Mentor Evaluation
Dr. Barman's thoughts on my mentored teaching project experience
What skill/ability/behavior did the mentored teaching project set out to change?
1) Reduce plagiarism 2) Enhance writing skills 3) Enhance communication skills 4) Improve journal club 5) Help students focus |
What assignments or activities were implemented to address these problems?
1) Lecture on plagiarism and use of TurnItIn 2) More diverse writing assignments 3) Include writing for a lay audience 4) Student-centered journal club discussion 5) More structure to writing assignment, including a grading rubric |
What were the strengths of the assignments/activities?
1) Students given an opportunity to experience more diverse writing skills 2) Very open communication in class, great participation |
What were the weaknesses of the assignments/activities?
Students had some difficulties writing a lay audience “breakthrough” article, intended to be styled like Tuesday Science articles in NY Times. |
What instrument was used to collect information for this project, and how effective was it?
Survey for students. All completed surveys. Students enjoyed format. What surprised you about the results? The students have already encouraged other students to sign up for next year. |
What did the information collected for the project indicate? How did this compare to previous semesters?
Students were very pleased with the course. There was by far more student interaction/participation in class this term than previous terms. |
Were the assignments/activities useful to the instructor? What did the instructor gain from it? How did this compare to previous semesters?
Rubric was a great addition to assignment assessment. Clear expectations were there. Students and instructor were confident for the basis of grading. |
Were the assignments/activities useful to students? What did the students gain from it? How did this compare to previous semesters?
Improved communication skills. Students felt comfortable expressing opinions and asking questions. |
What changes would you recommend?
This was a great course this term. I would work on helping students understand the lay audience (NY Times). |
Additional comments?
All the changes Tania implemented had a definite positive impact on the course. |