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Professors learn, become students in Faculty Terrier Days

Terry Everson, a professor in the College of Fine Arts, is one of the professors opening his classes to faculty members this week as part of the Faculty Terrier Days. PHOTO BY KRISHNA SHARMA/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Terry Everson, a professor in the College of Fine Arts, is one of the professors opening his classes to faculty members this week as part of the Faculty Terrier Days. PHOTO BY KRISHNA SHARMA/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Boston University commenced its first annual Faculty Terrier Days Monday, in which professors can participate in classes other faculty members teach, said STEM Education Initiatives director Bennett Goldberg.

BU’s Center for Teaching and Learning partnered with STEM Education Initiatives, from the Office of the Provost, to organize the five-day Faculty Terrier Days, which Goldberg said aims to create proactive conversations about teaching methods on campus.

“If you open classrooms for faculty to go and visit each other, it can start to generate more talking about teaching and learning,” Goldberg said. “It can give faculty more exposure to different kinds of teaching that’s happening on campus. It can help people who maybe want to try something new.”

The program, which will host the last set of classes Friday, allows faculty members to choose from 165 free classes in different subjects. Classes range from photography to chemistry labs to online journalism seminars, Goldberg said.

“We frequently … invite people to hear our ideas at seminars or workshops, but we don’t really invite them into our classrooms,” Goldberg said. “Open classrooms brings the idea of teaching to the same level of sharing as we would our scholarship.”

Goldberg said he has received a lot of support across the university since he proposed the idea of an open classroom.

“The provost and the dean and the chairman and the faculty have all been really supportive,” Goldberg said. “I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from people, so it wasn’t hard to convince anyone [to participate]. It doesn’t cost much.”

Faculty Terrier Days is a positive way of exchanging ideas among professors, University Provost Jean Morrison said. The wide range of classes also enables almost any professor the opportunity to attend an open class, Morrison added.

“It’s a really good idea for faculty to get new ideas and learn from their peers about innovative and creative teaching approaches,” Morrison said. “It’s all designed to improve the quality of undergraduate education.”

Morrison said Faculty Terrier Days is a valuable addition to BU, as the open classes provide firsthand experience to new ideas instead of simply listening to a lecture.

“You’re doing collaborative learning and interactive learning,” Morrison said. “These are the ideas that we hope faculty can pick up from their colleagues. You can never share too many good ideas. You don’t have to go to a conference, all you have to do is select a peer’s class at BU and go. It’s an easy fun way to see something new and different.”

Jay Halfond, a professor in the Metropolitan College Graduate Programs in Management, said though he had never experienced Faculty Terrier Days before, the program would allow faculty members to see teaching methods from a different perspective.

“All too often, we treat the classroom as our private sanctuary and rarely invite in visitors, except in formal situations where faculty members are being evaluated,” he said. “We need more transparency in the art of teaching.”

Halfond said the program will benefit not only faculty, but also the BU student community in the long run.

“I admire the openness and confidence of the faculty who volunteered to participate, and expect their teaching will improve as a result,” Halfond said. “When faculty share ideas about how to improve their teaching, students are the ultimate beneficiary.”

Several students said they are looking forward to seeing the impact of Faculty Terrier Days on professors in the future.

Ying Xing, a second-year graduate student in the Metropolitan College, said Faculty Terrier Days would improve the teaching methods of some professors.

“Teachers can improve their teaching by going to different classes,” Xing said. “One of the professors who goes to a lecture will be challenged to think about how he or she currently teaches.”

Alexandra Schley, a freshman in the College of Communication, said Faculty Terrier Days will allow professors to innovate their teaching strategies.

“Some of my classes could be a lot more interesting if my professors did different things to teach us the information,” Schley said. “This program will be helpful for some teachers who are looking for new ways to teach their curriculum.”

Abbey Weis, a sophomore in the Questrom School of Business, said she hopes professors will learn about students’ perceptive after attending open classes.

“[Faculty Terrier Days] is cool because it will give teachers an alternative perspective,” Weis said. “It seems like a good way down the road to see if going to these classes will help and seeing how professors teach down the road.”

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One Comment

  1. “Boston University commenced its first annual Faculty Terrier Days Monday, in which professors can participate in classes [that] other faculty members teach…”

    I think you are missing a “that”.