North Bay educator recognized as an exceptional teacher

A teacher from North Bay is the 2022 recipient of the Prime Minister's Awards for Teaching Excellence. Sunset Park Public School teacher Anna Pearson received the Certificate of Achievement award. (Supplied)

A teacher from North Bay is the 2022 recipient of the Prime Minister's Awards for Teaching Excellence.

Sunset Park Public School teacher Anna Pearson received the Certificate of Achievement award, one of a handful of teachers across the country to receive the honour.

The awards have been handed out to elementary and secondary school teachers in all disciplines since 1994, with more than 1,700 teachers honoured in that time.

"Mme. Pearson demonstrates exceptional awareness of the need for students to connect history with the present," said the news release accompanying Pearson's award.

"By providing opportunities to make those connections she enables them to develop a lasting understanding of how to become global citizens. She has made a significant contribution to the lives of all of her students, those who teach with her, and the community."

Pearson is committed to life-long learning, the release said, and is currently a PhD student in Education at York University and teaches in the B. Ed program at Nipissing University.

"Anna's approach is wider than the simple transmission of concepts," the release said.

"Her programming encourages students to develop higher level thinking skills such as problem solving, creativity and innovation. She uses differentiated forms of assessment according to students' learning type."

Pearson's approach to learning in the classroom has students work both independently and collaboratively.

"Her teaching style is student-centered and focuses on engagement and inquiry," the release said.

"Employing cooperative learning, students work in small groups to complete project-based learning as well as inquiry-based projects. By enabling students to work in small groups, they develop academic skills as well as communication and learning skills that are invaluable for success whether in the classroom or in their everyday lives."