CAS Outstanding Teaching Fellow Awards

CAS Outstanding Teaching Fellow Awards

Academic Year 2011/12

Thursday, May 3, 2012

3:30 p.m.

CAS 200

CAS Outstanding Teaching Fellows, Academic Year 2011/12

Most of our PhD students are planning to enter the academy, and as such, the training, guidance, and experience we give them in developing their skills as teachers and academic mentors is a critical part of their graduate training. As teaching fellows, these teacher/scholars play very important roles in contributing to the high quality of undergraduate education at Boston University. Very often they are the instructors who get to know our undergraduates best in the earliest stages of their college careers. Each year we honor the best of our teaching fellows—those who stand out already in making a major difference in the teaching mission of Boston University. Please join me in admiring their dedication and work, and in wishing them well as they continue to grow as educators through their later careers.

—Virginia Sapiro, Dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences

American & New England Studies

Sarah Leventer

Sarah served as a teaching fellow in Fall 2011 for Professor Pat Hills in AH 398: Twentieth-Century American Art and Professor Hills called her “the best teaching fellow she ever had.” This spring, Sarah worked with Professor Bruce Schulman in HI 339:The United States Since 1968. By mid-February, Professor Schulman stated that she “is a wonder. I just want to let you know that Sarah Leventer has been doing an outstanding job as my teaching fellow. Faced with a less-than-ideal situation (no assigned sections, etc.), she has added huge value to the course. She’s also remarkably mature and well-organized.Rarely have I benefitted so much from a TF.” With such accolades from two faculty members in two different departments, the selection of Sarah for the award was an easy call.

Anthropology

Caitlin O’Connell

Caitlin is a third-year graduate student studying the behavioral endocrinology of wild orangutans under the supervision of Dr. Cheryl Knott. An exceptionally talented young scholar, she has a passion for science and a gift for inspiring her students. She has been the head teaching fellow for AN 102: Introduction to Biological Anthropology this year, and has taught both the summer and extension school versions of this course on her own. Caitlinhas made the subject more enjoyable and more approachable for the hundreds of students who take it each year. Even more impressively,Caitlin has demonstrated great leadership in helping the four other teaching fellows (who are cultural anthropology graduate students) better understand material that is sometimes unfamiliar to them. This year, because of her demonstrated competence and leadership in AN 102, the faculty in biological anthropologytrusted her to lead the development of eleven weekly 2-hour laboratory exercises for the new and improved lab version of the AN 102 course. The labs have been enormously successful and would not have been possible without her leadership and dedication. As a valuable colleague and an indispensable part of our teaching program, Caitlin O’Connell is strongly deserving of recognition as an Outstanding Teaching Fellow.

Archaeology

Ilaria Pantania

Ilaria Pantania has served as a teaching fellow for AR 100: Great Discoveries in Archaeologyfor two consecutive semesters. Ilaria started teaching AR100 during a transitional phase in which we were dramatically expanding enrollments in the class (enrollments this semester were 387) and changing the course format by adding discussion sections. These discussion sections are planned and run by the teaching fellows.Ilaria has done an excellent job in developing a complementary curriculum for the discussion sections. Students have commented on how much they enjoy her discussion sections and the class presentation and exercises she introduced and developed. She also presented in the lecture section on the archaeology of China and did an outstanding job.Ilaria pushes students to do their best and is strongly committed to education.Ilaria exemplifies the type of teaching fellows that make our undergraduate program in archaeology so successful.

Astronomy

Karen Williamson

Karen is a second-year student in Astronomy, working toward her PhDin Astrophysics. She is currently the TF in AS100, one of thelargest Astronomy classes ever taught, meaning one where every sectionis at capacity. She handles most of the class administration for thiscomplex class, including managing Blackboard and IT, lecture revisionsin PowerPoint, making one-page summaries of each lecture, and theoverall grade book.The grade book alone includes a dizzying amountof information from hourly exams, discussion section quizzes,homework, planetarium and Night Labs, and extra-point options. She also runs three discussion sections, keeping them engaging andlively.In summary, Karen Williamson functions at an Instructorlevel, going well beyond the requirements for a teaching fellow.

Biology

Sarah Oppelt

Sarah Oppelt was nominated by Professor Stjepko Golubic, who writes that the “excellence and independence in her teaching deserves this acknowledgement.” Sarah has served as a TF for both BI 311: Microbiology and BI 114: Human Infectious Disease, anon-majors course.Her student evaluations are exceptional, averaging 4.87 in the overall rating of instructor category. Many students have written that she is helpful, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic, and that she is the “BEST TF” they’ve had at BU.

Boston UniversityMarine Program (BUMP)

Eli Romero

Eli Romero’s performance in BI/ES 539: Coral Reef Dynamicswas truly outstanding. This Marine Semester course featured a 10-day excursion to a rustic marine lab located on a mangrove island, 8 miles off the coast of southern Belize. Given the logistical difficulties of conducting research under relatively primitive conditions, Eli’s work began in earnest several weeks before the actual start of the class. Furthermore, his knowledge of the Belizean barrier reef proved critical to planning the field trips that would be required by each student project. As a native Belizean, Eli was also invaluable in dealing with key contacts in country, including faculty at the University of Belize, officials in the Environmental Research Institute, and hardware vendors. Student evaluations of Eli’s performance were effusively positive. Eli’s average score for “Overall Instructor Rating” on the course evaluation forms was 4.91 ± 0.3 out of 5.0 (with 11 of 11 students responding). This was the top score by a TF in all of our 11 Marine Semester courses in 2011. The sentiments expressed in the comments section were consistently complimentary of Eli’s performance. As one student put it, “Eli was always there to help us with our project. He was enthusiastic, easy-going, and explained things very well.” Another student commented that Eli “knows pretty much everything about everything around Belize and is great at teaching us about things.” A third student called him “the go-to guy in Belize,” while a fourth exclaimed “Thank God for Eli!”

Chemistry

Leigh Foster

For the past two years, Leigh Foster has been fantastic as a discussion leader in General Chemistry 101 & 102. Her dedication and commitment to teaching is evident in the praise she receives from both students and faculty.In particular, her students appreciate her ability to clearly and effectively convey difficult concepts in a way that makes them accessible and more interesting. One student said, “She’s the reason I am understanding this difficult course.” One of the instructors with whom Leigh works remarked, “I believe with the dedication she has for the course, [Leigh] has raised the standards for what kind of work is expected of a discussion TF.” Leigh is a fourth-year MA/PhD student in the research lab of Professor John Straub. She entered the program as a Dean’s Fellow and was subsequently awarded an ACES Fellowship by the Center for Computational Sciences. She currently studies the effect of sequence and environment on the structure and change of amyloid precursor protein. In other words, Leigh studies the genesis of amyloid beta, a protein associated with Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, and Parkinson’s disease.The Chemistry Department faculty, staff, and students are grateful for Leigh’s service and are highly enthusiastic about her being recognized with this award.

Classical Studies

Michael Wheeler

Mike Wheeler has been a teaching fellow in our graduate program since Fall 2008. During the last four years, he has had a variety of teaching assignments, in all of which he has performed with great ability, dedication, and effectiveness. This year, he has taught with particular success two stand-alone Latin classes, one inBeginning Latin, and the other in a fourth-semester class on Vergil’s Aeneid.In Beginning Latin, Mike was particularly effective in getting students to memorize vast amount of Latin forms and to understand the intricacies of grammar byusing a variety of strategies, especially patience and good humor.He similarly developed a strong rapport with students when teaching the Aeneid, getting them excited by the beauty of Vergilian poetics. Mike’sown research focuses primarily on the poet Catullus.Heis currently writing his dissertation prospectus on Catullus’ use of obscenity and invective, important themes when studying the shifting persona of the “I” in his poetry.This promises to be a fruitful topic—and fun.Mike is an excellent teacher and a serious young scholar with a sense of humor. We are confident that he has a fine career ahead of him.

Computer Science

Dan Schatzberg

Dan Schatzberg is a PhD candidate at the Computer Science Department of CAS. His research interests are in novel system software for advanced parallel computers. Dan has servedwith distinctionas a teaching fellow for the required Introduction to Computer Systems course. Dan effectively brings his passion for computer systems, exceptional systems programming skills, and care for undergraduate education to his teaching. His teaching evaluations consistently show his excellence in communicating systems concepts,his knowledge of and enthusiasm for the subject he teaches,his dedication and care for his students, and his ability to stimulate their thinking and develop their understanding.

EarthSciences

Samantha Wright

Samantha Wright received outstanding evaluations from the classes she taught (4.64, 4.8, and 4.81 out of 5). We report here some admirable comments from the students: “Samantha is very willing to help, very patient with the class.” “Samantha is very approachable and nice, always very available by email or in her office.” “Samantha was great in explaining the lab concepts and answering our questions.”

Economics

Amrit Amirapu

Amrit Amirapu has long been passionate about teaching.In fact, before starting his PhD in economics, he taught math and economics in a high school in Waltham, MA.When askedabout his views of teaching, he replied, “I had a lot of great teachers growing up, and I think it made a big difference in my life. A good teacher should open doors, either by helping you acquire certain skills or stimulating your interest in something. I don't know how successful I am, but I hope I’m able to do some of those things for some of my students.” The economics department nominated Amrit bothbecause of his excellent teaching and for his remarkable dedication in the way he helps out both instructors and his fellow TFs. Amrit’sresearch interests are in the fields of development economics and organizational economics.

English

Michael Hogan

A seasoned classroom presence—and veteran secondary-school instructor—Michael Hogan has honed his performance in recent semesters to the point where he now routinely garners scores of 4.5+ (out of a possible 5) from his students, who express warm admiration in their evaluations for everything from his mastery at leading discussions to his ability to help them improve their writing. He enjoyed perfect scores, in fact, in the EN 127: Literary Types: Poetry section he managed last fall, for his “availability outside of class”and “quality of feedback to students,”along with an “overall instructor rating”of 4.889. Professor Laura Korobkin, who mentored Michael’s class last semester, likewise spokewarmly about her own experience in the two sessions she visited, remarking how impressed she was “with Mike’s ability to draw students into a nuanced and deeply engaged discussion of poetic form as well as to guide them in careful close readings of specific poems,”and how “his passion for poetry is infectious.”Professor Lee also offered high praise for Michael’s teaching. Michael served as his teaching fellow in an EN 220 course, where he proved an “insightful commentator,”an “excellent facilitator of discussions,”and ultimately “as much a co-teacher as a TF.”While moving ahead with his scholarly pursuits alongside his advanced peers in our discipline, Michael has demonstrated a commitment to teaching that distinguishes him even among the dedicated young professionals we have long enjoyed in our department.

Geography & Environment

Valerie Pasquarella

Valerie is an amazing TF!She is sincerely dedicated to putting in the time and thought necessary to ensure that our students have the best and most productive experience possible.As the sole teaching fellow for GE 375: Introduction to Quantitative Environmental Modeling this year, she has been extremely helpful in working with the course instructor to coordinate materials between the lecture and lab portions of our class, is consistently organized and well-prepared, and is always looking for ways to streamline and improve the lab portion of this course, as well as providing the instructor with feedback to help improve the course overall. Valerie has vastly overshot even the maximum requirements for her teaching fellow position, and she puts the same level of thorough care and thoughtfulness into all of her other endeavors here at BU.

History

Aaron Hiltner

Aaron Hiltner graduated summa cum laude and with honors in history from the Minnesota liberal arts college Gustavus Adolphus, where he also twice won the DeNault Award for best undergraduate history paper. He joined the Boston University History Department as a PhD student in modern American history in Fall 2010. Aaron has served as a grader for several classes and earned high praise from students as a teaching fellow for HI300: American Popular Culture. During the next academic year, he will become the assistant editor for Modern Intellectual History, complete his qualifying exams, and begin work on a dissertation that uncovers the history of Saigon during the Vietnam War from French, American, and Vietnamese points of view.

History of Art & Architecture

Melanee Harvey

Melanee Harvey is a natural-born teacher. She has been a teaching fellow for the last three semesters and has also taught her own course in last year’s Summer Term. She is poised, prepared, and has an excellent presence. She listens to the students, has encouraging words for them, and then restates their words into the more sophisticated language of artistic discourse. This helps the students hone their own interpretations. But she is also very down-to-earth and hence very accessible to them, even while holding them to high standards. Student evaluations comment on her encouragement of students to participate. One student wrote: “Harvey was very encouraging and energetic.She was clear in her explanation of assignments and her expectations throughout the semester.Very friendly and overall an understanding and nice person.” Another said: “Melanee is such an engaging instructor; she lets everyone participate and encourages everyone to be involved.She knows what she’s talking about, is friendly, and approachable…Also:She knows our names!! ...Discussion is extremely helpful and helps clarify and summarize all of the scattered information gathered from lecture.EXCELLENT.” Her research interests focus on African American art and artists. She will be writing her dissertation on African American artists and the Black church.

Mathematics & Statistics

Elizabeth Fitzgibbon

Liz Fitzgibbon is working in dynamical systems. She is one of our best teaching fellowsever.She came to us with extensive experience teaching high school and has become a leader, helping with teaching fellow training and playing an essential role in the renovation of our Calculus sequence.In answer to the “What are the strengths of this teaching fellow?” questions on student evaluations from Calculus last semester (over 180 of them!),a typical answer was “Liz is always very helpful and friendly when answering questions. She is willing to work one-on-one and work with you until you feel comfortablewith the material.” In answer to the question, “What are the weaknesses of this teaching fellow?” a significant number found one flaw with Liz: “There is only one of her.” The department agrees.

Neuroscience

Sam McKenzie

Sam McKenzie served as a graduate teaching fellow for CAS NE 203: Principles of Neuroscience w/Lab, in Fall 2011. Sam’s passion for science and his willingness to work with and on behalf of his students is plainly evident to everyone who meets and works with him, including his students, peers, and course instructors. Week after week, Sam went to heroic lengths to ensure that hisstudents understood course material. On top of a highly active and productive research program of his own, he held extra office hours when necessary, worked with students individually, and brought them into his lab to further demonstrate concepts germane to the course. The following are excerpts from his post-course evaluations. “…very passionate about the subject AND about us learning and getting interested in Neuro…he gives really good feedback on how to improve and how to survive the class. Best TF on campus as far as I’m concerned.” “Sam is the bomb diggity.” “Sam is very passionate about helping students succeed and understand the material that’s relevant to the lab. Without fail, he has provided encouragement and support, and has been extremely helpful.” Perhaps most importantly, Sam treated his students as equals. To him, they were people first, each with a unique background that for some was more or less suited to the subject. Sam is a truly dedicated mentor, whose promise of success is apparent in each of his academic and professional endeavors.