USC’s Center for Teaching Excellence announced the recipients of the 2025 Garnet Apple Award for Teaching Innovation, recognizing exceptional educators who enhance student learning through innovative teaching practices. Winners will be honored at the 2025 Oktoberbest: Symposium on Teaching on Friday, Oct. 17.
Among this year’s honorees is the iSchool's Vanessa Kitzie, Ph.D., whose teaching reflects a dynamic, inclusive and critically engaged approach rooted in constructionist, participatory and queer pedagogies. Drawing on critical pedagogy, feminist theory and digital literacy research, Kitzie centers students as creators of knowledge through interactive, research-based learning experiences.
I design my courses to immerse students in hands-on, participatory learning experiences that encourage active problem-solving and deep engagement with course content. Rather than relying on traditional lectures and exams, my courses emphasize student-driven learning through interactive media, storytelling, and game-based education.
Her courses emphasize social justice, ethical technology use and real-world application, guiding students to critically examine issues such as algorithmic bias, information privilege and classification systems. Notable student projects include educational games, AI audits and children’s books on algorithmic bias.
Kitzie also developed a structured AI policy to help students engage with generative technologies in ethical and critical ways. Her mentorship has led to student publications, conference presentations and collaborative research on LGBTQIA+ information access.
Kitzie’s teaching promotes critical thinking, interdisciplinary inquiry and a deep commitment to equity in information systems.
iSchool director Lyda Fontes McCartin, Ph.D., addressed Kitzie's teaching excellence by quoting a former student: "Dr. Kitzie is an AMAZING TEACHER, 10/10 RECOMMEND!”
As lead faculty of the undergraduate information science major, she has expanded enrollment, strengthened transfer pathways and deepened community partnerships with organizations such as the Harriett Hancock Center and the Transgender Awareness Alliance.