Prime Minister's Awards for teaching Excellence

ARCHIVED—Recipient Bios

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Year: 1999 – Province: Alberta

Certificate of Achievement Recipients

David Oberholtzer

School: McNally High School

Principal: George Rice
School Website: mcnally.epsb.net
Grades/Subjects Taught: English, creative writing and communications

Teaching Approach:

  • Employ a wealth of instructional strategies for maximum effectiveness in classroom.
  • Analyze needs and learning styles of students to choose instructional method, foster suitable learning environment, find new and interesting ways to present difficult material
  • Be a risk taker, be willing to try new strategies.

Outstanding Achievements:

Creates interesting, multi-discipline learning projects:

  • Victorian Fair – designed to enhance student understanding of Victorian era while studying Dickens' Great Expectations; students create booths and act as characters
  • The 'C' Files – original unit of study designed to complement Arthur Miller's play The Crucible, students create a computer-generated program of dramatic performances and film analysis
  • Frost Facts – two large binders of poetry, information and study materials about the works of Robert Frost.

Produces significant results:

  • students of Grade 12 English class nominated their teacher for Prime Minister's Award
  • students' grades significantly exceed provincial average: average class grade of 82.4 percent compared to provincial average of 66.6 percent
  • student's attendance rates exceeds school average: 95.6 percent compared to 91.5 percent.

Recognized by the Alberta Teachers' Association Council on School Administration as regional Teacher of the Year in 1997; in 1998 chosen as finalist in Alberta Education's Excellence in Teaching Awards program.

Rave Reviews:

"Mr. Oberholtzer integrates a part of himself into each class. This, in turn, motivates us to give a part of ourselves to each class." Nominating student

"This man has the ability to teach a class to teach itself." Principal