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Laurier Student Teaching Award of Excellence
Teaching opportunities can be found here at Laurier through employment, volunteerism, or professional development. Faculty, students, and staff are invited to nominate a student who has engaged in activities that contribute to teaching and student learning at Laurier.
This award honours Laurier students who demonstrate excellence through their teaching responsibilities and positively impact the learning and development of fellow Laurier students. This award has three categories:
- Undergraduate
- Masters
- Doctoral
A few examples of teaching activities that demonstrate a student’s commitment to supporting student learning at Laurier include, but are not limited to:
- Leading tutorials and seminars
- Lab demonstrations
- Teaching in a one-on-one setting
- Mentoring and/or coaching others
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Providing student feedback
Recognizing Oustanding Student Teachers
The successful nominee will be a Laurier student and will have contributed to the creation of outstanding learning experiences for students at Laurier by implementing intentional and thoughtful teaching approaches. Possible ways that nominees can exemplify teaching excellence at Laurier include:
- Working collaboratively with students, supervisors, and peers to advance the teaching and learning environment at Laurier
- Contributing to the implementation of innovative teaching practice, approaches, and materials
- Demonstrating enthusiasm and a passion for their discipline area as well as comprehensive subject knowledge
- Motivating students and devoting time to providing constructive and meaningful feedback
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Working to increase a sense of belonging amongst students and on campus
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Teaching through multiple lenses and celebrating diverse perspectives in the classroom
- Thorough preparation for teaching events and willingness to help students achieve their goals
- Demonstrating commitment to improvement through active involvement in professional development related to teaching and learning
- Innovation in the approach to mentorship and one-on-one teaching activities
Nominate an outstanding student teacher today >>
Nomination period closes January 18, 2026.
Thank you to everyone who nominated a student teacher for the 2025 awards! Read about 2025's award-winning student teachers!
Step 1
Nominees who meet the award criteria will be selected from the initial open nomination round and contacted by Teaching and Learning in late January each year. If selected as one of the final five in your category (Undergrad, Masters, Doctoral), you will be asked to submit a teaching dossier containing more information for the adjudication committee to review in early March.
Nominate an outstanding student teacher today >>
Nomination period closes January 18, 2026.
Step 2
Nominees who meet the award criteria will be selected from the initial open nomination round and contacted by Teaching and Learning in late January each year. If selected, you will be asked to submit a teaching portfolio and you will be supported by a member of Teaching and Learning throughout the process of creating and submitting the portfolio in early March.
Students can only receive an award at any of the degree levels once (i.e., undergraduate, masters, doctoral).
The selected nominees will create a brief teaching dossier (max 15 pages, not including the title page and the nomination form) that highlights what the nominee is doing in their teaching activities and includes reflective narrative that highlights their contributions to student learning and creating belonging amongst students. A teaching dossier combines approaches, activities, and impacts to highlight the nominee’s effectiveness and excellence in a teaching role at Laurier. The final submission will include a personal statement on teaching, a description of teaching responsibilities, and 3 letters of support. Taken as a whole, the teaching dossier prepared by the nominee should demonstrate the evolution of the nominee’s teaching practice in response to experience, reflection and professional development.
Dossier guidelines and requirements will be sent to those selected after the initial nomination process. Teaching Dossier submissions from the selected finalists will be due in early March.
Awards for Faculty
Our teaching community has many amazing awarding-winning faculty! Explore their work through our teaching excellence conversation series to learn more about some of these inspiring educators. Nominations for faculty are collaborative efforts between the nominator and nominee and Students who are interested in nominating a professor should contact teachingawards@wlu.ca for full eligibility and guidelines. Faculty and staff can explore nomination guidelines on Connect.