Teaching Testimonials

Testimonials from Students

Guest lecture – “The influence of social factors on human health and survival” – Human Relationships Class

  • “I really enjoyed the lecture. I like being able to learn and be interested in the material. Alot of that has to do with the actor who is presenting the material. The actor has to be fully engaged and invested in their material and make sure that the message has landed. It’s also important to be able to relate the material to modern day interests and pop culture. Great Work Terry!”
  • “I learned a lot! Speaks very well and clearly”
  • “The lecture slides design was fantastic. The use of a variety of media like videos, colorful pictures and non conventional text formatting did a great job keeping the lecture entertaining.” “He used great examples and conveyed concepts very clearly!”
  • “He was very well informed and clarified any questions that were raised.”
  • “Great lecture!”
  • “You explained the material very well! My notes from the lecture were very organized because the chronology of your explanations were logical and helpful. You were also very clear.”
  • “He addressed questions directly and made sure he understood what the student was asking before he answered, which I appreciated.”
  • “He explained the material very clearly. The material was simple, concise, and informative.”
  • “The presentation was enticing, entertaining, informative and well organized.”

Guest lecture – “PAIN. What is it? How does it work? What can be done about it? ” – Health Psychology

  • “I enjoyed the lecture a lot, I enjoyed the past 2 times that we have been able to be lectured by you because you know a vast amount of information, you have fun with the class and make the atmosphere very friendly for the students and you incorporate fun graphics, videos and stories into your slides making it a wonderful learning experience thank you and good luck!!”
  • “You were able to hold my attention well, i appreciated your extra personal stories as well as the movies you included and the way that your slides were set up were engaging as well as interesting.”
  • “The slides were very well done and very easy to follow. A friend (not in the class) saw me studying from them and even complimented how well they were done.”
  • “The material was very well explained”
  • “I enjoyed it very much and learned a lot of interesting things. Also some new perspectives on pain that I hadn’t thought of before so that was exciting as well.”
  • “You explained the material extremely well. From my view, you didn’t leave anything vague. Also, your explanations were clear and simple to understand, rather than using big words or “sciency” words (since I’m an arts student, I appreciate that)… I liked how the slides had just enough information (not absolutely everything word for word said in lecture, nor too little) but just enough so that when I go back to the slides to study, it will help me recall enough of the lecture for studying.”
  • “Overall, I really enjoyed your lecture. You’re a great lecturer and I really can’t think of anything to improve it.” “Material was well explained -liked use of real life examples. Awesome!”
  • “The lecturer was good at holding my attention and had good use of personal examples which were interesting to hear about. He also had a good variety of aids (e.g. videos, personal examples)… I enjoyed the lecture. It was interesting and well prepared.”
  • “Good explanation. Clear and easy to understand. Interesting. Easy to stay focused. Very enjoyable :)”
  • “Terry explained the material very clearly, with many supporting examples and data to back up his ideas. The lecture was very interesting and held my attention during most of the class; he showed various examples in different forms of media, including images, graphs, and videos, which were all extremely illustrative. He responded to questions/issues raised by the class very well and made sure everyone understood his responses. I enjoyed the lecture very much; keep up the great work!”

Course Instructor – Positive Psychology

  • “I didn’t get a chance today to fill out the course evaluations in class. However, I do want to take this opportunity to thank you for teaching this course. The reason I decided to enroll in this course four months ago, was because there was so much going on in my life that I felt I was slowly losing hope and being pessimistic. And when I saw this course being offered, I seriously enrolled in it, so that I could actually learn something about being positive. And well, let me put it this: I took home a positive message with me, from EVERY lecture I attended. And I’m being very honest – you can ask my boyfriend!! I actually sat down with him every time I learnt something new to talk to him about it and I am pretty sure I’ve rubbed off on him, or rather you have! From being optimistic, to laughter yoga, to being grateful – I could relate to every message you tried to put across to the class, specially at this point in my life. So, this long message is just to thank you for the wonderful work you are doing! Good luck with your Ph.D, and I hope that things work out well for you and your family. I am graduating this summer and going away to dental school in the Fall. But, I am so glad that this was the last course I took at U of T, and truly a memorable one!”
  • “I initially took this course without much expectation. I had no clue what positive psychology was. In fact, I had never even heard of this branch of psychology. This course is the best course that I have taken thus far in my entire undergraduate career. Just like any other class, I just wanted a good grade…and if I actually learned something, great! For positive psychology, I didn’t really care if I got a C or what not…I learned so much in every lecture. Positive psychology has influenced me in many different ways. 1. For me to live the best life, I am going to constantly challenge myself to grow and get better. I got this one from the flow lecture. 2. I will always try to find the positive whenever there is negative. Being positive will be better for me. People probably like me better when I’m positive. So I’m going to share the love of positivity to everyone around me in this upcoming school year. 3. Randy Pausch. I had no idea who he was or what the last lecture was all about. I watched the entire lecture and read his book. This man lived even as he was dying. I think people are good as just existing, but not living. I strive to live every day to its fullest and do everything I want to. This way, I can live a life knowing that I will have no regrets. 4. As my undergraduate career is nearing its end (1 last year to go, I now know what I want to do in the future. I want to go to graduate school and study positive psychology and help it grow. I want to teach a course like this in future with the enthusiasm that you (Terry B.!…My name is Terry too! :-)) brought to this fantastic class. 5. I’m based out of the Scarborough campus and we don’t have positive psychology there. I’m going to try and bring something like that to the UTSC campus somehow…some way! 6. Personal Growth Project. I have grown to love this idea. The PGP is something I think about everyday. I try to challenge myself each day. Approach someone that I want to get to know rather than waiting for them to come to me. Every class needs to do this! 7. I now have a personal theme song for how I will live everyday. Bob Sinclair’s “World Hold On”. Why? Each day, I tell the world and everyone around to hold on…here I come! I’ve become a much different person now with a very different out look on life 🙂 Thanks for the wonderful experience Terry! I should have shared this in class today but well…speaking up more is the next thing I’m going to work on. But regardless, its here!”
  • “I wanted to let you know that I enjoyed positive psychology with you. It was a fantastic 6-weeks that went by much too fast. The course was life changing for me. I posted something about this on the forum but I wanted tell you here as well. Thanks for the wonderful experience 🙂 I’ve become very interested in studying positive psychology. Do you know of any type of positive psychology research in this area or at U of T that I could get involved in? I want to dive deeper into the world of positive psychology. Are you going to be teaching any other courses this coming school year?”
  • “Here’s my evalation… Lectures – They were fantastic. You were a very engaging lecturer and showed great enthusiasm. It made all the material easier to learn. Assignments – I enjoyed the examless course. I feel that exams do not capture what some students truly know about the topic at hand. The open ended assignments were great. It allowed for creativity to come out. These assignments helped me learn the material better. With traditional exams, I find myself learning the material…only to let it slip out after the exam. Class participation – It’s a great idea. I loved hearing what everybody thought. Stimulating thinking…a great way to learn the material. PGP – I loved it. Wished the class was 12 weeks, then we could do more PGPs! 🙂 Readings – No complaints. I liked that it was optional. I ended up doing most of the text readings anyways. Other things – The course, in general, was set up very nicely. I think it’s great!”
  • “I would just like to mention that I love the way Professor Borsook answer the emails I send him. He is always fast and helpful. I really appreciate that!”
  • “I think it’s a great course. The class is very enlightening. It’s like no other psych course. Thank you.” “Thanks for this wonderful course and all that I have learned through it.”
  • “Terry, thank you for a great summer semester!!! This course really helped me reframe my thoughts at time when I needed it most. I hope you get to teach again so other students can enjoy your wonderful lectures. I think you’ll be a fantastic professor!”

Student Reference Letters

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