UTSC psychology professor Marc Fournier has that elusive quality, personality.
At least, that is the opinion shared by many students fascinated by the young professor’s popular lectures. And they were not the only ones to feel that way. This year Fournier, captured a top-10 spot in the TVO Best Lecturers Competition, along with five other professors from U of T.
Despite his dreaded 7-10 p.m. time slot, Fournier still manages to draw an excited crowd to his lectures. Here’s what some students told us about his teaching style.
• Professor Fournier’s energy is what really strikes you, in terms of making the lecture seem like a lot like a really good TV show you actually want to watch. I remember in one of the first classes he would tell stories from his childhood by reading a letter he wrote from camp. It really helped establish a connection with everyone in the class right away.
-MELODY HUI, CLASS OF ’06
• I remember his use of examples regarding his relationship with his father and his own personal struggles in life in a way that fully related to [his lecture’s subject of] personalities. Also, it really struck me when he revealed his obsessive-compulsive disorder during the first lecture. It’s those kinds of things that he does that really keep you excited about going to class.
-ANONYMOUS STUDENT
• Professor Fournier has the ability to connect with students on a platonic level. [Umm, hello, weird!] He’s very friendly, easy to approach and his kind of teaching is the kind I want to do. His class on personality teaches a lot of life skills, with the professor including lots of stories about his own youth to help the material relate to students.
-JUSTIN CHAN, FOURTH-YEAR BIO-PSYCH
Catch Marc Fournier on TVO’s Big Ideas, this Saturday and Sunday at 4 p.m., and then vote for your favourite at www.tvo.org
