Jacey Greece Wins 2014 Educational Innovation Award at Med Campus Education Day.
After a dozen years at BUSPH as a student in two separate degree programs, Jacey Greece has unquestionably learned a few things about teaching.
The things that stayed with her, the indelible aspects of teaching that she tries to use in every class, were passed along by influential professors who demonstrated the importance of taking risks.
Those risks appear to have paid off.
Greece, a clinical assistant professor of community health sciences at BUSPH, won the 2014 Educational Innovation Award at the John McCahan Medical Campus Education Day.
Greece said many of her former instructors – now colleagues — added a dimension to her teaching and her interactions with students that continue to inspire her every day. “Collectively, they have taught me that the content you deliver in the classroom is just as important as how you deliver that content and how you interact with students outside the classroom.”
Greece earned her MPH in 2004 with a concentration in Social and Behavioral Sciences and her DSc in Epidemiology in 2011. She has taught at BUSPH in various capacities since 2004 (as a Teaching Assistant, Teaching Associate, and Lecturer) but was named a Clinical Assistant Professor since 2011.
Rob Schadt, director of the BUSPH Office of Teaching, Learning and Technology, said Greece is a fitting candidate for the award not only because she uses technology in innovative ways, but, “more importantly because she puts the students squarely in center of the learning environments she helps create for students. In her real-life, practice-based courses she puts students in charge of their learning and connects with students to best support their learning in whatever ways she can.”
Sophie Godley, a clinical assistant professor of community health sciences and winner of the 2013 Educational Innovation Award, said Greece was able to develop and implement innovative approaches to graduate student learning without huge amounts of additional resources.
“She is then spreading the wealth of her learning across the campus. I am particularly inspired by the fearless nature of Jacey’s investigation into her class through her evaluation,” Godley wrote. “This is a course she has won an award for — it is not a course that ‘needs fixing.’ And yet, Dr. Greece has decided to rigorously examine the course and ensure its ongoing success.”
Greece said she had many influential professors during her years at BUSPH, among them Jonathan Howland (now at BUSM), who Greece said taught her to always listen to the needs of the students and weave that into the structure of the classroom. William DeJong taught her the importance of teaching skills in the classroom such as writing and presentation, and not just the technical competencies required by the course. Both Howland and DeJong were large influencers in her decision to teach, Greece said.
Paula Quatromoni, an associate professor at Sargent, served as Greece’s mentor throughout her doctoral program and exemplified how to interact with students both inside the classroom and through individual meetings. “She has shown me, through example, the importance of delivering course material in the classroom setting, but also providing appropriate guidance and support to students outside the walls of the classroom.”
Lisa Sullivan and Wayne LaMorte had a great impact on Greece while she was a student and continue to influence her today. As an MPH student, Greece said she was nervous about biostatistics and epidemiology.
“Lisa and Wayne are such incredible teachers, both in large lecture and in smaller activities, that I came to really appreciate and like those two disciplines, even going for my doctorate in epidemiology,” Greece said. “To this day, both Lisa and Wayne serve as inspirations to me in the classroom. Their ability to deliver the material and interact with students so successfully provides great role models.”