Professor Singh 2022 Blackboard Catalyst Award for Teaching and Learning

Professor Abha Singh, a faculty member in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, is a winner of the 2022 Blackboard Catalyst Award for Teaching & Learning, with a focus on the application of technology in education and collaborating on best practices. She received the award in person in Orlando, Florida, on July 13, 2022. A cross-functional team of Blackboard/Anthology experts selected her out of 149 nominees from 22 countries. Professor Singh is “…truly humbled and honored to receive this international recognition…” and is proud to be a flag-bearer for UTEP and the United States in this international competition. She also feels blessed to be the first instructor from UTEP to win this award for teaching and learning in the global community of practice.

This award recognizes individuals/institutions that have used Blackboard and/or Anthology solutions in innovative ways to advance learning. It honors innovation and excellence in the global community of practice, where millions of educators and learners work every day to push the boundaries of what is possible when leveraging technology. They have redefined what is possible in the classroom by adopting new delivery and pedagogical models and tools that positively influenced the educational experience, increased flexibility, furthered learner and instructor efficiency, and fostered academic excellence, with measurable results.

Abha Singh has been teaching large and small face-to-face and online courses in Introduction to Politics, American Government and Politics, Introduction to Public Administration, and State and Local Government at UTEP for almost 14 years. Throughout the years she has discovered through her own experiments that technology ushers in fundamental structural changes that can be integral to achieving significant improvements in productivity, whether it is a 300-students face-to-face class or online teaching. Used to support both teaching and learning, the Blackboard LMS platform among others, transforms her classrooms by ushering in a new model of connected teaching. This model links her to her students and to professional content, resources, and systems to help them improve their own learning due to its flexibility and adaptability to differentiated learning.

Examples that demonstrate this achievement include, but are not limited to:

• Implementation of mobile teaching and learning technologies that helped provide greater access to quality education to all learners.
• Highly innovative courses, content, or teaching practices that have favorably impacted student experience, engagement, and/or collaboration.
• Use of innovative technology tools to support students in the classroom through distance learning or hybrid models.
• Development of initiatives to efficiently connect students through learning activities to promote student success

More information can be found at: https://www2.anthology.com/catalyst-awards