GREENVILLE – It takes special talent to make therapy for spinal cord injuries seem fun. But Dr. Richard Williams has that talent.
Williams, an Associate Professor of Recreation Therapy at East Carolina University since 2000, works on therapy for patients with injuries and disabilities, ethics in recreation therapy and the therapist’s role in public policy.
He believes in hands-on opportunities for students; one of his favorite classes is a summer class where students spend two days in the water helping people with disabilities play water sports.1
And he studies the art and science of teaching.
“Good teachers can change the world in subtle yet powerful ways,” he says. “When I teach the graduate student teaching seminar, I have the honor and humbling responsibility of providing guidance to novice college teachers. Working with these students has taught me that not all good teaching happens exactly the same way.”
Williams says one of the striking things about ECU is that it encourages professors to focus on teaching first – good teaching is a debt owed to students and the institution.
“Teaching my students not only lends meaning to my life, but provides me with an opportunity to improve the world. I can only light a fire in my students if there is a fire burning in me,” he says.2
“I can’t go into a classroom in good conscience and just plow through some PowerPoint and hit a thousand bullet points and be done, without something exciting, without some sort of cool activity, ‘You’re not going to believe what you’re going to learn today about this thing!’” he told The Daily Reflector of Greenville. “I’ve always got to try to find something like that.”3
Students note how Williams mixes humor with serious tasks at hand.
“Great sense of humor, but his class is no joke,” wrote one.
“Dr. Williams is awesome,” wrote another. “This class has been my favorite since I’ve been in college. You will be laughing the entire time because he is absolutely hilarious. He has an example for everything you could imagine and will keep you interested. He randomly takes attendance but it doesn’t matter because you will want to go to class.”
“He’s had just about every job in (Recreation Therapy) so he knows what he’s talking about,” wrote another. “I would recommend him to anyone.”4
It’s that zeal, passion and command of his subject that earned Williams a 2016 UNC Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching.5
Williams, in turn, considers his job the best in the world because of the students.
“They’re all looking to take what they learn here to go out and work with people with illnesses and disabilities and really try to leave the world better than they found it,” he said. “That’s a great kind of student to work with.”6
1 http://www.reflector.com/News/2016/03/26/Award-winning-professor-has-passion-for-teaching.html
2 https://northcarolina.edu/board-governors-awards/teaching-awards-2016
3 http://www.reflector.com/News/2016/03/26/Award-winning-professor-has-passion-for-teaching.html
4 http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=235493
5 https://northcarolina.edu/board-governors-awards/teaching-awards-2016
6 http://www.reflector.com/News/2016/03/26/Award-winning-professor-has-passion-for-teaching.html
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