Graduate School of Education Teaching Award

The 2003 recipient of the Graduate School of Education's Excellence in Teaching Award is Dr. Barbara Tobin, a lecturer in the Educational Leadership Division at GSE. The award was presented at the school commencement on May 19.

GSE singles out for this award those who have "a strong commitment to teaching and learning," who demonstrate an interest and enthusiasm for both the course material and for the students, and who are intellectually challenging and stimulating.

A native of Australia, Dr. Tobin taught elementary and high school students in city and rural areas in Western Australia before teaching in Canada, New Guinea, England, and the U.S. She obtained her doctorate in children's literature/literacy from the University of Georgia in 1989 and has taught children's literature and literacy at Curtin University in Australia, Florida State University, and Penn, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate students. She serves on the editorial board of the Reading Teacher, is a mentor for graduate and undergraduate elementary teacher education majors at GSE, and collaborates with teachers at the Philadelphia School.

The citation describes Dr. Tobin as "the quintessential teacher who strives to know her students on a personal as well as academic level and as someone who creates a strong foundation for future educators to build upon.... [She] allows for creativity and freedom of thought but successfully outlines a deeper understanding of the very word ‘literature,' demonstrating the true significance that it plays in a child's life and showing that literature is not just about words but about the larger concepts embodied in the individual work as a whole."