Communications Forum: “Excellence in Teaching”

The Communications Forum “Excellence in Teaching” forum will be held on Thursday, March 3, 2016 and will feature MIT Literature professor David Thorburn as well as former US Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky. Thursday, March 3, 2016 5:00 – 7:00 pm Room 3-270, MIT Abstract What separates a good teacher from a great one? How are digital technologies challenging traditional teaching methods? And are there distinctions between top-notch science instructors and their counterparts in humanities or social science? Former poet laureate Robert Pinsky, Weisskopf Professor of Physics Alan Guth and MIT biology professor Hazel Sive—all honored teachers—will explore these issues with Literature professor and Communications Forum director emeritus David Thorburn. Speakers David Thorburn is an MIT Literature professor, director emeritus of the Communications Forum, and a past winner of MIT’s MacVicar award for exemplary contributions to undergraduate teaching. Robert Pinsky is a three-term US Poet Laureate. He is a recipient of the William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society of America and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the PEN American Center. Alan Guth is MIT’s Victor F. Weisskopf Professor of Physics, pioneer of the inflationary model of the universe and recipient of the MacVicar award for exemplary contributions to undergraduate teaching. Hazel Sive is a biology professor at MIT, a member of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and a recipient of the MacVicar award for exemplary contributions to undergraduate teaching. For more information, head to: http://web.mit.edu/comm-forum/forums/Excellence_In_Teaching.html