Data
This dataset includes:
97 Teaching Evaluation questionnaires filled out by Vanderbilt University undergraduate and graduate student respondents for 7 courses I have co-taught from the last five years, 2018-2023.
Approach
Teaching Evaluations are respected metrics that academic institutions use to assess the caliper of their teaching.
Any true assessment of a teacher should center the voices of their students.
Methods
A qualitative methods approach that uses Likert scale data from one section of the questionnaire and written feedback for constant comparative coding from another.
How effective is my overall teaching?
Overall, my students gave me a 4.6 average out of 5 possible points on the quality and effectiveness of my teaching. Notably, this is more than one standard deviation above the average score for Vanderbilt faculty, which is 3.2.
In what ways did my students connect with me?
Section meetings—hands-on sessions—were most impactful for students.
55% of my responders also relied on digital connection via email, Zoom, Brightspace, Mural, Padlet, Perusall, or another class website.
41% of my students connected with me one-on-one in person, either during class or in my standing office hours.
How do students describe me as a teacher?
The 63 written comments fall into six key categories, shown here with size corresponding to the number of words written by students in each category.
Students wrote about my ability to keep them engaged with short lectures, insightful discussions, and content expertise. They noted my deconstruction of complex concepts, passion for learning, and responsiveness as highlights of learning with me. Many included generally positive remarks about what it was like to work with me (one called me “a generally cool person” so that became the category header for similar remarks).