Awards

President's Award for Excellence in Teaching and Learning Technology - 2015

About Benjamin Motz

Ben Motz received his BS in Cognitive Science from Indiana University in 2002, his MS in Cognitive Science from the University of California San Diego in 2005, and is currently earning his PhD in Cognitive Science at Indiana University. Ben has been a full-time faculty member at Indiana University for more than 6 years, currently serving as Senior Lecturer. He was appointed Director of Pedagogy for the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences in 2012, and became Director of Undergraduate Instruction and Online Development in 2014.

Ben is recognized for grounding his learning technology innovations in sound, evidence-based pedagogy, and this principled approach to higher education has earned him some of the highest student evaluations in the department, despite teaching some of the largest, most challenging courses. Since joining the faculty in 2008, Ben has taught more than 4,500 students in 50 different sections of seven different courses. Between 2008 and 2009 he was the single most prolific instructor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, teaching the largest number of undergraduate students and the most courses in the largest department on campus. “Ben has an unmatched gift for innovative teaching and pedagogy. Moreover, the innovative teaching methods and student profiling tools he has developed are changing the whole department’s teaching and AI training for the better. Ben pioneers a new innovative and incisive learning activity or a new system for supporting our department’s instructors almost every semester. He has demonstrated himself to be overwhelmingly qualified for university honors many times over, through his relentless efforts at improving the undergraduate educational experience.”

Ben’s honored recognitions and professional activities include serving as an elected member of the student academic appointee board of review for the IU Bloomington Faculty Council (2014), and as an invited member for the Indiana University Faculty Leadership Institute, IU FACET (2014). He received a Summer Writing-Teaching Grant from the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning in 2012 and an Active Learning Grant, Campus Instructional Consulting in 2009. Ben was nominated as a VIP (Very Influential Professor) by the IU Women’s Basketball Program in 2009, and received the Outstanding Contribution Award in Cognitive Science from Indiana University in 2002. University of California San Diego also honored Ben with the Superior Teaching Award in Cognitive Science, 2004-2006.