Tim Baird

Excellence in Teaching Spotlight by the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Virginia Tech

The Excellence in Teaching Spotlight, presented by the center to approximately nine Virginia Tech faculty members each academic year, recognizes a faculty member's effective, engaged, and dynamic approaches and achievements as an educator.

Among the goals of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning are advancing experiential learning at Virginia Tech and improving student learning through research-based instructional practices and student-centered design. According to Baird, his approach to teaching focuses on creating moments of surprise to break students out of their usual routines:

“If I'm honest, one of my main things is that I try to surprise students. My sense is that that they know the routine. Lecture, some slides, take notes, take a test. Rinse. Repeat. But - if I can surprise them, somehow, then I'll really get their attention - and then I can do something meaningful. In his book, Thinking Fast and Slow, psychologist (and Nobel Prize winner) Daniel Kahneman describes how the brain has two systems. The first is a busy body, tireless in maintaining all our involuntary bells and whistles - and in maintaining our basic world view, expectations, and stereotypes. System 1 runs the show nearly all the time. But System 2, which is actually pretty lazy, includes our center of critical thinking. This is important. When we surprise students, when we do something that doesn't fit with what they're expecting, we help to shift them from System 1 to System 2, which is what we want. I'm always trying to get them into System 2.”

Consistent with his approach to teaching, Baird has developed a student-centered learning assignment called "Pink Time," inspired by Daniel Pink. For this assignment, students are encouraged to skip class, pursue their own interests, and grade themselves. According to Baird, "By removing extrinsic motivation and allowing more room for autonomy, mastery, and purpose, we can help students inspire themselves and engage more deeply in both the learning process and the course." For more information about Pink Time, visit Baird’s website.

Bruce Hull, one of Baird’s colleagues, shared this observation about his teaching: “Tim has mastered the craft of teaching. The mood lifts as soon as he enters the classroom. He jokes with and greets everyone by name. Students get serious when he starts calling on them to answer questions and comment on the day’s content.  They remain attentive during the entire class session, engaging and re-engaging in multiple short activities and topics. His content is both challenging and relevant and Tim does a great job helping students make connections between that content and their personal and professional lives. VT is fortunate to have such a committed, capable, and engaging educator."

Ashley Falat, a former student of Baird's, shared how deeply she was influenced by Baird during her time as his student: “Professor Baird is one of the most influential educators I have had the honor of learning from. His passion for enhancing student learning and engagement is evident in the way he designs his courses. From the first time Professor Baird stood on a table to address the room, I knew I’d be fully tuned in to every class discussion. Sitting in his class, I felt like I was part of a community. Within the first week of the semester, he learned the name of every student in the class, which was about 100 students. His dynamic approaches to education invite collaboration and creativity. He didn’t just teach us about the content we were learning, he taught us how to critically think for ourselves. Not only did he encourage me to learn, but he also inspired a new intrinsic motivation that I’m grateful for each day. I learned that everything is connected through work and love. Coincidentally – or not so coincidentally – Professor Baird revealed that through work and love, we can create a sustainable future.”

Jarek Campbell, another former student of Baird's, emphasized how Baird’s teaching has profoundly shaped his own approach to teaching: "I would not have taken Dr. Baird's class twice, had he not been the most influential teacher I'd ever had. My relationship with Tim started my freshman year, and he very quickly became a mentor, role model, and my favorite professor. Through the many years that followed, I worked with him on personal projects, undergraduate research, and learned from him in my favorite class of all time, Seeking Sustainability. Along the way, Dr. Baird taught me so many valuable lessons about Geography, Culture, and how my life fits into a larger world. Ultimately, he has helped shape me into an educator, and I often find myself teaching students in the same way I was taught. And I recognize the very wide eyes, big smiles, and head scratches as a sign that I've begun to accomplish a small piece of the amazing teaching Dr. Baird has perfected. I feel so lucky to have learned from him, and am so proud to take some of his lessons with me through my own teaching journey. It's rare to encounter a professor as dedicated, excited, caring, and inspiring as Tim. But when you do, you won't ever forget it."

Baird provided the following advice for new college teachers: “Take chances. Smile. Get enough sleep.”