Optimizing teaching

Jocelyne Morin-Nurse

She’s a runner, a soccer player and a mom. Also, this active and energetic woman is a hit with students, colleagues, management and whoever crosses her path. Accomplished and distinguished, Sylvia Boyd is the recipient of the 2005 University of Ottawa Excellence in Teaching Award, the 2003 University of Ottawa Excellence in Education Prize and the 2002 Faculty of Engineering J.V. Marsh Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Boyd, who is a professor at the School of Information Technology and Engineering, describes herself as a competitive person, always seeking to improve herself personally and professionally. “I’m constantly striving to be the best teacher that I can be. I want to do a good job. I put a great deal of thought into how I want to teach the material and concepts in my course.”

Sylvia Boyd will deliver her lecture entitled “Problems that confound even the fastest computers” on Thursday, November, 24, 2005 at 7 p.m. Alumni Auditorium University Centre, 85 University

“Myself, I’ve had some fantastic teachers who have inspired me. Whenever I took a course, I was not only fascinated by what they were teaching, but how they taught it. I would especially notice when they were able to convey a really difficult concept with great success.”

Encouraged by dedicated teachers who recognized her potential, Boyd fast-tracked through high school and obtained her diploma a year early. She then chose to immerse herself in the world of mathematics at the University of Waterloo, where she earned a baccalaureate, a master’s and a doctorate in combinatorics and optimization.

Every year since Boyd joined the University of Ottawa in 1987, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council has awarded her research funding. She specializes in an area called combinatorial optimization that deals with practically important problems, which are combinatorial in nature, such as designing reliable communication networks and vehicle routings. Her research focuses on the development of efficient computational methods for such problems.

While growing up, Boyd had no idea that, one day, she was going to be a teacher. When asked to give speeches in front of the class, she would often feel too shy to present. However, to obtain her Ph.D. at Waterloo, she had to teach a course. After the initial butterflies, a new passion was born. And so with practice, and fuelled by her enthusiasm and great love of teaching, she became not only a university professor, but an award-winning mentor. “Dr. Boyd has always taught large classes, all of a very challenging nature, and most being first‑year courses. She has continued to receive very high student evaluations and is considered among “the best” and “favourite” teachers by many students,” says Emil Petriu, acting dean of the Faculty of Engineering.

One of those students is Geneviève Benoît. “I can truly say that she is the best professor I have ever encountered,” says Benoît. “The energy and enthusiasm she reflects through her courses is truly inspiring. Some students even change their course schedules just to take her classes; even students who are not interested in that subject matter.”

Boyd’s fascination with developmental psychology—how children learn—certainly has had a great impact on her teaching style, helping her understand students more thoroughly.

She has developed a very visual style of teaching. Not content to simply teach, she ensures that everyone understands by presenting material different ways. “It’s important when you teach to remember what it was like to learn it for yourself. I think about what was difficult about that topic for me when I was first exposed to it. And if I can relive that memory, then I can be a better teacher for sure.”