Faculty Profile: Kathryn Asala
Kathryn Asala takes a scholarly approach to her teaching and advocates for research-based learning processes that has helped transform the culture of teaching STEM courses at UNC Charlotte. She is a finalist in the 2021 UNC Charlotte Award for Teaching Excellence competition.
Asala envisioned a community of practice for STEM faculty and she sought partners to develop the Transforming STEM Teaching and Learning Academy. This academy has led to broader and deeper adoption of these student-centered learning methods across the university.
Chemistry Department Chair Bernadette T. Donovan-Merkert said: “Dr. Asala is widely known for her deep dedication to students; her pioneering, successful implementation of evidence-based practices in the classroom; and her effectiveness in collaborating with administrators and educators across many disciplines.”
As a Faculty Fellow in the UNC Charlotte Office of Undergraduate Education, she is a proponent of student-centered pedagogies such as Peer-Led Team Learning and Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning. She also developed a concept called TASL (Team Approach to Successful Learning) to deepen student learning.
Asala said: “I view myself as a facilitator of learning with classroom time being spent on maximizing understanding by actively engaging the students in developing concepts and problem-solving skills through well-designed activities and providing real-time feedback of their learning. I am not satisfied as an educator until I have attempted to effectively help each individual student meet the learning objectives of the course.”
Asala received a grant from the UNC Charlotte Office of Assessment to evaluate student performance in CHEM 1252, and she is currently directing a grant, from the UNC System Office, to assess student learning in introductory Chemistry courses. She is also working with the Office of Undergraduate Education on the Student Experience Project to improve student success and to close the achievement gap for students from underrepresented groups.
She is a co-PI on the grant “STEM Persistence and Retention via Curricula, Centralization, Cohorts –and Collaboration (SPARC4): Establishment of the Charlotte S-STEM Consortium,” which is funded by the NSF for $2.2 million and is designed to help students transferring from community colleges. She also is a co-PI on an NSF Department of Education Robert Noyce Scholarship Program grant to attract and mentor students interested in the K-12 teaching profession.
Asala consistently receives high praises from her students and was named the 2011 recipient of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Award for Outstanding Teaching by a Full-time Lecturer.
Former student Irina Leshchuk said: “Dr. Asala is an instructor that every undergraduate would be grateful for. She is constantly changing her lesson plan to fit the details her students need help with, and incorporating student work into her lectures. Dr. Asala makes herself available for students who need help outside of the classroom, including generous office hours, optional scheduled meetings, and uploaded video tutorials. She is an inspiration to those who wish to pursue academic and scientific careers.”
Asala is one of three finalists in the UNC Charlotte Award for Teaching Excellence competition, which is open to full- or part-time non-tenure track faculty members who have at least five years of teaching service at UNC Charlotte (lecturers and adjunct faculty).