Meet UNK’s 2024 Outstanding Innovation in Online Teaching awardee: Dr. Strickland

University of Nebraska at Kearney’s Assistant Professor and Art Education Graduate Program Chair Dr. Christopher Strickland has mastered the art of teaching innovative online courses. 
 
His creative approach to teaching, particularly through dynamic discussion boards and creative assignments, has earned him the 2024 Outstanding Innovation in Online Teaching award. Last year’s winner Dr. Amanda Sladek presented him the award on behalf of the Office of Graduate Studies and Academic Innovation’s Center for Teaching Excellence earlier this week at CTE’s Spice Up Your Teaching event. 
 

What does it mean to be an innovative online educator, and what makes your online courses innovative? 
Finding creative ways to authentically engage and meet the diverse needs of my students using digital platforms and online learning management systems. I think my online courses are innovative in the ways I create spaces that honor the authenticity and creative expression of my students, as well as how I engage and support collaboration through the use of multimedia technologies.  
 
How would your students describe your online courses? 
Based on feedback from my students, I think they would describe my online courses as: caring and responsive, constructive, high quality, rigorous, organized, and full of relevant and useful content, information, methods and tools for application in their teaching practices.  
 
How do you foster connection, engagement, and collaboration within your online courses? 
For me, fostering connection, engagement and collaboration is a synergistic process for cultivating relationships. With an open heart, I embody authenticity and vulnerability, as well as establish clear boundaries and shared expectations for engagement with online learning. I then introduce the purpose and model the nuances between Andragogy (adult learning practices) and Pedagogy (youth/adolescent learning practices) and how this serves my students’ personal transformation and growth as professional Artist Educators. 
 
I have a genuine interest in my students’ learning goals and understand the significance for students feeling valued by allowing them to be seen, heard, and respected. Consequently, my students recognize that I am present and accessible, which essentially helps to minimize the feelings and perception of being all alone when engaging asynchronous online learning. I demonstrate my integrity by making the time to listen and engage via synchronous zoom meetings; respond to emails and queries in a timely manner; provide routine and constructive feedback on the learning experiences; and provide opportunities for participants to collaborate and share their knowledge, ideas, creative expressions and teaching strategies with one another and myself.  
 
Is there anyone you’d like to thank for helping you become the online innovative educator you are today? 
I truly stand on the shoulders of those educators and practitioners that have come before me, and I have been blessed to work with amazing mentors and colleagues who have helped support my journey and agency for developing my higher education teaching and learning practice: Dr. Jane Dalton, Dr. Francine Jennings, Dr. Louise Pascale, Dr. Martha Barry McKenna, Dr. Stephen Gould and the UNK Learning Design Team, with a special shout-out to Eric Tenkorang! 
 
How are you feeling about being presented with the 2024 Outstanding Innovation in Online Teaching award? 
I am feeling very honored, humbled, and grateful. When you love what you do for work and it is apparent, it’s serendipitous to receive recognition for the quality of work you do. This award is especially humbling because it is not always easy for non-online educators to observe the daily working of online instruction. This award feels validating towards my intentions and efforts with my online teaching and learning practices.  
 
Learn more about Dr. Strickland’s innovative Visual Journal assignments and how to implement creativity into your online and in-person courses.