"The best learning grows out of a diverse group of people in interaction," says Ron Krabill. "I strongly believe that education is best served through the building of a safe and challenging learning environment. Education should serve not only a student's individual intellectual development and overall well-being, but also the well-being and knowledge base of the many communities with which the student and the university as a whole are involved."
Krabill, who is Assistant Professor in the UW Bothell's Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences Program, has been named the recipient of the campus' Distinguished Teaching Award.
Krabill has been with the UW Bothell since 2002. He has taught eight different courses, several of which are special topic courses he developed.
His areas of specialty include media, social movements, ethics, social action and a focus on sub-Saharan Africa.
Colleagues who recommended Krabill for this honor noted his work in civic engagement and service learning at the campus, community, and global levels; his integration of technological teaching innovations; and the consistent, exceptionally high teaching ratings he has received from his students. In addition, his colleagues said, "Dr. Krabill is clearly not afraid to take risks as he prepares students to interact with the world as active, engaged producers of knowledge."
Krabill's students are deeply touched by his personal involvement with their learning experience. One student writes that Krabill "is one of those teachers who are willing to take their time to help any student with their questions regardless of which classes they are in. He came to my rescue by pointing me to the right people who helped me with my South Africa study abroad transcripts. He actually kept in touch with me to make sure I received the help I needed."
"I personally had an amazing experience in my senior seminar with Ron," writes another student. "Ron took a sincere interest in what I was doing, and I can hardly express how much that fact alone encouraged me to do my absolute best. I became very involved in my subject matter, and devoted myself to it more than I had ever expected. When my paper was finally complete and turned in, Ron pushed me one step further by suggesting that I submit the piece to the Policy Journal. I worked with him the following fall semester polishing the paper and writing an abstract. I wound up being accepted. This was a major accomplishment for me."
In addition to having a personal impact on his students, Krabill incorporates new technologies into his teaching. He taught an integrated online course on media and society from a comparative perspective, with half of the students at UW Bothell and the other half from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa. He required the interactive use, by both student cohorts, of discussion boards, transactional writing groups, and other innovative methodologies. An intended consequence was the opportunity for two groups of students to share international experiences without traveling abroad.
He was among the first to incorporate the use of "clickers" in the classroom — real-time electronic response systems. These tools allowed him to expose students to essential skills for a knowledge-based economy and to incorporate more fully experimental elements of media education.
Krabill earned his master's and doctoral degrees in Sociology and Historical Studies from the New School for Social Research in New York, and his BA from Goshen College in Indiana.
"We are honored to have dedicated, innovative teachers at the University of Washington Bothell as exemplified by our 2006 Distinguished Teaching Award winner, Dr. Ron Krabill," said Steven G. Olswang, UW Bothell interim Chancellor.