The Bad Teacher Was A Good Inspiration

In the classroom with her Danish teacher, she could interpret a text however she liked – as long as she could argue her case. In the physics lab, the teacher had favourites – and at times she felt almost excluded as a pupil.

But both the inspiring Danish teacher and the less engaging physics teacher from her school days have given tenure-track Assistant Professor Anne Wagner experiences to draw on – and, importantly, to avoid – in her own teaching. And those lessons have been well applied, as on 22 January Anne Wagner will be honoured with the 2025 Teaching Award, presented by the SCIENCE Council, which consists of students from the Faculty of Science.

“If we go all the way back to primary school, I probably use the negative experiences most today. My physics teacher wasn’t very engaging in the way he addressed us. If I didn’t understand something, I could be left feeling it was hard to change his perception of me. I try to open up dialogue and be attentive and curious about the student,” says Anne Wagner.

Building students’ academic skills

In Anne Wagner’s office you’ll find, among other things, a two-metre-long spirit level and numerous cardboard boxes containing drawings and sketches from both urban and rural settings, as well as small plastic bags filled with seashells, ceramic fragments and bits of waste. Or, as Anne Wagner calls them: “elements from a learning space”.

She teaches landscape architecture – a discipline that is at once highly concrete and deeply abstract. In her words, it’s about creating a sustainable approach to transforming and shaping the landscapes and urban spaces we inhabit. Central to the course she teaches is both the experience of and the physical world itself.

This means that in her subject, students might design a bench for a public space, or create something that, from the outside, could resemble a piece of performance art – but which is intended to demonstrate an approach to experiencing, understanding and engaging with a landscape.

“I’ve had students who staged a session where you had to walk barefoot in a circle on the small island of Middelgrundsfortet in the Øresund, listening to a special audio recording. The idea was to connect with the earth, the voice in your ear and the water surrounding the island,” says Anne Wagner, who herself believes the subject demands a lot from students.

“They have to put a lot of themselves into it, and they need to learn to live with the uncertainty that comes with being in a design process. Creatively, you’re quite free – yet still within a narrow framework. I enjoy helping to build students’ academic skills: giving them the tools they need, but in a way that allows their own personality to shine through,” she says.

Recognition in challenging times

And the students appreciate it:

“Before the presentation we were a bit sceptical and nervous because we felt we didn’t have much to show. But the comments and feedback we got from you really gave us a spark, new ideas and new perspectives.”

“It felt like you genuinely tried to understand our vision! … The guidance was also great because you directed us, helped us and gave good advice, while still being very open to our own ideas,” reads an example of the feedback Anne Wagner has received.

Unsurprisingly, she is delighted with the award:

“Both for myself and for my colleagues. I’ve developed these courses in close collaboration with them. They’ve helped brainstorm, create and teach. It’s truly a joint effort,” Anne Wagner emphasises.

“I choose to see it as recognition of our combined efforts and of the fact that the students have enjoyed the teaching. It’s nice in a time when our field is under severe financial pressure,” she says.

Every year, the SCIENCE Council presents the SCIENCE Teaching Award to an outstanding and dedicated lecturer at the faculty. The award recognises the vital role teachers play in educating future academics and serves as a way to celebrate and reward exceptional contributions.

The winner receives a cash prize of DKK 25,000, as well as an additional grant of DKK 50,000 to further develop teaching within the team the lecturer is part of. This grant can be used to cover expenses for materials, teaching assistants, technology or other resources that can enhance the learning experience for students.