Introduction to Religious Studies (2001-2005) - Student Evaluations

David Vishanoff

This summary, based on institutional forms and my own course-specific surveys, shows steady progress in student appreciation for the course from 2001 to spring 2005.  I take this as an indication that my skills have grown, and that the changes I made each term were responsive to students' needs.

Spring 2001 (Emory College, REL 100 - Introduction to Religion: Christianity and Islam).

This was my first lecture course.

Summary of University "bubble sheet" evaluations.

• Hard copy of data summary on file.
• Overall weighted mean course evaluation:  6.52 on a scale of 1 to 9.
• Overall weighted mean instructor evaluation:  7.02 on a scale of 1 to 9.

Religion Department questionnaire.

• Hard copies on file.
• Overall response to the course was, in retrospect, rather lukewarm.
• Questionnaires indicated that the field visits to churches and mosques were a highlight, while only a few found the in-class debates beneficial.  (The debates were eliminated the next time.)
• A few sample comments:
  • Would you recommend this course to a fellow student? 
    • "No.  The subject matter was interesting, but the lectures did not hold my attention."
    • "Yes, the class was overall very interesting and you learn a lot."

Course improvement survey.

• Hard copies on file.
• Surveys indicate students found online timeline and lecture notes quite helpful, but wished for less historical detail, easier primary texts, and more class interaction.
• Sample of comments:
  • "You did a wonderful job and did a lot more w/ an intro course than I expected."
  • "I thought you did an excellent job in preparation, organization, and fairness.  However, I think you could try to lecture more dynamically.  I also think you should decrease the amt. of info."
  • What do you think of the policy of making attendance a big factor in the final grade?  "People wouldn't really come otherwise."  [A telling comment.]
  • "I thought you were a wonderful listener and understood things about students."
  • "I think that in the beginning when giving an overview of the history was boring.  I think more class interaction would make the class more interesting."
  • "Your enthusiasm shows through to your teaching style.  It was very refreshing."
  • "The first half was so boring... every day... and the 2nd was very interesting.  But the 1st half was necessary for the 2nd, so I don't know how you could mix it up a bit."  [I guess this is precisely what I am finally doing fall 2005 - integrating the analysis of texts and field observations into the history.]
  • "Don't be so timid and soft spoken."

Fall 2003 (Emory College, REL 100 - Introduction to Religion: Christianity and Islam).

This term I spent less time lecturing through the online notes, and focused instead on analyzing visual, audio, video, and textual materials in terms of the history in the notes.  Students responded favorably to this approach.

Summary of University "bubble sheet" evaluations.

• Hard copy of data summary on file.
• Overall weighted mean course evaluation:  6.83 on a scale of 1 to 9.
• Overall weighted mean instructor evaluation:  7.48 on a scale of 1 to 9.

Religion Department questionnaire.

• Hard copies on file.
• Sample of comments:
  • "I truly enjoyed and learned from the field visits, I also found the class discussions to be a nice open place, where we could express our views but also got solid answers (or as solid as possible in a Religious Studies class)."
  • "Interesting and thought provoking."
  • "Enthusiastic professor, well presented, interesting and applicable."
  • Most beneficial parts:  "The online notes and exemplification of points through sensory examples in class."
  • "Not really well organized.  Lectures didn't help understand material.  Professor boring."
  • "Interesting and mind-opening."
  • "Boring and not very engaging."

Course improvement survey.

• Hard copies on file.
• Surveys indicate that students appreciated the analysis of sensory materials such as video (which was new this time), and the increased proportion of class discussion.  Many disliked the historical textbooks (Gonzalez and Armstrong).
• Sample of comments:
  • "At the beginning of the semester it seemed like you didn't know a lot about Christianity."
  • The timeline:  "a great study tool;" "very helpful;" "not helpful to memorize;" "helped me organize the large amount of information we learned."
  • My lecturing:  "engaging and energetic;" "comprehensive; showed a wide range of knowledge;" "sometimes lost my attention;" "too soft;" "clear and easy to follow;" "did not hold the attention of the class very well; sometimes dry."
  • Leadership of discussions:  "well-planned and inclusive;" "sometimes talking to only a couple of students."
  • "Very enjoyable class; it really helped me understand both religions much better, especially Islam."
  • "The outline online was a little too detailed and confusing."

Fall 2004 (U.S.C., REL 110 - Introduction to Religious Studies).

This term I created online reading questions to guide students' preparation; some students found these confusing.  I also required initial field visits early in the course so that observations could be analyzed throughout the term, but was still dissatisfied with the final field analysis papers.

Department of Religious Studies standard course evaluation form.

• Hard copies on file.
• University-mandated questions on mechanics of the course:  responses almost all positive except on "returning graded work with helpful comments" (some negative responses, presumably because no work requiring written comments was submitted until the very end of the course).
• Most said the use of the web (the class web site and questions on Blackboard) "greatly enhanced" the course.
• Lectures "informative and clearly delivered" according to 31 of 37 responses; 5 disagreed; 1 neutral.
• Overall response to the course:  Average of 4.0 on a scale of 1 to 5.  Breakdown:

1 - very negative	2 - negative	3 - average	4 - positive	5 - very positive
0	1	8	17	10

•   Sample of comments:
  • "Great teacher!"
  • "Seemed difficult to contribute to class coming from a non-Christian viewpoint."
  • "Tests have nothing to do with things we learned in class and he even admits you will not get all questions right even if you study the notes."
  • "My response to the course is that it is a 'good one' cause Prof. Vishanoff is great, but it is tough - definitely tough."
  • "Lectures were vague, did not seem to have a point/direction."
  • "David Vishanoff is the most caring professor ever.  He is very fair with grades and very understandable."
  • "Good teacher."
  • "More detailed than I expected."
  • "Understanding teacher."

Course improvement survey.

• Hard copies on file.
• Surveys indicate students found timeline helpful in many ways; the class outlines were too detailed; and the new online reading analysis questions were helpful but sometimes worded in a confusing way [I reworded many for the following term, and it apparently helped].
• Sample of comments:
  • "I hated the Blackboard [questions]."
  • "Open the blinds; it feels too much like a cell."
  • "Involve the class a little more; maybe group us together and give us a question...."
  • On the practice of using primary materials to illustrate the online historical notes, rather than lecturing on the history:
    • "Maybe lecture a little more on the most important or confusing historical parts, but I really enjoyed the applications and felt they greatly enhanced my understanding of the material."
    • "On some of the illustrations I was just simply confused... other illustrations, however, I found to be very interesting....  I would have liked to go over the on-line notes a little more thoroughly though."
    • [Need] "a little more structure to lectures."
    • "You should have lectured more [in a] more traditional fashion."
    • "A great tactic to apply the historical materials."
  • "Good class, not what I expected but a great learning experience."
  • "Sometimes I lost interest during class."
  • "Speak a little louder."
  • "Don't assume that everyone knows what you are talking about or has grown up in the church."
  • "You jumped back and forth from different topics a lot and I got confused."
  • "I enjoyed the information and how you put it in a way to think for ourselves."
  • "I think you should take more karate classes so you will have more confidence in yourself and be more authoritative."
  • "I love that you have such an open heart please don't change that."

Spring 2005 (U.S.C., REL 110 - Introduction to Religious Studies).

This term I revised and clarified the online reading questions, apparently with considerable success.  I also required a first written attempt at analyzing field observations early in the term, and provided detailed feedback.  Students found this helpful, but it did not improve their final analysis essays as much as I had hoped.

Department of Religious Studies standard course evaluation form.

• Hard copies on file.
• Only 31 students completed this form, though 36 completed my Course Improvement Survey.  This may have been because I did not allow enough time to fill out the forms.
• University-mandated questions on mechanics of the course:  responses virtually all positive.
• All but one said the use of the web (the class web site and questions on Blackboard) enhanced or greatly enhanced the course.
• Lectures "informative and clearly delivered" according to 27 of 31 responses; 4 disagreed.
• Overall response to the course:  Average of 4.42 on a scale of 1 to 5.  Breakdown:

1 - very negative	2 - negative	3 - average	4 - positive	5 - very positive
0	1	3	9	18

•   Sample of comments:
  • "The instructor of this course was excellent.  I enjoyed being in this class and I learned a lot.  The material was also brought across in an understandable way."
  • "It was very interesting, and I'll never look at church the same.  It's been fun."
  • "I was just really bored the entire semester and hated waking up for this class.  Thank God your test were easy because I really did not care at all."
  • "Dr. Vishanoff is amazing!"

Course improvement survey.

• Hard copies on file.
• These surveys provide valuable feedback on specific aspects of the course, such as the Blackboard questions (apparently much improved this term), and my sense that student interaction diminished this term (which surprisingly did not adversely affect student perceptions of the course).  Beginning this term, rather than quoting a few general comments, I am providing an online copy of the survey, with response data and summaries and samples of comments filled in.