Teaching Evaluations
The University of Akron Biology Department standardized their teaching evaluations in Spring 2019. My evaluations both prior to Spring 2019 and after are given separately.
Students were asked to rate their level of agreement with each of the following 13 statements:
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Overall, I rate this instructor as an excellent teacher.
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Overall, I rate this course as excellent.
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Overall, I rate the information I gained on the topics in this course as...
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I feel comfortable asking my instructor for help.
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My instructor grades fairly.
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My instructor explains the lab activities in a way that makes sense.
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My instructor gets the class involved in lab activities.
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My instructor helps guide me to answers, but does not give them to me.
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My instructor treats students with respect.
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My instructor is always prepared for lab.
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My instructor is knowledgeable about biology.
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My instructor teaches biology in a way that is easy to understand.
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My instructor helps to clarify any questions I have about biological concepts.
These questions were answered using the following Likert scale:
1: Strongly Disagree/Very Low
2: Disagree/Low
3: Neither Agree nor Disagree/Average
4: Agree/High
5: Strongly Agree/Very High
Response Rates:
BIO 401 | Gross Human Anatomy:
n = 133, N = 159 | 83.65%
BIO 201/203 | Human Anatomy & Physiology I / II
n = 128, N = 140 | 91.43%
BIO 102 | Human Anatomy & Physiology I
n = 15, N = 25 | 60.00%
TOTAL:
n = 276, N = 324 | 85.19%
Teaching Evaluation Comments and Unsolicited Emails
The following are a selection of comments either written anonymously on instructor evaluations or provided in unsolicited student emails. Bolding is added for emphasis.
"Reed was very approachable and always willing to help. I never felt like any of my 'dumb' questions were actually dumb when I asked him, because I wasn’t afraid to ask."
"[Reed] brought great energy and passion to his job which made it fun and easy to learn."
"Professional, yet informal. He knows his stuff and is very friendly and willing to help or give explanations."
"[Reed] did a very good job in helping understand material that is sometimes very difficult to understand. He is fair without being easy and friendly without compromising academic integrity."
"I have taken many labs at the university and Reed ranks among the top of all the lab instructors I have encountered even outside of labs. He is very easy to get ahold of and manages his time and energy well for his students."
"...[Reed] is very knowledgeable and sympathetic which is a winning combination in an educator. [He] has a way of making the material seem manageable and in such a rigorous course it is so appreciated."
"[Graduate TA] and Reed have been such a positive light during these tough times [COVID-19 online course transition]. Your positivity and energy make learning online so much easier."
"He was especially knowledgeable about the heart and made learning it quite interesting despite me having not much interest in it."
"Reed is very jovial and lighthearted, which rubs off on the people he teaches."
"Since the first day [Reed was] able to create this comfortable atmosphere where I felt secure in asking [him] questions and loved having [him] around during lab."
"...I found Reed to be very approachable and personable. His cadaver presentations always left me feeling better about the anatomy than I had felt prior."
"He was very open-minded and was happy to answer questions and crack a joke every now and then."
"Approachable and kind. Never made you feel silly for asking anything you may not be sure about."
“Reed has been an excellent instructor! He is always willing to review the material with us multiple times until we really learn it. He has a great, positive, upbeat personality which he transfers to his teaching to make the students more passionate and engaged. 10/10 would recommend.”
“…When we have cadaver presentations he will go over things more than once if necessary and will even help by quizzing us. He was also very helpful with the models and made sure we had the correct muscles. Overall he is the best instructor that I have had in all of my labs at Akron.”
"Reed's background as an EMT was very helpful in lab by describing real life scenarios and how they would present. His knowledge of Latin roots for all the terms was incredible helpful to break down their literal meanings"