Alan Cannon – President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching

What makes an effective teacher? Opinions on the subject vary, but Alan Cannon, this year’s winner of the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, says for him it’s being well-prepared for class, willingness to modify evaluation methods, and efforts to prepare freshmen and sophomores for upper-level courses.

Cannon joined the Southeastern faculty in 1995 as assistant professor of mathematics. In order to not become stagnant in his teaching, he tries to teach new courses occasionally. In fact, to date he has taught 34 different courses in the Department of Mathematics.

To continue growing as an educator, Cannon has taught several courses outside of the mathematics arena. He was, in fact, one of the first faculty members to teach SE 101 when it was implemented many years ago.

“Though I have a collection of about 10 courses that I enjoy teaching the most, I do teach other courses from time to time just to keep current,” he said. “In particular, I have taught many upper-level courses that are not even remotely connected to my major field of study. I am one of the few faculty members on campus who have taught both remedial and graduate courses.”

Cannon also tries to improve as an educator by attending workshops aimed at teaching. He says he enjoys learning about different perspectives in conveying information, conducting assessments, relating to students, and interacting with unique student populations. He interacts with his students on many levels outside of the traditional classroom role of teaching and has involved many students in research projects over the years, with multiple projects evolving into joint research papers published in peer-reviewed research journals.

“I have frequently observed Dr. Cannon’s interactions with students in his classes and with his advisees,” said Mathematics Department Head Timothy Hudson. “He is personable and easygoing with students, causing them to generally gravitate towards him. His former students from all over campus seek him out for advice on various matters, and he invests a great deal of time writing letters of recommendation for his students.”

In exit questionnaires administered to graduating students, Cannon is frequently cited as the faculty member who was the most influential or whose classes had the greatest impact upon the student’s success.

“Dr. Cannon clearly maintains high standards and expectations in his classes, yet his students reward him with high SOT evaluations,” said Hudson. “This is precisely the mark towards which I believe all mathematics professors must aim – finding the balance between maintaining high standards and an appropriate amount of rigor in our courses, and still communicating effectively with and instilling a love of learning to our students. In my view, Dr. Cannon has achieved the perfect balance.”