June 3, 2010
Media contact: Anne Russell
Cell: 604-798-3709
Office: 604-795-2826
anne.russell@ufv.ca
Former UFV student Glen Baier now Teaching Excellence award winner
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| Glen Baier on the UFV Chilliwack campus, where he began his post-secondary journey. |
If you want to be a great teacher, you should learn from great teachers. That’s a lesson one could take from the selection of
Dr. Glen Baier of Yarrow as this year’s winner of the Teaching Excellence award at the University of the Fraser Valley. Baier teaches philosophy at UFV.
One of UFV’s defining features is the focus on teaching excellence that has been in place since the 1970s. Baier can attest to that, as he started his post-secondary education at what was then Fraser Valley College back in 1982.
He was so enthralled with the instruction and the subject matter of his courses, particularly the philosophy ones, that he was inspired to continue his education and become an academic philosopher himself. Baier’s family owned the Ford dealership that backs onto the UFV Chilliwack campus, and while working there he would look over the fence with curiosity about what was going on in the halls of higher education.
“Once I did my first semester I was hooked,” he says “I really loved philosophy right from the start. The college was a very encouraging and responsive place. It was a good place to get an idea of what was involved in a career in academia. I came in as an unfocused youth unable to write an essay and left well prepared to go on in the academic world.”
After three semesters at Fraser Valley College, Baier continued his education at UBC, earning a BA, and at McMaster University, where he earned an MA and PhD.
The current and former UFV students who supported Baier’s nomination for the Teaching Excellence award speak highly of his engaging and theatrical teaching style, and his copious use of humour to explain and expand upon what many consider to be dry subject matter. They might be surprised to find out that he’s actually quite shy.
“I had an intense fear of public speaking, but I knew that if I wanted to be a philosopher, I would have to teach and speak in front of students,” he recalls. “So I made teaching my primary objective, and put considerable effort into it. I did what the teachers I had liked had done, and stole from mentors like Paul Herman and Scott Fast. I emulated Paul’s thoroughness and Scott’s loud and animated presentation style. I approach lectures as a performance because I know we’re competing for students’ attention, especially now when they bring technology with them to the classroom.”
He may bring a lot of passion and humour to his lectures, but Baier doesn’t bring a lot of props.
“I’m a bit of a dinosaur when it comes to teaching style,” he acknowledges. “I’m a chalk-and-talk kind of guy. I can’t operate equipment and I don’t do Powerpoint. The instructors that I was drawn to used a Socratic teaching method where you work through a question or problem as a group -- more of a conversational approach as opposed to a lecturing style -- and I have continued that tradition.
“We like to slow things down in philosophy. This is a major challenge for many of our students: taking the time to think things through thoroughly. I remember times when it would be two months after I had finished a course and I would suddenly think, ‘that’s what he meant’ in reference to something my instructor had said. Our culture doesn’t reward this deep approach to thought much. I try to provide an opportunity to think about stuff that we don’t normally get the chance to think about, and to provide a safe place in which to do it.”
Baier has been a full-time instructor at UFV since 2001, and worked as a part-time sessional at several different institutions for a few years.
“When I was a sessional I was teaching 12 months a year. One year, I was at nine different campuses. It was instrumental to my success because it really gave me a chance to develop my teaching skills and adjust to different student demographics.”
From 2003 to 2009, he was also Philosophy and Politics department head, and in that role he steered a successful proposal to add majors in philosophy and political science to the UFV menu.
The student letters received in support of his nomination for the teaching excellence award reflect their admiration for him.
“Glen’s ability to command the attention of a classroom with his energy and enthusiasm is remarkable. His capacity to communicate difficult ideas to a heterogeneous audience is rare. The true shining gem amongst all of his abilities, though, is his ability to inspire his students to do their best,” notes one.
“Glen is the only lecturer whom I have ever seen who was able to keep a class laughing for three consecutive hours,” notes another. “And the strangest thing is, when the three hours are up you find that you are disappointed that it’s over and surprised that you learned so much. You can write him a five-word question about philosophy and he will write you back within 12 hours with a 500-word answer.”
“I, as well as other students within my discipline, have made a point of forming my academic schedule specifically to include a class taught by Glenn,” notes a third. “He is one of the best instructors at our university and one of the more interesting people around our campus. His classes are never boring, and always create an environment where each student feels comfortable offering up ideas and asking questions.”
Baier is married to Anastasia Anderson, also a philosophy instructor at UFV, and they have three teenage children. When asked if there’s a lot of philosophical debate around the dinner table, Baier notes that everyone knows that they’d better be able to support their argument with facts when making a case.
As for how he feels about receiving the Teaching Excellence award, Baier admits to being excited by the honour.
“Socrates said that philosophers shouldn’t be into awards, but it’s nice to have my efforts recognized,” he says. “I, like so many other faculty members at UFV, really focus on teaching methods and approaches. So, to be honoured in this way resonates, and also emphasizes the value UFV places on teaching.”
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