March 02, 2012
By Mandi Enger
Nevada State College Associate Professor, Dr. Kevin Graziano was recognized as the Regents Teaching Award recipient during the Board of Regent’s meeting on Friday, March 2, 2012.
The Regents Teaching Award is presented to one faculty member each year from a four-year institution across the Nevada System of Higher Education for his or her distinct instructional contributions. To qualify for consideration, faculty members must be nominated by a peer, submit an application, and compile a portfolio for review by a state-wide committee.
Dr. Graziano joined Nevada State College as an Assistant Professor in the School of Education, Teacher Preparation Program, in 2004 and is the first NSC faculty member to receive this acknowledgement.
Dr. Graziano is a prime example of outstanding instruction as his research and creative teaching styles are assets to NSC, stated Dr. Jim Labuda, Interim Dean of the School of Education. By incorporating active learning strategies into his own classroom, he continues to inspire our students to be creative, reflective of their performance and to use technology in the creation of their own lesson plans.
Staring March 13, 2012, Dr. Graziano will be visiting the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia as a Visiting Fellow. During the three-week teacher training fellowship, Graziano will share his knowledge of photovoice with university students and faculty, elementary school teachers and staff, and Aborigine teachers.
Photovoice is a form of participatory action research that relies heavily on documentary photography and storytelling. Graziano uses photovoice as a research methodology and teaching strategy at NSC. Through documentary photography accompanied with storytelling, points of interest as well as social issues can be discussed from the viewpoint of the photographer, providing a learning tool for both educators and students.
Dr. Graziano’s classes are crucial for students because they are purely empowering. Projects such as Photovoice take that empowerment and help the student teachers pass it on to their students, stated Mayra Corn, an Elementary Education major with TESL certification.
Graziano was additionally appointed as a Visiting Fellow to the Marino Institute of Education in Dublin, Ireland this May and has been accepted on the roster for the Fulbright Specialist Program.
Dr. Kevin Graziano of Nevada State College receives Regent Teaching Award