Patrick Lopatto began his teaching journey in a first semester calculus class—since then, he has set a standard for excellence as a teaching fellow in the mathematics department. Patrick has always gone above and beyond with his work as a teacher, mentor, and leader. Professor Robin Gottlieb asserts that Patrick “stands out in [the] department for his passionate engagement with teaching and in his eagerness to engage with pedagogy in multiple ways.”
Patrick has an outstanding track-record of dedicated, scientifically driven, self-reflective, and successful teaching. His strong connections with students are recognized by students and faculty alike. Patrick received uniformly positive evaluations from students, with many of them noting his high enthusiasm and dedication to student learning and success. One student wrote, “Patrick is simply the best. He truly cares about each and every student. He spent over 10 hours helping me study for the final over Thanksgiving break. I wish every TF were as dedicated and caring as Patrick.”
Not only do students observe that Patrick ensures no student feels left behind in his classes, but they believe that Patrick is truly invested in their success. He introduced topics that resonated with the students’ interests and he was attentive to the students’ needs. Professor Gottlieb says “While a team member in that course (and a first-time teacher) Patrick developed a statistical model that took students’ precalculus gateway scores as predictors for course success. He and one of the preceptors used this model to deploy better advising for students in Math 1a.”
Active learning is an integral part of the department’s introductory-level courses, but it is less prominent in its concentrator courses. Be that as it may, Patrick has made meaningful contributions to the curriculum with his dedication, enthusiasm, creative energy, and advocacy for active learning. One of the concentration advisees mentioned that she enjoyed the “fascinating and unexpected” applications of mathematics that Patrick brought to the classroom and how he “created an intellectual sense of community that [she has] not previously experienced in a concentrator-level math class.”
“Patrick has excelled as a calculus teacher, as a team member in a course of over 50 concentrators, and now is providing leadership and curriculum development in Mathematics in the World,” says Professor Gottlieb.
Patrick, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences is pleased to present you with the Derek C. Bok Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Teaching of Undergraduates. Congratulations!
Read more about the 2020 Bok Awards
