Dr. Yoram Apelblat
Most teachers would agree that large class sizes can be challenging. But Dr. Yoram Apelblat-a faculty lecturer with the Department of Chemistry at the U of A-makes it look easy. In fact, you might say he's in his element.
Earlier this year, Dr. Apelblat was awarded the Kathleen W. Klawe Prize for Excellence in Teaching of Large Classes for his exceptional results. This highly competitive award is only presented to the Faculty of Science every second year.
Since joining the department as a Sessional Instructor in 2000, Dr. Apelblat has taught Introductory University Chemistry courses almost exclusively. These courses tend to have large enrollment and sometime a single section can have over 400 students. On average, Dr. Apelblat teaches a staggering 1000 plus students each year.
Dr. Apelblat's teaching is guided by a simple philosophy: support and facilitate the learning process to get students curious, and eager to learn the material. And that starts with a strong foundation and a solid understanding of the basic principles.
"It's similar to our life progress," he explains. "We start crawling, then stand up and walk, before being able to run. Only later in life do we ride a bicycle and drive a car."
It's this type of learning and growth that keeps Dr. Apelblat motivated and passionate about his teaching.
"With the student's success, I feel a sense of accomplishment. I treat all students equally and their success-minor or major-makes me equally happy."
Dr. Apelblat will spend the next few weeks overseas where he'll rest, recharge and begin his preparations for the upcoming academic year. His incoming students are lucky to be in such good hands.