出版。
| 新聞來源：校長辦公室 |
Video of all nominees for the UM Teaching Excellence Award 2020/2021:
本年度卓越教學獎的所有提名人影片：