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view . spring2015
Honesty is thebestpolicywhen it comes to teaching, says
kinesiologyprofessorKevinMilne.
Milne,who joined theFacultyof HumanKinetics in2008, says
givinghis studentscontinuedhonest feedbackon their effort—good
andbad—strengthenshis students’ connectionwith theclass.
“I think they respect that. I think inclasses, especially largerones,
therecanbeadisconnect between the studentsand theirprof. If I tell
themhow I think they’redoing, though, it creates interaction.”
Kinesiology—the studyof thehumanbody—hasalways fascinated
Milne. “Iwasalways interested inhow thebodyworksandwhat keeps
usalive.”
Asa student-athlete, he says that he liked lookingat how the stress
of exercise impacts thebody.
Itwaswhile still inuniversity thatMilnediscoveredhehadaknack
for teaching. “When Iwas teachingassistant, I found that I likedbeing
in front of peopleand trying tomake themunderstand something from
adifferent angle.And I got positive feedback.”
Hedecided to teachat theuniversity level because “students
choose tobe there.Tomy researchdetriment, I spenda lot of time
on the teachingaspect. I likemy lectures tobecurrent andengaging.
I knowwhat typeof classeskeptmy interestwhile Iwas inuniversity.”
Milne’s lecturesuseanimationand images tomake themmore
interactive. “Thebigger theclass, themoredifficult it is toachieve this.
So I spenda lot of timebringingupaproblem, askingquestionsand
getting theclass towork together toworkupa response.”
He says that hedoesn’t alterhis teachingapproachat thegraduate
level. “I differ in respect tohow I grade, but I don’t treat them
differently.Theseareyoungadults.
I treat them the same.”
Milnewasa2012 recipient of
theOntarioUndergraduateStudent
Alliance (OUSA)TeachingAward,
which recognizeseducatorswho
excel at unlocking thepotential of
Ontario’syoungpeople. In that same
year, hewasnamed theUniversity
of WindsorUndergraduatesStudent
AllianceTeacherof theYear.
Hewasnamed theFacultyof HumanKinetics “Professorof theYear”
for 2012-13, and2013-14.
A small sampleof comments from the “RateYourProfessor”
websitenotesMilne’senthusiasm in theclassroom. “Best prof at the
Uof W.Wantsyou tounderstandmaterial, not justmemorize it.
Hasaclearpassion forwhat he teaches.”
ForMilne, the rewardcomes inhavingmadeapositive impact.
“Everyyear,weget our student evaluationsof our teaching, but the
highlight is that for theawards, students took the time towriteabout the
effect I hadon them. I’mhappy tohavemade that change inat least
one individual.”
Theclose-knit environment in theFacultyof HumanKinetics isa
motivator. “When Iwasa student here, Iwas taught bygreat professors
whoarenowmycolleagues. I alwaysenjoyed the fact that I didn’t feel
likeanumber.When I teach, that’show Iwantmy students to feel.
“Theyaren’t student numbers.They’re students.”
DR. KEVIN MILNE, KINESIOLOGY
Dr. Jeff DefoeBASc
’
05,MASc
’
07
knewby the timehewas 17he
wanted to studyairplanes and
that academiawas thebest venue
for him.
“Before I startedundergrad, I knew
Iwanted todo aPhD. Being a professor
sounded like the best job ever.”
The facultymember inmechanical
engineering sayswhat he likes best
“is the combinationof research and
teaching. I briefly thought about
going into industrial research, but realized Iwould greatlymiss the
interactionwith students.”
Defoe started teaching in the university’s new aerospace
engineeringprogram inFebruary 2014. He uses unique teaching
methods. Insteadof lecturingduring class time, he pre-records his
lectures anduploads themonto theweb. Students are expected to
watch thembefore class. “I try tomaximize the face-to-facewith
students. Theway I present forces them tobe actively engaged.”
This teaching style frees up class time forDefoe to goover
problemswith the students and assesswhomaybe fallingbehind.
“I try todynamically respond towhat the students are able to get,
andwhat they’re strugglingwith. That seems tohave led to a high
level of engagement in the classroom.”
Defoe says that he appreciates his relationshipwithhis graduate
students. “You’rementoringpeoplewho are acquiring skills in
technical writing and critical thinking, aswell asways of thinking
about technical problems theway youdo. You’re trying to instill
some of what you acquired into someone else, so they can carry
it forward into theworld andhopefullydo good thingswith it.”
Muchof his research is focusedon improving the efficiency
of aircraft propulsion. He says everything’s integrated inmodern
airplane design so even small improvementsmake a bigdifference.
Thismeans airlines arewilling topayup front for efficiency thatwill
save them significant fuel costs over the life of an aircraft.
He alsoworks on aircraft noise reduction. “Aircraft noise is a big
problembecause peoplewho live near airports don’t like it. From an
economic perspective, it has a big impact because a lot of airports
have curfews onflights or limited capacities of flights they can allow
in andout, because of noise regulations.”
DR. JEFF DEFOE, MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
