Meghan Corella Morales. Photo courtesy UCSB
SANTA BARBARA — Meghan Corella Morales of the Department of Education of UC Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz School has won a 2014 Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award, presented by the UCSB Academic Senate as part of its slate of awards for research, teaching, and mentorship.
Each year, teaching assistants play a vital role enhancing the teaching mission of the University. The Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award recognizes the contributions of graduate students to the teaching and learning process of UC Santa Barbara. “I see her to be one of the most deserving TAs that I have had the privilege of working with…,” wrote one of Morales’ faculty references. “She has exceeded my expectations in every aspect from her clear communication skills, her motivation and dedication to her work, to her sincerity and thoughtfulness in her interactions with others.”
Morales is a candidate in the Department of Education, working with her advisor Dr. Jin Sook Lee. Her research focuses on language and social justice in a variety of educational contexts. She received her Bachelor’s degree in 2007 from Occidental College in Spanish Literary and Cultural Studies and her Master’s in Education in 2013.
She is a former English language teacher and has been a Teaching Assistant for three classes in the Department of Education: Culture, Development, and Education; Research on Teaching and Learning in Sociocultural Contexts; and Introduction to the University Experience. As a TA, Morales strives to create a classroom in which teacher and learner roles are fluid, viewing such fluidity as central to the ongoing process of learning to become the kinds of listeners and thinkers who can challenge entrenched social inequities and collaboratively re-envision schools and society.