{"id":195,"date":"2013-03-06T00:00:32","date_gmt":"2013-03-06T05:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/voice\/?p=195"},"modified":"2013-09-16T12:18:45","modified_gmt":"2013-09-16T16:18:45","slug":"professor-receives-regents-teaching-excellence-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/voice\/2013\/03\/06\/professor-receives-regents-teaching-excellence-award\/","title":{"rendered":"Professor Receives Teaching Award"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Dr.<\/a>

Dr. Kathleen Lowney<\/p><\/div>\n

Dr. Kathleen S. Lowney, professor of sociology at Valdosta State University, has unanimously been selected to receive the faculty 2013 Regents\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Teaching Excellence Award for regional and state universities.<\/p>\n

Each year, the University System of Georgia Board of Regents accepts nominations recognizing faculty from its state colleges and universities.<\/p>\n

The selection committee recognized the positive impact Lowney makes in the lives of her students and Valdosta State University. She was commended for her innovative teaching strategies and use of technology based on sound pedagogical rationale.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153In Dr. Lowney, we see the personification of that to which we aspire as teachers and scholars,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said VSU President William J. McKinney.<\/p>\n

Lowney, who received VSU\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 2011 Excellence in Teaching Award, said that her teaching methods involve storytelling and bringing real-life experiences to the classroom.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153In class, I use a lot of stories. Sometimes they are personal stories or other people\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s stories,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Lowney, who grew up in Seattle, Wash. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I think especially in the introductory classes students can see themselves or a family member in a story.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Lowney said that she enjoys creating new teaching methods to engage students in learning and how to use their sociological imaginations.<\/p>\n

For example, in her Issues in Sociological Practice \u00e2\u20ac\u201dDomestic Violence course, Lowney examines the topic from the perspective of a shelter worker.<\/p>\n

The students construct a virtual shelter and work together to develop programs for the victims and their children and create policies, as they deal with real-life issues of domestic violence.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We provide the sociological knowledge, including the facts, the figures, and where to find them,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Lowney said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Then we look at the practical knowledge of how to be a front-line shelter worker at a nonprofit agency. They will need to know about fundraising and grant writing, even if that is not their primary job, because in a shelter they need to know how to do all things.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Lowney, who came to Valdosta State in 1987, said that she is always trying to create new learning experiences for her students and herself.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I think now I have a more flexible teaching style and a better sense of what I do well,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I tailor my classes to play to my strengths and theirs and what the students need to know to be applied sociologists out in the field.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

When asked three years ago to teach one of the university\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s large-section classes, Lowney said she accepted the challenge, even though it meant changing her teaching style.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I had never used PowerPoint. Instead, I wrote on the board, filling it up several times per class, but in a big class the students in the back row would not be able to see,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the editor of the American Sociological Association\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s journal, Teaching Sociology, said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I knew I had to make the class interactive, even in a bigger classroom.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Lowney is not afraid to try new teaching methods, especially if it helps to better engage her students in the learning process. This semester she has ventured further into the world of social media through the use of Twitter.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve used discussion boards in the course management system before, but for the first time this semester, I am using Twitter,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Lowney, who admits she is a novice tweeter. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even have an account, as of this summer, but I reached out to John Bennett [VSU\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s social media manager] and told him that I wanted to use Twitter as a teaching tool.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Bennett helped Lowney learn to tweet, and together they came up with a pedagogical strategy. Approximately 65 of her students this semester are tweeting after each class, processing class material, and finding video examples which help them to solidify learning the sociological perspective.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153You have to try new things, and as long as they are still linked to good pedagogy and good reasons why you are doing them, then give new pedagogical ideas a try,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said \u00e2\u20ac\u0153But don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just jump on a band wagon if it doesn’t fit with your pedagogy and your teaching personality.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

The author of two books, Baring Our Souls: TV Talk Shows<\/i> and the Religion of Recovery and Passport to Heaven: Gender Roles and the Unification Church<\/i>, Lowney is currently working on her third book with Dr. Maxine Atkinson, from North Carolina State University. The book, which is tentatively titled In the Trenches: How to Teach Sociology<\/i>, is under contract with W.W. Norton.<\/p>\n

Within the Valdosta community, Lowney is a member of the Mayor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Council for Persons with Disabilities, which raises awareness of the issues faced by people with disabilities and works to enhance accessibility. She has also served as a member of the board of directors for The Haven, a nonprofit agency that provides emergency shelter and services for victims of family violence and sexual assault in nine South Georgia counties, and on the local Habitat for Humanity board of directors.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Kathleen S. Lowney, professor of sociology at Valdosta State University, has unanimously been selected to receive the faculty 2013 Regents\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Teaching Excellence Award for regional and state universities. Each year, the University System of Georgia Board of Regents accepts nominations recognizing faculty from its state colleges and universities. The selection committee recognized the positive…

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