Collaborative learning

Assistant Professor Rich Holtzman recognized with Excellence in Teaching Award.

Rich Holtzman, assistant professor of history and social sciences, admits that his students teach him as much as he teaches them. And that is the way it should be, he says.

“Teaching is not about providing information for students to consume,” he explains. “It is about establishing and building relationships through discussions, shared experiences, and the challenge and excitement of thinking in new ways.”

One of those shared experiences for Holtzman and 17 of his students was attending the historic inauguration of President Barack Obama. “Learning opportunities, such as attending President Obama’s inauguration, are not only once-in-a-lifetime experiences, they are fundamental to a student’s education,” he says.

Nominated by his students, Holtzman’s dedication to teaching was honored as he was given the 2009 faculty award for Excellence in Teaching.

During the 2008-2009 academic year Holtzman taught courses such as “Political Parties and Elections,” “The Presidency in Modern American Politics,” and an honors course on “Contemporary American Politics.” He likens his role as a college professor to a guide for his students’ intellectual and personal explorations.

“We learn by doing, by engaging in the world around us and with the people around us,” he says. “In this way, we not only learn about a particular subject matter, such as American politics in the case of my courses, but we learn about ourselves.”