From left, Mary Helen O’Connor, Slava Prudchenko and Dr. Jim Guinn were recognized for their outstanding commitment and contributions. (photo by Bill Roa)

Three Georgia Perimeter College faculty members were recognized by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development this year for their teaching excellence.

GPC physics professor Dr. Jim Guinn, English professor Mary Helen O’Connor and musician and online music instructor Slava Prudchenko received the NISOD Teaching Excellence awards for 2014. The three were honored recently by the Texas-based organization for their outstanding commitment and contributions to students and colleagues.

Dr. Jim Guinn helps students understand the principles of physics. (photo by Bill Roa)

Guinn engages with students by using sometimes unconventional tactics to teach the laws of physics. (For example, his demonstration of the principles of pressure, force and impulse involve him reclining on a bed of nails.)

Nail bed physics aside, Guinn once considered becoming a research scientist after getting his bachelor degree in both physics and astronomy. Then he taught as a graduate student at Washington University in St. Louis.

“I found I really enjoyed interacting with students. After I graduated, I looked for a (academic) place where my obligations would be primarily in teaching and less in research.”

Guinn first landed at Berea College in Kentucky as a tenure-track physics professor. When his wife, a physician-researcher came to Atlanta to work at the Centers for Disease Control, he followed her. Guinn has been at GPC since 1999.

Mary Helen O’Connor teaches English. (photo by Bill Roa)

O’Connor, who champions refugee students and encourages them to exceed their own expectations, emphasizes problem-solving skills for all students. In addition to promoting competencies in grammar and writing, she also focuses on digital skills by requiring projects involving modern media.

Growing up in Florida, O’Connor’s neighbors were Jewish immigrants whose parents escaped persecution in Russia in the 1920s.  Their experiences left an impression on her as a young girl.

“I grew up with a strong awareness of persecution,” she says. That awareness was magnified when she began teaching at GPC seven years ago, she says.  A student’s narrative essay on his escape from terrorists in Sudan galvanized her to become involved in refugee issues in the area, including working as a tutor for refugees during the summer.

Slava Prudchenko teaches music online. (photo by Bill Roa)

Prudchenko musically performs with students via the Internet and works to provide a rich learning experience in a virtual classroom. To accomplish this, he incorporates video tutorials, recorded instructional exercises such as counting and clapping, podcasting, self-video homework assignments and web video links.

Music was instilled in Prudchenko since he was a young boy, when he learned to play piano, violin and the flute.

“My parents both were higher education music professors,” he says. It was natural to continue the family tradition.

Prudchenko is conductor of the GPC Community Wind Ensemble and  a professional flautist. He has been an instructor at GPC since 2004 and has been teaching online for several years.