For Stephen Devadoss, winning a national teaching award is ultimately about the quality of education he gives to his students.
“I have so much interest and dedication to teaching and research,” Devadoss said. “So it’s very important that all my students do well and carry that over to the next generation.”
Devadoss, University of Idaho professor of agricultural economics, won the 2012 Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching award from the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association. He was presented with the award at the annual AAEA meeting in August.
In 2011, Devadoss also won the Distinguished Graduate Teaching award from the AAEA.
“In terms of value, last year’s (award) is probably the best,” Devadoss said. “But for me, winning the undergraduate teaching is probably the most important.”
When he was looking for a teaching job, he said that he received at least 200 rejections.
“One of the reasons is ‘he is from India, he cannot teach,'” Devadoss said. “This just goes to show that I can teach.”
After completing his undergraduate work in India, Devadoss attended the University of Iowa where he received his doctorate. Devadoss said that his time in graduate school helped to shape his teaching philosophy.
“(The professors) wouldn’t be available during their office hours and they would not have any reading lists,” he said. “They were very intimidating and they didn’t care for students.”
Devadoss said he told himself that if he ever became a teacher, he would approach things differently. When he teaches today, he gives lecture notes as well as reading lists to students in advance.
“If they’ve read the materials, it’s easy for them to understand the lectures and also easier for me to teach them,” he said. “Students don’t have to worry about what’s going to be covered on a particular day.”
This philosophy has been an influential one, according to Jeff Luckstead, a former UI student currently pursuing his doctorate at WSU.
“Professor Devadoss takes a keen interest in students both during his course and after the course is done,” Luckstead said. “He does everything he can to help students reach their goals. For students that are willing to work hard and listen, he will do anything to help them succeed in their academic career.”
Devadoss was nominated for this award by John Foltz, associate dean and director of academic programs in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.
“He does a good job with teaching and the students recognize that,” Foltz said. “And he works really hard in the classroom to relate to students and to make sure that they learn.”
According to Foltz, Devadoss worked hard to ensure language would not be a barrier when he began teaching at UI. He does his best to meet students half way and help them in their individual learning styles.
“He’s one where if a student puts forth the effort, he will definitely put forth the effort to help them understand the concept,” Foltz said. “If a student works hard, he sees that, recognizes that … and that goes a long way in his book.”
“As a university I think it’s good for us to be known for good teaching and it’s good for us to have our faculty recognized as being good teachers,” Foltz said. “That helps us attract students — I think it makes students life more enjoyable and you learn more.”
Kailtin Moroney can be reached at [email protected]