Where should I begin?
This class was awesome! I really enjoyed being able to do the Teach the Class assignment and final presentation on leaders in the world. I think that these two assignments were most exciting to me because it allowed me to be in my comfort zone. I also like the assignment on logical fallacies. I never really thought about how much people use them every day and probably don’t even realize it. I actually enjoyed writing these blogs and found them very helpful to relieve stress sometimes – just to be able to just sit down and talk about whatever was on my mind (even though I had difficulty setting aside time to do them).
I like your style of teaching. Aimee, you make sure that you consider the students and things that are going on in their lives. You are fair in grading and make sure that the students understand why they got the grades they received. Something else that I noticed about your grading, you were very thorough in telling me what I did well and need to improve on in the future. I think this class is a great class to take to understand how to work in teams and discover our strengths and weaknesses. The only thing I would suggest would be to maybe have smaller group discussions first then big group discussion, but overall, I think the class went well.
The assignments were useful in many ways. Being able to relate the readings and information in class to our own lives made this class more interesting, in my opinion. Of the four years that I have been at the University of Minnesota, I can honestly say that you are one of the few teachers that actually took the time to listen to what we had to say. I think that is a great quality in a leader. I think that I will always remember you and your style of teaching and will be able to apply many of your methods to my future career.
Thank you for everything,
-Jenn-
Hi Jenn - I am very honored that you thought so highly of this class. It means a lot to me. I'm sad that more teachers don't take the take to learn about their students and to provide helpful feedback. I always learn a lot from each of you.
Thank you for your feedback about the assignments. I like that you mentioned that logical fallacies. It's important to have an awareness of these fallacies. Now - you'll start to see them everywhere.
I will use the small group discussion first - then move to the "whole class" discussion. Thanks for the suggestion. I worried that you would be sick of the topic, but, as I listen to your feedback, it seems like you may gather more confidence about the topics as well as discover other perspectives by starting with your smaller groups.
Thanks again, Jenn. Best wishes to you - keep in touch.
Posted by: Aimee at December 21, 2005 7:38 PMOpen communication of students and teacher can really help in increasing confidence. With the teacher who listens to what her students has got to say about their topic, lesson, class, etc. is an effective way of improving her teaching and students can learn further.
Increasing confidence of students will help their relationship with their teacher become more comfortable and open. I think that would be an advantage to gain the students' trust.
Posted by: Increasing Confidence at August 9, 2007 11:09 AM