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A Memorial University of Newfoundland Publication

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Dr. Andrea Rose has been recognized by her peers as one of Canada’s best teachers. She was named one of 10 national recipients of the prestigious 3M Teaching Fellowships at the annual conference of the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.

By Ivan Muzychka
Dr. Andrea Rose, a professor in the Faculty of Education, has been named as one of the 10 national recipients of the prestigious 3M Teaching Fellowships which were awarded June 17 at the annual conference of the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE) held at the University of Ottawa.

The 3M Fellow award recognizes excellence in teaching over an extended period of time, principally, but not exclusively, at the undergraduate level and also acknowledges educational leadership in commitment to the improvement of university teaching within the candidate's own institution. This is the fifth time and the third consecutive year that a faculty member from Memorial has been recognized with this prestigious award.

“Dr. Rose is one of the most active faculty members at Memorial and simply one of the best and most energetic professors we have,” said Dr. Eddy Campbell, Memorial’s vice-president (academic). “The feedback from her students together with her academic record amply demonstrates that Dr. Rose has a passion for both her field and for teaching; this combination results in the excellent learning experience she provides to students and the tireless service she has provided for the university and the music community. We are pleased that her hard work has been recognized on a national level.”

Dr. Rose, a native of St. John’s, graduated from Memorial in 1979 with a B. Music and B. Music Education. In 1990, she returned to Memorial’s Faculty of Education to teach music education, having graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a M.Music and a PhD in curriculum and instruction.

Dr. Rose is a violinist with the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra and Sinfonia and is chair of the NSO’s education committee. She is also an artistic director of the Festival 500 International Choral Festival and a festival music adjudicator. She also authored a number of national and international publications and co-authored much of the provincial music education program curricula.

In giving her the award, the STLHE noted that, “Andrea’s strength as a distinguished teacher is the result of an unusual fusion of teaching, scholarship, musicianship and leadership in her teaching practice. She has an extraordinary ability to facilitate her students’ learning through questioning, reflection and critical inquiry. Andrea is a valued advisor to both students and colleagues and is gifted in her ability to synthesize issues, suggests multiple solutions and generously shares both her time and her wisdom.”

Dr. Rose’s work also extends beyond the walls of the university into the community. In a collaborative effort between Memorial, the NSO, locals schools, and the community, she and her colleagues developed and produced a public pedagogy program entitled The NSO Goes to School. This program involved the development of a Grade Five resource-based curriculum about the symphony, and coordinated school performances and workshops by NSO players and chamber groups and offered incentives to students and their parents to attend symphony concerts.

She is also the founding director of the Newfoundland Symphony Youth Choir String Education Program and Research Project in which she and a colleague are investigating the connections between singing and string playing and their implications for pedagogy. This program has provided a site for scholarly, artistic, and pedagogical interaction between Memorial Faculty of Education, Newfoundland Symphony Youth Choir (NSYC) and music education students. She has also served her community by acting as an adjudicator or clinician at over 40 music events and festivals in Canada and the United States.

This is the fifth time that faculty of Memorial University have been honoured with this award; the other recipients were Dr. Alex Faseruk in 2003, Professor Shane O’Dea in 2002, Dr. Michael Collins in 1998 and Dr. Penny Hansen in 1990.

The STLHE is a national association of academics interested in the improvement of teaching and learning in higher education. For information, see www.stlhe.ca.