Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Donald Shaw

 

 

Dr. Donald Shaw is the assistant Professor in Endocrinology, Neurobiology, and Physiology at the University of Tennessee at Martin. Dr. Shaw has been teaching at the collegiate level for ten years. He is favored by all the students and is extremely committed to his work and making a difference at UT Martin.

Dr. Shaw was born in Taiwan and earned his Bachelor of Science from the Fu-Jen Catholic University. Dr. Shaw moved to the United States in 1986. It was then that he earned both his Master and Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut.

Growing up, Dr. Shaw had several heroes, all of whom were biologist. These heroes like Robert Hooke, Theordore Schwann, and Louis Pasteur all played key roles in helping Dr. Shaw decide to major in Biology, as well as the fascination with the function of the human body.

"In college, I was particularly fascinated by the function of the human body and the feedback mechanism of hormonal regulation when I took a course in Human Physiology."

Before Dr. Shaw began teaching full time at the collegiate level, he spent two years doing postdoctoral research with Northwestern University. Dr. Shaw didn't always know he wanted to be a teacher. In Taiwan, Dr. Shaw spent time helping his nieces and nephews study for their entrance exams, much like the ACT test in the United States.

"Tutoring and teaching is very rewarding especially when you see the smiling faces on people you are helping because they understand the material. I, in particular, love to figure out effective ways to assist people to learn and to learn better."

Dr. Shaw seems to be everyone's favorite teacher. Dr. Shaw says that by challenging the students in a friendly way with assignments and asking them to share what they have learned with the class, he can really connect with the students and build personal relationships. Dr. Shaw creates meaningful and simple homework that can aid their learning.

Dr. Shaw also rewards the students when they exceed by awarding them with gift cards if they receive the highest score on any exam. When asked what made a great teacher, Dr. Shaw said that what it all bears down to whether or not teachers care about the students.

"I believe that a great teacher genuinely cares about all his/her students' learning and their well-being. A good teacher always does his/her homework before each class period; a great teacher knows how to entertain and entice students' to learn and to do their homework."

Biology major, Justin Jones says, "Dr. Shaw is just an overall nice guy. He is very knowledgeable and passionate about science. He is always searching for ways to help his students succeed in his class. His class is probably my very favorite."

After Dr. Shaw retires from teaching, he might like to do research or any other scholarly activities. He also would like to do some traveling around the world. Dr. Shaw would like to leave his students with the idea that each one of them is a unique gift,

"Chances favor the prepared mind. Everybody has the fair shot to become great," said Shaw.