Individual Report for Anton Vander Zee (HONS 110-03: Honors Academic Writing)

College of Charleston Course-Instructor Evaluations (Fall 2012)

Project Audience 20 Responses Received 16

Report Comments Term: Fall 2012

Creation DateSaturday, December 15, 2012

Summary
Question Course materials were well-prepared and carefully explained. Course objectives were clearly stated and pursued. Assignments, tests, and written work in the course reflected the content and emphasis of the course. Required readings/texts were valuable. Methods used for evaluating student work were fair and appropriate. Feedback on graded assignments was valuable. I found this course intellectually challenging and stimulating. I have developed my skills and knowledge. Students were encouraged to share knowledge and ideas. This course increased my interest in the subject. The instructor showed enthusiasm for teaching the subject. The instructor showed interest in the learning and development of the students. The instructor was adequately accessible to students during office hours or after class. Overall this instructor is an effective teacher. Overall, this is a good course. Overall Department Mean 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.1 4.3 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.3 3.9 4.6 4.4 4.4 4.3 4.2 4.3 Campus Mean 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.1 4.3 4.1 4.2 4.2 4.3 3.9 4.6 4.4 4.4 4.3 4.2 4.3 Section Mean 4.4 4.5 4.8 4.1 4.5 4.8 4.6 4.9 4.7 3.6 5.0 4.9 4.9 4.5 4.5 4.6

2/17

Organization
1. Course materials were well-prepared and carefully explained. 2. Course objectives were clearly stated and pursued.

Statistics Response Count Mean Median

Value 16 4.4 4.5

Statistics Response Count Mean Median

Value 15 4.5 5.0

Overall

1. Course materials were wellprepared and carefully explained.

2. Course objectives were clearly stated and pursued.

Comments on organization:
Comment 1. Highly structured course 2. The class had a sensible organization that encouraged our growth throughout the course. 3. Often it didn't seem like the Professor knew exactly how he wanted the class to run. 4. Very well planned out and organized. Schedule online and up to date.

3/17

Assignments
1. Assignments, tests, and written work in the 2. Required readings/texts were valuable. course reflected the content and emphasis of the course.

Statistics Statistics Response Count Mean Median Value 16 4.8 5.0 Response Count Mean Median

Value 15 4.1 4.0

Overall

1. Assignments, tests, and written work in the course reflected the content and emphasis of the course.

2. Required readings/texts were valuable.

Comments on assignments:
Comment 1. A lot of reading and a lot of papers- definitely a lot of hard work. 2. Were always relevant. 3. I never felt like any of the required reading was useless or unnecessary. 4. Assignments fit what we were doing at each stage of the class and helped me to better understand the material.

4/17

Grading
1. Methods used for evaluating student work were 2. Feedback on graded assignments was fair and appropriate. valuable.

Statistics Response Count Mean Median

Value 16 4.5 4.5

Statistics Response Count Mean Median

Value 15 4.8 5.0

Overall

1. Methods used for evaluating student work were fair and appropriate.

2. Feedback on graded assignments was valuable.

Comments on grading:
Comment 1. Gives a lot of great feedback. Always gives great feedback on rough drafts before you turn them in for a grade. 2. Sometimes I couldn't figure out what the professor wanted. I thought my writing was good but it seemed to be the opposite of what he was asking for, and other times it seemed like it was exactly what he wanted. So it was a bit wishy washy. 3. feedback was always valuable...I feel like he really took his time to help each student 4. I have never in my life had a teacher who graded with a method better than Dr. Vander Zee's. His grid method and comments are thorough and I have never had to question why points were deducted or awarded because everything is explained and supported very clearly. 5. I was thankful for feedback on assignments as it helped me to learn and to become a better writer. 6. Very detailed and methodical way of grading. Easy to understand what parts of writing need improvement to achieve a better grade.

5/17

6/17

Learning
1. I found this course intellectually challenging and stimulating. 2. I have developed my skills and knowledge.

Statistics Statistics Response Count Mean Median Value 16 4.6 5.0 Response Count Mean Median

Value 16 4.9 5.0

3. Students were encouraged to share knowledge 4. This course increased my interest in the and ideas. subject.

Statistics Response Count Mean Median

Value 16 4.7 5.0

Statistics Response Count Mean Median

Value 16 3.6 3.5

7/17

Learning
Overall

1. I found this course intellectually challenging and stimulating.

2. I have developed my skills and knowledge.

3. Students were encouraged to share knowledge and ideas.

4. This course increased my interest in the subject.

Comments on learning:
Comment 1. In my experience, English professors focused more on content than actual writing techniques, so in this class, I was able to refine my writing skills--including transitions and quote integration--while also being graded on the content. 2. I enjoyed learning from fellow classmates and what they focused on in the class. I gained a better understanding of my community and world through this class and I learned more skills and knowledge I can continue to use in my future writings. 3. I didn't really want to take a writing class in college, but I'm glad I got to take Vander Zee's class. Very entertaining, and receptive of diverse research ideas.

8/17

Instructor
1. The instructor showed enthusiasm for teaching 2. The instructor showed interest in the learning the subject. and development of the students.

Statistics Response Count Mean Median

Value 16 5.0 5.0

Statistics Response Count Mean Median

Value 16 4.9 5.0

3. The instructor was adequately accessible to students during office hours or after class.

Statistics Response Count Mean Median

Value 16 4.9 5.0

9/17

Instructor
Overall

1. The instructor showed enthusiasm for teaching the subject.

2. The instructor showed interest in the learning and development of the students.

3. The instructor was adequately accessible to students during office hours or after class.

How many classes has the professor missed in this course?

Overall

10/17

Comments on instructor
Comment 1. Great professor, super enthusiastic about English and definitely cares about students, but he is extremely challenging and requires a lot of work. 2. Very funny and made the course interesting. Teacher student meetings were much more helpful than any I'd ever had before. 3. Absolutely phenomenal teacher! Showed a real desire to teach writing to students. 4. When he isn't a little flustered from running up the three flights of stairs, he always come into class with a smile and is genuinely excited to teach. That is honestly a feature that I thought I'd lose in the transition from high school to college, but it makes me hopeful that other professors will have the same love of teaching as Professor Vander Zee. 5. The instructor was highly interested in our success in his class as well as in other areas of our academic lives. He encouraged us to always ask ourselves questions, learn and research more, gain more knowledge on our subjects, etc. He was energetic about the class and very relatable as a teacher. 6. Great professor, very enthusiastic, caring, and helpful.

11/17

Overall this instructor is an effective teacher.

Overall

Comments on teaching
Comment 1. Enjoyable, tough, enthusiastic 2. He was good but often seemed behind or scatter brained in returning papers and scheduling conferences. 3. Very organized manner of teaching. Has found effective resources, and doesn't overuse them.

12/17

Overall, this is a good course.

Overall

Comments on course:
Comment 1. A little frustrating because there are several different Honors 110 Academic Writing classes, Professor Vander Zee is definitely more difficult and requires a lot more work than other teachers of the course. A lot more work and harder to get good grades all for the same credit as someone in a much easier section of the course. 2. I learned so much more through this class; I have gained many skills and knowledge through this class that has helped me to become a better, more mature writer. 3. teaches the fundamentals of writing very well

13/17

Please comment on aspects of the instructors teaching or of the course that have been most valuable to you.
Comment 1. Cares a lot about his students, gives great valuable feedback on writing, pushes you to be a better writer. 2. His focus on effective writing styles and summarizing and argumentative methods was helpful and informative. 3. Teacher-student meetings on individual assignments. 4. His feedback was very thought-provoking and useful when I conferenced with him during office hours. I felt that his point of you challenged my writing in constructive ways to help me become a better writer. 5. consistently available to explain feedback and to provide suggestions on how to improve 6. Dr. VZ has a very meticulous manner of grading and breaking down the specifics of a paper, and writing in general, and this has made me more conscious of the breakdown of a piece of writing.

Please comment on aspects of the instructors teaching or of the course that you feel most need improvement.
Comment 1. Requires a lot of work, has extremely high expectations 2. Clarity of due dates. 3. I feel that he was a very well-rounded professor who does not need improvement from what he is doing already. 4. If the class was better organized that would help. 5. Great professor, but at times should stick to the most straight forward way of explaining assignments. Can get caught up in the flowers of language that can make things confusing at times.

14/17

Reason for taking this course:

Before enrolling in this course, how much interest did you have in taking it?

Overall

How difficult did you find this course?

Overall

15/17

The workload for this course was:

Overall

How many classes (excused and unexcused) have you missed in this course?

Overall

Expected grade in this course:

Overall

16/17

Your overall GPA:

Overall

17/17