Monday, December 17, 2012
Parkland College Associate Professor Kevin Hastings has been selected as the college’s 2013 Teaching Excellence Award winner. The award is given annually to a faculty member whose leadership and dedication to teaching excellence is evident by effectiveness in the classroom.
Selected by the Faculty Professional Development Committee at Parkland, Hastings will receive $1,000 for professional development, a plaque, and award recognition at the International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence in Austin, Texas, in May.
Hastings, a native of rural Louisville, Illinois, has taught mathematics at Parkland since 2000, and he is highly regarded by peers and students for his instructional abilities. He has mentored several students who have gone on to become teachers themselves; they remark that Hastings had a great impact on their decision to pursue a career in education. Faculty colleagues call him a “passionate, dedicated teacher” who stands out as a “leader and innovator.”
While he enjoys deriving the quadratic formula, Hastings said he most appreciates “the opportunity to help students achieve success in my courses, in their future educational endeavors, and in life.” He engages his students with humor and by “flipping” the classroom with instructional videos that students view before they come to class.
Hastings has contributed time, talent, and energy to numerous departmental and campus-wide committees at Parkland. He served the Parkland College Association (PCA) as a department representative (2004-2006), as vice-president (2006), and as president (2007). He served on Parkland’s academic integrity task force as well as chaired the Criterion One committee for its 2012 Reaccreditation Self-Study. Most recently, he lent his expertise as the Mathematics department redesigned a large portion of its curriculum.
Hastings earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Eastern Illinois University. He participates in the Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the American Mathematics Association of Community Colleges, and the Illinois Mathematics Association of Community Colleges.