PUBLISHED by The Daily Free Press
Timbaland's "Apologize," a plastic microphone and a karaoke machine are just some of the state-of-the-art tools used to teach Boston University graduate students all they need to know about law.
School of Law professor Mark Pettit said he uses nearly 20 years' worth of student-written parodies in his class to encourage student participation and create an easy-going atmosphere to contrast the intimidating image of law school.
"If I make myself look ridiculous, students are much more willing to participate," Pettit said. "They don't have to worry so much about saying something that's going to make them look ridiculous."
Pettit said he began singing in his first-year Contracts class after a student wrote a poem about a case the class was studying and Pettit read it aloud. Many poems followed, and then a case spurred a lyric to the tune of The Brady Bunch theme song. Pettit said his students have been adding to his repertoire ever since.
"[The songs] make it more accessible to talk to the professor, because he shows an interest in students, and you know that he's not some grumpy troll," said first-year law student Wendy Smith.
Smith said Pettit's teaching methods help make dry material more interesting and reduce anxiety about answering questions. This year, she said she co-wrote a song to Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline," and Pettit performed it in class after the Red Sox won the World Series.
Pettit said even though he has been performing in class since 1987, he is still nervous before each song because some are difficult to sing.
"Some of my performances were very weak indeed," he said. "But I think students get a kick out of it. I think part of the thing is that I'm not a great singer, and that's what makes it [funnier]."
First-year law student Ross Bul said the songs occasionally help him remember basic concepts of the cases discussed in class. Pettit's teaching style is "as engaging as his songs," Bul said in an email.
"[Pettit will] play devil's advocate to your point or jokingly yell at you to make you think you are wrong ... to get you to verbalize your answer," Bul said.
Pettit said his colleagues think his songs' growing publicity is good for BU Law and law school in general because those programs can be intimidating and students need to know it can also be fun. The Princeton Review recognized Pettit as the first for faculty quality among a list of 40 top-rated professors.
"There's no other law professor like him in the country," Bul said.
Showing posts with label faculty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label faculty. Show all posts
Friday, April 10, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Instructors can reduce book costs, prof says
PUBLISHED by The Daily Free Press
Although buying and reselling used textbooks at the campus bookstore is convenient for most students, it's not always possible to deal in used books for some courses that require the newest editions of their texts.
New editions, customized textbooks and supplemental materials are all price-increasing options for professors when it comes time to assign books each semester, Boston University College of Arts and Sciences Anthropology professor Thomas Barfield said.
"There's more than meets the eye [in regards to the textbook industry]," he said. "And students have a right to see it."
Barfield said he requires students to have new editions of textbooks only if the bookstore is short on the old edition, but publishers put out new editions when the old one stops making money, regardless of whether there is updated information in it.
"It's a toss-up to say whether it is an improvement or not," he said. "Textbooks are a big money-maker."
He said the book he required for his Anthropology 101 class last semester, Cultural Anthropology: The Human Challenge was half-priced because copies were left over from the year before. Professors should look for similar deals and choose supplemental material carefully to keep prices low, he said.
"[Publishers] will try to sell you a CD-ROM [and other features], and you can usually get it cheaper if you don't want those," Barfield said. "It's important for an instructor to see what can be stripped off or what should be kept."
College of Communication freshman Peisin Yang said she bought Cultural Anthropology last semester, but the Barnes & Noble at BU would not buy it back from her because Barfield did not assign it this semester.
"They told me it was customized for BU," she said. "I was definitely smarter about buying my books this semester. I checked Amazon and other places . . . because obviously I don't want to spend more money if I know I can't get any of it back."
Barnes & Noble does not buy back customized textbooks that cannot be used in future semesters, Barnes & Noble College Booksellers Vice President Jade Roth said.
"A textbook customized to a particular school doesn't have any value nationally," she said.
Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences nutrition professor Joan Salge-Blake said updating the textbook she authored, Nutrition and You, is essential for Nutrition 201.
"Nutrition is a moving target, so you have to update it," she said.
Finding the latest and most helpful information is the professor's most important job, said Bruce Hildebrand, executive director for higher education at the Association of American Publishers.
"You want [faculty] riding on the cutting edge," he said. "Faculty may look at 100 different textbooks and 400 to 500 supplemental materials."
Hildebrand said professors should chose editions and supplemental materials according to what information is most beneficial to the students. If a professor wants to, they can usually always stay with an old edition, he said.
"If the faculty doesn't think the changes are adequate, they won't order it," he said.
Although buying and reselling used textbooks at the campus bookstore is convenient for most students, it's not always possible to deal in used books for some courses that require the newest editions of their texts.
New editions, customized textbooks and supplemental materials are all price-increasing options for professors when it comes time to assign books each semester, Boston University College of Arts and Sciences Anthropology professor Thomas Barfield said.
"There's more than meets the eye [in regards to the textbook industry]," he said. "And students have a right to see it."
Barfield said he requires students to have new editions of textbooks only if the bookstore is short on the old edition, but publishers put out new editions when the old one stops making money, regardless of whether there is updated information in it.
"It's a toss-up to say whether it is an improvement or not," he said. "Textbooks are a big money-maker."
He said the book he required for his Anthropology 101 class last semester, Cultural Anthropology: The Human Challenge was half-priced because copies were left over from the year before. Professors should look for similar deals and choose supplemental material carefully to keep prices low, he said.
"[Publishers] will try to sell you a CD-ROM [and other features], and you can usually get it cheaper if you don't want those," Barfield said. "It's important for an instructor to see what can be stripped off or what should be kept."
College of Communication freshman Peisin Yang said she bought Cultural Anthropology last semester, but the Barnes & Noble at BU would not buy it back from her because Barfield did not assign it this semester.
"They told me it was customized for BU," she said. "I was definitely smarter about buying my books this semester. I checked Amazon and other places . . . because obviously I don't want to spend more money if I know I can't get any of it back."
Barnes & Noble does not buy back customized textbooks that cannot be used in future semesters, Barnes & Noble College Booksellers Vice President Jade Roth said.
"A textbook customized to a particular school doesn't have any value nationally," she said.
Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences nutrition professor Joan Salge-Blake said updating the textbook she authored, Nutrition and You, is essential for Nutrition 201.
"Nutrition is a moving target, so you have to update it," she said.
Finding the latest and most helpful information is the professor's most important job, said Bruce Hildebrand, executive director for higher education at the Association of American Publishers.
"You want [faculty] riding on the cutting edge," he said. "Faculty may look at 100 different textbooks and 400 to 500 supplemental materials."
Hildebrand said professors should chose editions and supplemental materials according to what information is most beneficial to the students. If a professor wants to, they can usually always stay with an old edition, he said.
"If the faculty doesn't think the changes are adequate, they won't order it," he said.
Prof.'s abroad program gives students look at poverty
PUBLISHED by The Daily Free Press
Some impoverished Brazilian children walk down a mountain to school every day, past armed men controlled by local drug lords. A Boston University professor gives law students the chance to see this scene for themselves.
BU law professor Kevin Outterson started the "poorism" study-abroad program in Brazil four years ago at West Virginia University, and he is considering bringing the program to BU. His trip combines education at the university at Getulio Vargas Foundation Rio de Janeiro, with tours of Brazilian slums, known as favelas, through the touring company Be a Local.
"Most of the students say it's the most transformative experience of their lives," Outterson said.
Outterson said his goal is to introduce students to the favelas' legal culture just as he was exposed to it on trips to South America as an attorney.
"I want lawyers who think about the impact of what they are doing on the poor," he said. "Awareness is important because lawyers are in the position where they can do something."
Outterson, who is in his first year at BU, said he does not yet have concrete plans to establish a similar program through the International Programs office, but if graduate students express interest in the trip, he will take them with WVU students in July.
Be a Local founder Luiz Fantozzi said he began the company to show the world the reality of poor communities.
"The favela is real," Fantozzi said. "It's impoverished, right beside a rich neighborhood."
With permission from local drug lords who act as the authority in the Rocinha, the largest favela in South America, Fantozzi said he began the company in 2003. He said he finds interested backpackers like Outterson by word of mouth in nearby hostels.
"The people are happy to see us," Outterson said. "Most [middle- and upper-class] Brazilians think this is a crazy idea."
Outterson said after his first visit to the Rocinha, he decided to take students with him. Without knowledge of these favelas, students have an incomplete picture of the area, Outterson said.
Outterson said students prepare for the trips by reading and discussing issues with law students in Brazil. They also raise money before each annual trip to donate a new floor to a nursery school.
"It's good for people to come every year to see the difference," Fantozzi said.
Be a Local also gives 10 percent of its proceeds to the community, and Fantozzi said the money often goes to children.
But getting to Rocinha is not an easy task. Students travel two to three hours off the main road using local transportation and then walk through narrow streets.
Fantozzi said Rocinha is improving but is still poor, with only two understaffed health clinics available for 100,000 people.
"Most students are nervous in the beginning, but by the end they are surprised at how safe they felt," Outterson said.
Some impoverished Brazilian children walk down a mountain to school every day, past armed men controlled by local drug lords. A Boston University professor gives law students the chance to see this scene for themselves.
BU law professor Kevin Outterson started the "poorism" study-abroad program in Brazil four years ago at West Virginia University, and he is considering bringing the program to BU. His trip combines education at the university at Getulio Vargas Foundation Rio de Janeiro, with tours of Brazilian slums, known as favelas, through the touring company Be a Local.
"Most of the students say it's the most transformative experience of their lives," Outterson said.
Outterson said his goal is to introduce students to the favelas' legal culture just as he was exposed to it on trips to South America as an attorney.
"I want lawyers who think about the impact of what they are doing on the poor," he said. "Awareness is important because lawyers are in the position where they can do something."
Outterson, who is in his first year at BU, said he does not yet have concrete plans to establish a similar program through the International Programs office, but if graduate students express interest in the trip, he will take them with WVU students in July.
Be a Local founder Luiz Fantozzi said he began the company to show the world the reality of poor communities.
"The favela is real," Fantozzi said. "It's impoverished, right beside a rich neighborhood."
With permission from local drug lords who act as the authority in the Rocinha, the largest favela in South America, Fantozzi said he began the company in 2003. He said he finds interested backpackers like Outterson by word of mouth in nearby hostels.
"The people are happy to see us," Outterson said. "Most [middle- and upper-class] Brazilians think this is a crazy idea."
Outterson said after his first visit to the Rocinha, he decided to take students with him. Without knowledge of these favelas, students have an incomplete picture of the area, Outterson said.
Outterson said students prepare for the trips by reading and discussing issues with law students in Brazil. They also raise money before each annual trip to donate a new floor to a nursery school.
"It's good for people to come every year to see the difference," Fantozzi said.
Be a Local also gives 10 percent of its proceeds to the community, and Fantozzi said the money often goes to children.
But getting to Rocinha is not an easy task. Students travel two to three hours off the main road using local transportation and then walk through narrow streets.
Fantozzi said Rocinha is improving but is still poor, with only two understaffed health clinics available for 100,000 people.
"Most students are nervous in the beginning, but by the end they are surprised at how safe they felt," Outterson said.
College not worth the cost, prof. says
PUBLISHED by The Daily Free Press
There may be bad news for students who just dropped a few grand on a tuition payment: It may not be worth the money to pay for a college education, according to a Boston University economics professor.
College of Arts and Sciences professor Laurence Kotlikoff is opposing a report conducted by the College Board last month, which states that while a college education comes with a large bill, the high price is paid off by the advantages that come with a degree.
Kotlikoff disagrees, saying that students with a college degree only have an average 10 percent advantage over their peers in the job and financial markets. He calculated this figure using the Economic Security Planner - financial-planning software he developed to organize costs.
"I was surprised, thinking the number would be bigger," he said. "[Investing in a college education] is a pretty risky proposition, like borrowing to buy stock.
Kotlikoff said his ESPlanner accounts for factors a graduate encounters, most notably lifelong debt, dubbing students "Generation Debt."
The College Board report, which is based on government and academic research data, provides detailed verification that higher levels of education are directly associated with higher earnings and benefits, higher employment rates and increased participation in society, said College Board Senior Policy Analyst Sandy Baum in an email.
Kotlikoff said he entered the report's figures into ESPlanner, adding costs of tuition, room and board and four years of absence from employment and loans and found different results.
"College Board only looked at the benefits and disregarded the costs," Kotlikoff said. "One must look at the whole picture."
The debt amassed results from several factors, such as when there is a high demand for private school education -- which raises tuition, Kotlikoff said -- adding the availability of student loans may lead parents to believe their children will be able to pay the bills themselves.
Despite these expenses, Kotlikoff said he agrees with the Board's findings that there are benefits of attending college unrelated to expenses. From a non-economist perspective, the money is well spent, he said.
"I'm not advocating anyone leaves college," he said. "There are a lot of advantages of going to college that aren't monetary, like making friends, finding a life partner and discovering what career to pursue. You can't just decide based on economic factors."
BU economics department chairman Kevin Lang said he agrees with the professor, but noted the benefits and costs of attending college vary from student to student.
"Going to college is fun, for most people a lot more fun than working at the sort of job you are likely to get fresh out of high school," Lang said in an email. "On the other hand, that would be less true for the student who is working a lot on top of studying in order to avoid carrying a big debt."
Kotlikoff encourages students and adults to consider every cost and benefit of their financial decisions, using programs such as his ESPlanner.
"We haven't had the technology until now to help make these decisions," he said. "It's the first financial-planning program available to the public."
There may be bad news for students who just dropped a few grand on a tuition payment: It may not be worth the money to pay for a college education, according to a Boston University economics professor.
College of Arts and Sciences professor Laurence Kotlikoff is opposing a report conducted by the College Board last month, which states that while a college education comes with a large bill, the high price is paid off by the advantages that come with a degree.
Kotlikoff disagrees, saying that students with a college degree only have an average 10 percent advantage over their peers in the job and financial markets. He calculated this figure using the Economic Security Planner - financial-planning software he developed to organize costs.
"I was surprised, thinking the number would be bigger," he said. "[Investing in a college education] is a pretty risky proposition, like borrowing to buy stock.
Kotlikoff said his ESPlanner accounts for factors a graduate encounters, most notably lifelong debt, dubbing students "Generation Debt."
The College Board report, which is based on government and academic research data, provides detailed verification that higher levels of education are directly associated with higher earnings and benefits, higher employment rates and increased participation in society, said College Board Senior Policy Analyst Sandy Baum in an email.
Kotlikoff said he entered the report's figures into ESPlanner, adding costs of tuition, room and board and four years of absence from employment and loans and found different results.
"College Board only looked at the benefits and disregarded the costs," Kotlikoff said. "One must look at the whole picture."
The debt amassed results from several factors, such as when there is a high demand for private school education -- which raises tuition, Kotlikoff said -- adding the availability of student loans may lead parents to believe their children will be able to pay the bills themselves.
Despite these expenses, Kotlikoff said he agrees with the Board's findings that there are benefits of attending college unrelated to expenses. From a non-economist perspective, the money is well spent, he said.
"I'm not advocating anyone leaves college," he said. "There are a lot of advantages of going to college that aren't monetary, like making friends, finding a life partner and discovering what career to pursue. You can't just decide based on economic factors."
BU economics department chairman Kevin Lang said he agrees with the professor, but noted the benefits and costs of attending college vary from student to student.
"Going to college is fun, for most people a lot more fun than working at the sort of job you are likely to get fresh out of high school," Lang said in an email. "On the other hand, that would be less true for the student who is working a lot on top of studying in order to avoid carrying a big debt."
Kotlikoff encourages students and adults to consider every cost and benefit of their financial decisions, using programs such as his ESPlanner.
"We haven't had the technology until now to help make these decisions," he said. "It's the first financial-planning program available to the public."
UN to fund BU prof.'s plan to ease Darfur tensions
PUBLISHED by The Daily Free Press
A Boston University researcher thinks he knows the solution to the Darfur conflict, one that could potentially end years of human rights violations and ethnic warfare: water.
BU Center for Remote Sensing Director Farouk El-Baz met with the Sudanese government in January to initiate and supervise the construction of dams along various Darfur rivers after his discovery of an underground "megalake" in the Sudan. The United Nations will fund the project, which will be built by locals and directed by El-Baz.
"Dams can slow down the advance of water . . . which would replenish the groundwater," El-Baz said. "We said we will deal with the lake as a long-term solution, but we now must have some short-term solutions."
Underground water was located too far from where Darfuris live, so El-Baz will begin the search for a lake closer to residential camps by continuing to study satellite images for rock faults where water would accumulate, he said.
The governor of North Darfur state, Osman Kedir, invited El-Baz to present his ideas to residents, El-Baz said. He has also met with Sudanese Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Kamal Ali, engineers and heads of local UN groups.
Center for Remote Sensing researcher Eman Ghoneim said in an email that he and El-Baz suspected underground lakes existed in the region because the Sahara Desert has undergone drastic climate change. Ghoneim said he and El-Baz specifically conducted research in Darfur to alleviate the suffering there.
"The war actually started because of shortages of water," El-Baz said. "During the last 20 years, there was much less rain than usual."
The competition for water divided farmers and nomads in Darfur and led to hostility, causing the current conflict, El-Baz said. The farmers searched for other sources of water and fenced in shared wells, and "the nomads went berserk," he said.
"There is no real genocide and fighting between Arabs and Africans," El-Baz said. "If you find enough water for the farmers and wells . . . for the use of the nomads, and additional water to raise crops for people to eat, you satisfy all needs. Water is the whole crux."
Attention to each contributing factor in the Darfur conflict is the only way to promote peace, Charles Stith, BU African Presidential Archives and Research Center director, said. More water alone will not solve all of the nation's problems, but it could make negotiations easier, he said.
Stith said the whole country must feel as though they are part of the solution for El-Baz's plan to work, and diplomats need to establish a power-sharing arrangement to equally divide resources such as water and oil.
"I think we can't not believe that peace is possible, because without that belief you cease to work at it; you cease to be as creative," Stith said.
"Save Darfur Now" Facebook group administrator Alex Kantrowitz said he does not believe a new source of water will resolve the major issues in the region.
"I think that it's more of a surface solution to the situation," Kantrowitz, a Cornell University sophomore, said. "From my personal understanding of the conflict, this goes well beyond the distribution of water in the region. It's being led by a group of people that have serious underlying tension with the Sudanese government."
"Water is a great idea, and it's definitely a step in the right direction . . . but will it solve it?" Kantrowitz said. "I hate to be cynical, but in this situation . . . it's difficult to be optimistic."
A Boston University researcher thinks he knows the solution to the Darfur conflict, one that could potentially end years of human rights violations and ethnic warfare: water.
BU Center for Remote Sensing Director Farouk El-Baz met with the Sudanese government in January to initiate and supervise the construction of dams along various Darfur rivers after his discovery of an underground "megalake" in the Sudan. The United Nations will fund the project, which will be built by locals and directed by El-Baz.
"Dams can slow down the advance of water . . . which would replenish the groundwater," El-Baz said. "We said we will deal with the lake as a long-term solution, but we now must have some short-term solutions."
Underground water was located too far from where Darfuris live, so El-Baz will begin the search for a lake closer to residential camps by continuing to study satellite images for rock faults where water would accumulate, he said.
The governor of North Darfur state, Osman Kedir, invited El-Baz to present his ideas to residents, El-Baz said. He has also met with Sudanese Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Kamal Ali, engineers and heads of local UN groups.
Center for Remote Sensing researcher Eman Ghoneim said in an email that he and El-Baz suspected underground lakes existed in the region because the Sahara Desert has undergone drastic climate change. Ghoneim said he and El-Baz specifically conducted research in Darfur to alleviate the suffering there.
"The war actually started because of shortages of water," El-Baz said. "During the last 20 years, there was much less rain than usual."
The competition for water divided farmers and nomads in Darfur and led to hostility, causing the current conflict, El-Baz said. The farmers searched for other sources of water and fenced in shared wells, and "the nomads went berserk," he said.
"There is no real genocide and fighting between Arabs and Africans," El-Baz said. "If you find enough water for the farmers and wells . . . for the use of the nomads, and additional water to raise crops for people to eat, you satisfy all needs. Water is the whole crux."
Attention to each contributing factor in the Darfur conflict is the only way to promote peace, Charles Stith, BU African Presidential Archives and Research Center director, said. More water alone will not solve all of the nation's problems, but it could make negotiations easier, he said.
Stith said the whole country must feel as though they are part of the solution for El-Baz's plan to work, and diplomats need to establish a power-sharing arrangement to equally divide resources such as water and oil.
"I think we can't not believe that peace is possible, because without that belief you cease to work at it; you cease to be as creative," Stith said.
"Save Darfur Now" Facebook group administrator Alex Kantrowitz said he does not believe a new source of water will resolve the major issues in the region.
"I think that it's more of a surface solution to the situation," Kantrowitz, a Cornell University sophomore, said. "From my personal understanding of the conflict, this goes well beyond the distribution of water in the region. It's being led by a group of people that have serious underlying tension with the Sudanese government."
"Water is a great idea, and it's definitely a step in the right direction . . . but will it solve it?" Kantrowitz said. "I hate to be cynical, but in this situation . . . it's difficult to be optimistic."
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