Students and colleagues describe University of Wyoming instructor Sarah Lee as innovative, dedicated, supportive, caring, and inspiring.
These qualities as well as her creation of interactive, student-centered online learning experiences have resulted in Lee being named this year’s recipient of the Hollon Family Award for Online Teaching Excellence. In 1986, C.E. “Jerry” Hollon, a former UW trustee, established the award to recognize “contributions to the general extension outreach programs of the university.”
Lee has served as an assistant lecturer in the UW Department of Family and Consumer Sciences since 2021. However, she has been working to promote and expand online education at UW since the early 2000s, when she was an adjunct instructor.
“Sarah has shown an exceptional ability to engage with students through innovative teaching methods in the online environment,” wrote Jill Keith, head of the UW Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, in her nomination letter. “She has designed engaging and interactive online courses that promote active student participation and collaboration.”
Keith also noted that Lee incorporates new educational technologies into her online courses to enhance student learning. These include interactive tools and active-learning strategies, such as digital role-playing and Padlet; opportunities for personal connection and communication using Zoom breakout rooms; and feedback mechanisms, such as Google Forms.
Among the courses Lee teaches is “Child Development.” Last fall, she designed a version of the course for delivery to 14 women at the Wyoming Women’s Center as part of UW’s Wyoming Pathways from Prison initiative.
A student nominator who took “Child Development” at UW described his experience in his letter of support.
“Although she constantly asked for feedback on her various activities and lesson formats and strived to provide us with every tool we needed to succeed, when we did, she thanked us for our determination and congratulated us on our successes while also immediately seeking to challenge and extend us that next step further,” the student wrote.
The student noted that Lee’s support of her students is evident in and out of the classroom.
“In Sarah, every student can experience what it means to be respected, challenged, fostered, and cared about,” the student wrote. “She is who I think of when I think of the sort of educator I would like to be.”
Another student nominator wrote that declaring her major was not an easy decision; however, after being in one of Lee’s classes, the choice became clear.
“My passion for early childhood education was ignited after taking one of Sarah’s classes, and she quickly became my inspiration, my role model, and a dear friend,” the student wrote. “The trajectory of my future was completely changed after connecting with Sarah Lee, and I am forever grateful for the wisdom and passion she showed me.”
To improve and enhance her online teaching, Lee has attended numerous Ellbogen Center for Teaching and Learning (ECTL) workshops and has worked with Christi Boggs, associate director of digital and inclusive teaching and learning at the ECTL.
“Suffice it to say that I have rarely met an instructor as dedicated to her work. I have rarely met a person as inspirational to students,” Boggs wrote in her letter of support. “I believe the student experience at this university has been changed due to her dedication.”
Lee earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education in 1981 and her master’s degree in child and family studies in 1996, both from UW.
This story was originally published on UW News.
