Tom Linder, a senior lecturer with the School of Medicine's Physiology and Biophysics Department, has been leading a double life for the past 10 years. Every winter quarter, Linder teaches physiology during the day to undergraduate and graduate students, then delivers a three-and-a-half-hour evening lecture and eight-hour Saturday lab to working adults enrolled in the UW Extension Medical Engineering certificate program.
This balancing act is no small feat and requires a significant level of commitment on Linder's part, so it is no surprise that he has been selected as the 2006 winner of the Faculty Award for Distinguished Contributions to Lifelong Learning.
The award is given to UW faculty who have taught for at least two years in an innovative, non-degree program dedicated to helping adults reach their personal, professional or educational goals.
The students enrolled in the evening physiology class that Linder teaches through UW Extension generally are working full time in the field of engineering and fall into the following categories: already in the medical engineering field, transitioning into the field or getting back into the workforce. It is the diversity of experiences among his evening students that fuels Linder's drive to teach.
"I continue to teach the UW Extension physiology course because the students are committed, driven and varied in their life experiences and where they are going," said Linder.
Linder also enjoys the challenge that comes with developing a physiology course for students who may already be working in the medical engineering field, to make his lectures and labs practical and engaging for them. For example, at times he has arranged excursions to local diagnostic clinics so students who are interested in pursuing careers working directly with patients can get an up-close-and-personal view of what that would be like.
"Dr. Linder's well-organized, logical and informative lectures combined with the hands-on laboratory session brought physiology to life for me," said Michael Lachman, a former student.
Students in Linder's course are continually impressed by his enthusiasm, commitment to effective instruction techniques and his prompt yet constructive feedback on assignments. They also admire the fact that Linder teaches his evening physiology course and Saturday lab without any assistance.
"Dr. Linder clearly taught the material and made it fun and challenging. He single-handedly taught two all-day Saturday lab sessions and still managed to have all homework, test, and lab reports timely graded," said Patrick Turner, another of Linder's past students.
Throughout his decade of teaching the course, Linder says he has learned as much from his students as they have from him. Recently, a student who is already working in the field of medical engineering introduced Linder to an echo-Doppler aortic blood flow device, which helps to evaluate the pumping chambers of the heart.
"I had never had the opportunity to work with these devices before, so I was very interested in learning more about it from my student," said Linder.
Although the main objective of his UW Extension students is to advance their careers in the field of medical engineering, Linder hopes that his course inspires in them a lifelong appreciation for physiology and a yearning to continue to learn more about the subject.