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Archaeology
Archaeology master’s student receives Teaching Excellence Award for commitment to educating the next generation of field archaeologists
Kristin Oliver is a master鈥檚 student in SFU鈥檚 Department of Archaeology recognized with an inaugural 2024 Faculty of Environment Teaching Assistant (TA)/Tutor Marker Teaching Excellence Award for her engaging teaching methods and efforts to train students in First Nations protocols and behaviors appropriate for conducting fieldwork.
While Oliver has always enjoyed sharing knowledge with others, it was when she decided to pursue a master鈥檚 that she set her sights on a career in post-secondary education and thought becoming a TA would be a good steppingstone, while helping to fund her studies.
鈥淚 think back to grade school and am struck by how many people often don鈥檛 remember the material but remember their teachers 鈥� good or bad. And when I think about the Archaeology Department here, I know that many of the faculty members have made such a profound difference in the formation of many archaeologists, both here in B.C. and around the world,鈥� says Oliver. 鈥淲hether students remember me 3-, 8-, or 22-years from now or not, knowing that I got to be part of their journey, even for a small time, is really special to me.鈥�
She is now a familiar face to many students and faculty members having been a TA for the department鈥檚 local field school courses and many core upper-division courses.
鈥淚 really appreciate the smaller class sizes of upper division courses because it creates space for relationship building that can foster a better understanding of both class material and the real-world applications,鈥� she says.
Kristin also takes these courses as an opportunity to pass along additional information and experiences that she has picked up while conducting field work over the years.
鈥淚 was fortunate that I got to do field archaeology before even beginning my archaeology degree, which has provided me additional experience in understanding field practices, knowing material types, or identifying belongings,鈥� says Oliver. 鈥淎long the way, I learned tips and tricks from professors, TAs, Indigenous community members and knowledge holders, bosses, colleagues鈥攊nstitutional knowledge鈥攖hat I can now pass on to others. Trying to convey such things is significantly more challenging in a room of 200 students than it is in smaller groups, and often, space for that knowledge to be shared doesn鈥檛 organically appear in a lecture hall setting.鈥�