In this section you will find the quantitative and qualitative evaluations from the three courses for which I have taught discussion sections. I have included highlights from the qualitative feedback section. Please click on the link to view the quantitative data and scanned copies of the evaluation forms.

HST 121: Global History to 1750, Fall 2014: Part 1 and Part 2

“Scarlett is not only the best TA I have ever had but is also easily the best all around teacher. I feel more motivated to do my VERY best in this course because I know she cares that we all try our best and do well. Scarlett never makes anyone feel like they are incapable of doing anything or dumb. She is so clear in her answers when asked questions and will make sure you understand or know you can see her if you don’t. She is always welcoming and coming to her class is not only vital and informative, but also amazing. I’ll miss her.”

This response indicates that my classroom environment is respectful and supportive. Rather than focusing on whether responses are right or wrong,I encourage students to develop thoughtful answers and to be prepared to explain their thought process. I also emphasize that grappling with historical themes is challenging and that students should ask as many questions as necessary in order to comprehend the material.

“Scarlett is the sweetest person. She cares a lot about her students. At first she seemed nervous to teach the class, however, she acts more comfortable now and is so incredibly great. She is always very prepared, one can tell that she puts a lot of effort in this class.”

I was certainly nervous during the first few discussion sessions! After a few weeks, I began preparing PowerPoint presentations for each lesson. The slides contained learning objectives, some review content, discussion questions, and activity instructions. Having the PowerPoint helped keep me calm and focused while in front of the classroom. It helped keep students focused as well. I have continued using PowerPoint in subsequent courses.

“Scarlett is a great TA and really does a great job at reviewing lecture concepts from the week in addition to going over our primary sources extensively. She is always available to answer any questions and is extremely enthusiastic and passionate about history in general. I have no suggestions or comments other than Scarlett is an amazing, prepared, and enthusiastic TA!”

“I really enjoyed this class and I don’t have that many suggestions. A few more videos would be nice as an alternative learning technique for students to better understand the material.”

I implemented the suggestion to incorporate videos into some lessons. When assisting with the American history survey course, I used historical video footage as a conversation starter for “Think, Pair, Share” activities. For example, I used a clip from a World War II era video about how to manage women in a factory to discuss gender stereotypes that shaped women’s wartime labor experiences. Students made connections to the week’s primary source readings.

“Scarlett is very polite & understanding with her students. She doesn’t make the course boring. Also w/ the readings she reviews it in a way that is easy to understand & she has variety. (skits, going to the board to write answers, working in groups, etc.) Having her was very helpful.”

I continue to use an assortment of activities to keep students engaged, and I am thrilled that this student enjoyed the variety.

History 102: American Since 1865, Fall 2015: Part 1 and Part 2

“HST 102 has opened my eyes up to many of America’s past social movements and key activists. Taking this course has helped me better understand the social and political change occurring around me today. Scarlett is very enthusiastic about American history and does a great job of leading discussion during class. She does a great job of helping analyze and make sense of the weekly readings while providing us with supplemental materials.”

“Scarlett utilized section time remarkably well, kept the material interesting and reinforced what we learned in lecture. Holding us to a high standard, but offering guidance and availability. The best section/teaching assistant I have ever had. Really prepared our class for papers, exams, and reinforced material of most relevant value. The best! :-)”

I have high expectations for all students–regardless of educational background, academic major, learning disabilities, or English language competency. Syracuse University is a diverse campus, and my job is to help each student succeed. I am glad that my expectations motivated this student.

“Always prepared with PowerPoint and clear learning goals for each class. Is passionate on multiple subjects and is extremely helpful when questions are asked.”

Beginning this semester, I used a reverse design approach to lesson planning. I began by writing three to four learning objectives for the lesson and built the activities and discussion questions around these objectives. I posted the learning goals on the first slide of my PowerPoint. These were on the screen as students arrived in class, and I encouraged students to write them down. This promotes student metacognition–at the end of class, students can assess whether they understood the lesson content. Moreover, articulating clear learning goals facilitates engagement. Students will participate if they understand why I ask them to complete the assigned activities.

“Great TA! Always treats students well, never shoots down an answer but finds what is right with it and builds off of it.”

“Weekly homeworks [sic] are not helpful.”

I respect this student’s opinion, but I disagree. This semester, I took a risk by requiring students to complete a primary source worksheet before each discussion section. This worksheet provided a framework for understanding the weekly primary source assignments. I did not grade the assignment but counted completion towards students’ participation scores. Because other teaching assistants for this course did not assign these worksheets, some of my students may have resented the extra work. The worksheets helped promote comprehension and ensured that students actually spent time preparing for class rather than skimming the material. I would use a similar assignment again in the future, but I would clarify for students that I developed the worksheet to support their learning.   

“I enjoyed the course a lot. The discussions were very effective in getting us to critically think about the topics. The TA was always good at keeping everyone in the room involved. Even when I was unprepared for class, I felt comfortable expressing my ideas.”

Although ideally every student would arrive to class fully prepared, this is not reality. Many students take introductory survey courses in order to fulfill a graduation requirement. They may make a choice to invest most of their energy in courses in their major field. On the one hand, I expect every student to complete the assigned readings. On the other hand, if I were to get angry with or berate a student for not doing the reading, he or she may shut down or stop coming to class altogether. I ask students to be honest with me if they have not read, and I give them an expression that indicates I am displeased. If necessary, I may ask to have a private conversation with the student after class. Rather than letting the student disengage from the class conversation, I make a point of asking the student an open-ended question. I am glad that my approach resonated with this student.

“Great TA, very well prepared to be a professor.”

History 210: The Ancient World, Fall 2015

Note: For the Fall 2015 semester, the instructor used online evaluations. This format elicited a lower participation rate than in prior semesters, but I still received some useful feedback.

“Ms. Rebman is awesome, she’s a great TA and a fun person. SU should hire her.”

“Scarlett was an excellent TA, always coming to class prepared with an activity for the day. Those activities were always fun and engaging, promoting a heightened learning environment.”

“She was so helpful and informative! I definitely feel she helped me succeed!”

“She is so adorable and made me want to try hard in her recitation so I wouldn’t make her sad. she had lots of cheesy games that were really exciting for us college students to go back to an play. Especially with our competitive nature it was great to play jeopardy against each other. this woman is so great and she’s gonna be a great teacher to some lucky kids.”

This semester I used a Jeopardy game to review content material for the midterm and final exams. In addition to this comment, several students emailed me to tell me that they found the game to be a helpful way to study. Students enjoyed the competition, but I emphasized the content over the game. The quiz-game format worked because their exams were composed entirely of multiple choice questions. I would use a different review format for essay-based exams.