Dr. John L. Plews
The 2021 recipient of the Father Stewart Medal of Excellence in Teaching is Dr. John L. Plews, Professor of German and Director of the Canadian Summer School in Germany (CSSG).
“I’m really pleased to get this award, also on behalf of the students who make the choice to study German,” says Dr. Plews. “It’s not a common choice, it’s a brave choice. It’s difficult to put in something as time consuming as learning a new language.”
The effort is well worth it, no matter what direction students may take in life. Learning a new language helps to develop fundamental communication skills, listening abilities, and cross-cultural understanding, he says.
“There is so much available through learning; your choices when you learn open up so much. That’s one of the privileges of teaching German. You work in a field where you’re naturally opening up avenues and horizons to students.”
It’s meaningful to receive the top teaching award at Saint Mary’s during this challenging year of the pandemic, but he’s especially gratified the nomination came from current and former students. They wanted to honour him for his engaging teaching methods, his positive impact on their lives, and his enthusiasm and dedication to the scholarship of teaching and learning of the German language.
“That’s what is really so absolutely special about this, is the recognition of students and former students. It’s really quite fantastic,” says Plews.
Many of his former students are also now language teachers themselves. Nour Al-Salous BA’11 teaches English and French in an international elementary school in Lisbon, Portugal. She fell into German Studies at Saint Mary’s by accident because the class happened to fit into her course schedule, she admits.
Nour Al-Salous BA’11, former student and nominator of Dr. Plews.
“John’s teaching made me fall in love with the German language, and now it’s my favourite language,” says Al-Salous, who was one of his award nominators. “He was extremely intelligent in the way he taught us because he fostered our independence in the language, in the sense that we did our own learning and he guided us along the way. He’s also such a caring and empathetic professor.”
Al-Salous works hard to create a fun, energetic and trusting environment for her students too: “I’m passionate about what I teach, and I try to encourage my students to be independent in their learning and to think critically about their tasks, exactly as John did with us.”
Plews joined the Department of Modern Languages and Classics in 2005. Last fall, he felt like a new teacher again while adapting his very face-to-face curriculum for the virtual classroom. The hardest part has been learning to read visual cues from students onscreen – their facial expressions, body language, reactions and gestures.
“Working online this year, I’ve been trying many things,” he says. “Certainly the best things still work. Technology itself I don’t think is giving us the way to teach. The technology is mainly a platform, and pedagogy still rules. That’s what really counts, it’s central to everything.”
For the annual Canadian Summer School in Germany this year, technology is making it all possible for 19 students enrolled from across Canada. Immersed in German language and culture from May 5 through June 23, they are getting to know their host families in Kassel and going on virtual excursions to see plays, cultural sites and concerts. With a Diversity and Inclusion grant from the Waterloo Centre for German Studies, Plews and his team have been working with German organizations to create high-quality video tours with social justice content for students.
Plews is also currently compiling an edited volume on critical approaches to study abroad research methods and data (2022, Palgrave Macmillan, with J. McGregor). He has served as the President of the Canadian Association of University Teachers of German (CAUTG) (2016-2018) and President of the Halifax Languages Consortium (2015-2018).
Established in 1983, Father William A. Stewart, S.J. Medal for Excellence in Teaching honours the legacy of Father Stewart, a Professor of Philosophy and an Administrator at Saint Mary’s from 1950-1982. The award is given annually by the Saint Mary’s University Alumni Association and Faculty Union to highlight full-time faculty members who have made significant contributions to the education of Saint Mary’s students through excellence in teaching and service.