Professor Cheryll Duquette receives uOttawa excellence in teaching award

OTTAWA — Professor Cheryll Ann Duquette is the recipient of the University of Ottawa’s 2009 Award for Excellence in Teaching. She received her award during a special ceremony held yesterday.

Since 1976, the University has been giving the Award for Excellence in Teaching to full-time professors nominated by their peers for their outstanding contributions to different aspects of university teaching, such as instructional techniques, program development and course design and curriculum development.

Today, Professor Cheryll Duquette (BA, MEd, PhD) of the Faculty of Education gave a lecture entitled Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder – The New Hidden Disability: Perspectives of Adolescents and their Adoptive Parents.

A member of the Faculty of Education for over 20 years, Professor Duquette is a recognized expert in the areas of special education and Aboriginal studies. She developed the Native Teacher Education Program, designed to train Aboriginal teachers and help them develop curriculum to complement their specific needs. She also created the On-Site Teacher Education Program, which connects student teachers to local classrooms. A contributor to many publications, this passionate professor has also made a great contribution to the training of many future teachers.

Professor Duquette is the author of the award-winning book Students at Risk, written for special education teachers. Her most recent article, “Becoming a role model: Experiences of native student teachers,” was published in The Alberta Journal of Educational Research.

She has authored many other articles, most notably on parental support and integration of students with exceptionalities.

Professor Duquette also received the University of Ottawa award for excellence in education in 2006 for her exceptional teaching and solid research program. In 2007, her teaching excellence was recognized by the Province of Ontario with a Leadership Award in Faculty Teaching. This award acknowledges and encourages excellence in teaching in Ontario colleges and universities.