I have a practice of evaluating my instructors in a typed document each semester. Some semesters it stays private (usually the bad ones), this semester it is public. It has been about one month now since classes began.
Mrs. Dr. Judith L. Presler – Deductive Logic – MWF 12-12:50 –
Dr. Presler started off a little shaky with me. I was almost certain she would be the evil instructor. She started off very strict and a little overly professional acting. After the first two weeks Dr. Presler became this kind and friendly old lady, sort of like a wise instructor from ancient Greece. There must be something about philosophy instructors that makes appear the way they do. Dr. Presler and Dr. Morton act a lot alike. Dr. Presler gives reasonable review before tests and writes the test to not be too challenging, but also not a snooze. With the test today I was especially appreciative of the little logic guide with the square of opposition that she gave us. I am still planning for an A in the course, the work is easy, the concepts are simple (and logical ;-), and I enjoy being in the course most days.
Dr. Jeff Naeini – Introduction to Physics – MWF – 1-1:50 –
Dr. Naeini is a lebanese French-Canadian. He speaks English well, but has a heavy accent. Sometimes it is difficult to understand him, but I have had no problems in the course so far. If a student in the course is attentive then any missed words aren’t a problem to figure out. Dr. Naeini is one of the instructors who you can tell loves his job. Even though we are in a lecture hall situation with 85 students I still feel like I am connected to him. Homework exists in the course, but is only moderately challenging. The homework really helps me understand a lot of the concepts in the course. Dr. Naeini loves to work with technology, but sometimes it doesn’t always enjoy working with him that much. He makes an attempt at using bold new teaching methods. So far this semester I have been introduced to WebAssign and Clickers. I enjoy WebAssign and think it is a valuble teaching tool. Clickers on the other hand are just annoying and should never be used in any serioud academic setting as large as what we have. Dr. Naeini is doing a fine job and is very understanding. My present grade estimate is in the A or B range, depending on the way the tests go.
“Betsy” Newman – Writing in Academic Communication – MW – 3-4:20 –
Betsy is nuts, but is a decent teacher. Betsy is probably the youngest instructor that I have currently. She relates to students very well and tends to act a lot like us. She looses things, gets confused, talks to herself and can be a complete spaz at times. Can anyone think of a better person for teaching me? Mrs. Newman is good at what she does. Her techniques for teaching rely heavily on student involvement, something which a lot of instructors think college students are too old for. Peer learning is one of the most successful ways of absorbing knowledge that exists. Betsy’s style is not so lecture oriented, but yet the material gets covered, and no one falls asleep. High school was never as much fun as Betsy’s class. I suspect an A in this course as well.
Mr. James Frakes – Western History and Culture: Masterpieces of Western Art – T – 6:30-9:20 –
Mr. Frakes is purely a lecturer. He cares about the subject matter, but isn’t directly interacting with the class. Im not truely sure of what I think about him yet, but I think it will be a very dull semester with him. I can make no grade projections for this course.
Mr. Kamran Ahmad – Introduction to Physics Lab – R – 2-5:00 –
Mr. Ahmad is a TA, he directs the lab and is very effective in doing so. He is strict with procedures, but is very helpful. Mr. Ahmad is a very understanding and flexible instructor. I don’t know of anyone else who has that much paitience with blonde chicks. Not much else to say about him, he is a TA and my grade is based upon lab attendance and my lab notebook.
Dr. Kieth Noland – Abnormal Psychology – R – 6-8:50 –
Dr. Noland teaches the course quickly, but yet efficiently. He is nice about the way he does things. Dr. Noland does not take attendance because he believes that if we don’t attend class we will wreak havok upon our own grades. I have no indication of a grade in the course as of yet, but I think I will do well, I always seem to with Psychology courses.
That concludes the instructor evaluations for now. Maybe this will give my readers more of an insight into the instructors as well as give me a point of reference when I fill out a RateMyProfessors.com evaluation at the conclusion of the semester.