Meet Dr. Victoria Russell, 2023 VSU Presidential Excellence Award for The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Honoree

Dr. Richard A. Carvajal, president of Valdosta State University, recently honored Dr. Victoria Russell with the 2023 Presidential Excellence Award for The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. She joined the VSU faculty in 2010 and currently serves as a professor in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. She primarily teaches courses in Foreign Language Education and English for Speakers of Other Languages at the master’s degree level, but she also teaches Spanish online at the bachelor’s degree level.

VALDOSTA — Dr. Richard A. Carvajal, president of Valdosta State University, recently honored Dr. Victoria Russell with the 2023 Presidential Excellence Award for The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

The Presidential Excellence Award for The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning recognizes a faculty member who produces innovative scholarly work on the science of teaching and learning and regularly contributes new knowledge on the subject.

Russell joined the VSU faculty in 2010 and currently serves as a professor in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. She primarily teaches courses in Foreign Language Education and English for Speakers of Other Languages at the master’s degree level, but she also teaches Spanish online at the bachelor’s degree level.

VSU: What are your favorite classes to teach and your favorite topics to research?

Russell: I really love all of the classes that I teach. Our VSU students are phenomenal, and it is a privilege to work with them every single day. However, if I had to pick a favorite class, it would be Second Language Acquisition Theory and Practice. I earned my doctorate in this discipline, and I absolutely love to help my teacher candidates bridge research and practice. In other words, this course helps them engage in highly effective research-based practices in their current or future classrooms. Many of our teacher candidates are currently teaching on temporary or provisional certificates. Therefore, they are learning how to teach while they are in the classroom working as practitioners. They often report that what they learn through their graduate-level world language education classes helps them survive and thrive as Georgia K-12 educators.

VSU: Why do you believe it is important for teachers to do the work necessary to keep their class content interesting and relevant to new generations of students?

Russell: This is perhaps the most important aspect of being an effective teacher. We must continue to grow, develop, and learn in our field year after year. I have been able to do this by being highly engaged in professional organizations. For example, I served on the board of directors for the Southern Conference on Language Teaching (SCOLT) from 2018 to 2022, and I served on the American Council of Teaching Foreign Languages (ACTFL) board as president elect in 2021, president in 2022, and immediate past president this year (in 2023). Through my professional service, I have been able to meet, interact with, and engage in research with top scholars in my field from across the country and the world. This has enabled me to maintain my passion for my discipline, which translates directly into my day-to-day teaching.

VSU: What strategies / tools / techniques have proven most effective in increasing student learning in your classroom?

Russell: I will keep this answer short and sweet. There are three secrets for helping students succeed:

No. 1: Show and tell your students how much you care for them and their success in your classroom and beyond.

No. 2: Keep the lines of communication open by being available for meetings, answering emails in a timely manner, and creating help discussion boards on BlazeVIEW where they can give and receive help from each other and from their instructor daily.

No. 3: Provide detailed and timely feedback on students’ work. Students need to understand how they can improve, and they need clear guidance on how to do so.

VSU: What drives your research / scholarly work in the field of teaching and learning?

Russell: My research informs my teaching, and my professional service organizations provide a platform to disseminate my research. Through these three prongs — teaching, research, and service — I have been able to continue to learn and grow as a professional educator. Moreover, I engage my students in professional service and research. For example, I have published with my students in academic journals, brought them to professional conferences to present with me, taken them to study overseas through my VSU-sponsored summer study abroad program in Cádiz, Spain, and, of course, sponsored their work at the VSU undergraduate and graduate research symposia, which are always the highlight of the academic year for me.

VSU: What advice do you have for other faculty who wish to identify more effective ways to stimulate engagement and comprehension in their own classroom?

Russell: Take advantage of the many opportunities that VSU offers for faculty development, engage in professional organizations, and get to know your students outside of the classroom. For me, spending several weeks abroad with students in the summer is a powerful way to get to know them and their struggles on a deep level. I am in awe of my students and all that they have overcome to reach their academic goals. When I think about that, I am inspired to bring, give, and do my best for my students every single day.