For Laurie Elish-Piper, stepping in front of a class is like engaging in a bit of performance art.
She wants her students to not only learn the lesson on that day’s syllabus, but also to experience a very personalized form of teaching that she hopes they will someday apply in their own classrooms.
“My goal is not just to talk about how my students should teach, but to show them how to teach,” says Elish-Piper, a professor in the Department of Literacy Education.
For her that means approaching every class as a gathering of individuals, each of whom brings a unique history and background to the class, which influences the way they learn. Her challenge, she says, is to take those factors into account and tailor her teaching to the needs of each individual.
According to colleagues and students, Elish-Piper is quite successful in that quest and an outstanding choice for a Presidential Teaching Professor.
“As a student in her classes, it was impossible not to catch her enthusiasm. I felt I was learning every single second,” says Angela Howard, who studied under Elish-Piper as both an undergrad and master’s student. “The way she managed her classroom and used her instructional time has inspired me to make learning in my classroom as engaging and purposeful as possible.”
Jerry O’Shea, director of curriculum and assessment at Marquardt School District 15 in Glendale Heights, already had been through two graduate programs when he came to NIU to complete his doctorate. “I believe I grew the most in my learning and development of education issues in her classroom,” he says, adding that he still reflects on lessons learned in her classes 10 years later.
Admiration of Elish-Piper extends to her colleagues.
In his letter of nomination, Norm Stahl, chair of the Department of Literacy Education, pointed out that he has had the privilege of working alongside three past recipients of the Presidential Teaching Professorship. “These individuals have all brought great honor to our institution and demonstrated the very best in pedagogical practice. Dr. Elish-Piper clearly meets, if not exceeds, the standards set by these remarkable individuals,” he said.
As a Presidential Teaching Professor, Elish-Piper hopes to model her teaching style for a new audience: her fellow members of the NIU faculty.
“A lot of people seem to believe that if you practice student-centered teaching you can’t be rigorous, or that you can’t cover the required curriculum. I argue that you can,” she says.
Furthermore, her own schedule would make the case that being busy is no excuse for not using a student-centered approach. In addition to carrying a full teaching load, Elish-Piper also oversees the NIU Literacy Clinic, advises graduate students, researches and publishes, speaks at national conferences, collaborates with and advises school districts throughout the region and actively participates in organizations such as the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers, where she currently is the president-elect and program chair.
While all of this keeps her on the run, Elish-Piper says her heart still belongs to the classroom.
“I really enjoy teaching,” she says. “My favorite part of the week is when I am in class.”