Michael Clough

 

Michael Clough

Associate Professor

Curriculum and Instruction

 

Career Achievement in Teaching Award

 

"Our children and our society's welfare are far too important to tolerate mediocre teaching. My professional passion is to improve science teacher education and science teaching," said Michael Clough, whose philosophy of teaching is based on the premise that one person can make a significant and decisive difference in the world. As an associate professor at Iowa State University, Clough sees it as his moral obligation to make a positive difference in the lives of his students. His own teaching and research are fully intertwined, and he believes that the power of what we know about teaching and learning is in the synergy that results when research findings are collected into a coherent whole — a research-based framework for teaching science.

A colleague describes Clough as conducting research not to earn tenure or increase his prestige in academia; he does research to assist teachers who strive to make improvements in their educational practices as they interact with students in the classroom.

Clough overtly models effective teaching behaviors for his own students because he feels that too often education courses leave students with the message, "do as I say and not as I do." He does not allow this to happen when he is teaching. His courses are a reflection of educational research that applies to the emerging consensus regarding the goals for science education. His professional passion is to improve science teacher education and science teaching, while his teaching, research, writing, presentations and workshops all reflect this obligation.

 

This award was presented during the winter social for faculty and staff on Thursday, Dec 7.