Student Evaluations

These are the most common words used in my end of the semester student evaluations. I feel that they adequately describe how I teach and interact with my students. I make a valiant effort to make my students feel wanted and human. I am not perfect in my efforts as with dozens of students per semester there will always be a couple that I do not connect with or do not feel like I gave them my all. However, my student evaluations over 5 semesters (see attached) at the University of South Florida which have dozens of examples where students stated I was their best teaching assistant they have ever had. 

I have taught chemistry laboratory classes and recitation style classes during my time at USF and Yale. I strive to personally touch every student that I am responsible for helping. I value being available to my students and treating them with respect and letting each one know that I care about their learning. Unfortunately during my time at Yale the Preceptor position was not given any direct quantitative evaluation. I have copied responses from the most recent Spring semester or you can look up all the courses I worked with (link provide below). I have compiled graphs based on the numeric responses for USF's end of the semester evaluation survey. The two responses that I would like to draw particular attention to is my results from questions 5 (shows respect and concern for students) which I believe contributes most directly to my results from question 8 (overall rating of TA). 

For full access to my TA evaluations here is a link to USF's Student Assessment of Instruction Reporting:

• https://fair.usf.edu/EvaluationMart/Default.aspx 

• https://oce.app.yale.edu/ocedashboard/#forward

The graph is laid out to show the semester and how many respondents per students in the class the evaluation is based on. Over the past 2 years I have consistently been above the average for both my department and college based on overall performance. You will notice how I have improved from my first semester of teaching, as I learned more from both experience and researching best practices. I believe the students’ comments below reflect my efforts:

Mr. Clark did an excellent job with us in our chemistry lab course. He had a charismatic character that made him easy to approach for questions and concerns regarding the experiments, and genuinely enjoys watching students work through problems and learn with the assistance he provides. Though this is only my first year, I can say with confidence that Aaron Clark will likely remain one of the best lab instructors I will have, and definitely my favorite.

Aaron is the best TA of all time. He's so helpful during the class, and he always makes the student figure things out for themselves. I think he provides the right amount of help during lab and allows students to make their own mistakes. He is also very helpful outside of lab and I would recommend him to everyone if I could.

The absolute BEST TA I've ever head, always super willing to help outside of class during office hours or even around campus. Aaron was always brutally honest with us regarding tests/scores and encouraged us to get help, even if we didn't think we needed it. During the year, he had to be moved to a bigger classroom because his office hours were so full. I couldn't recommend him more; fantastic TA.

The graph is laid out to show the class in each semester and how many respondents per students in the class the evaluation is based on. I have consistently been above the average for both my department and college based on students perceptions of my respect and concern towards students. I believe the students’ comments below reflect my efforts:

Thank you for being a great TA and being honest, respectful, and helpful to all your students!

Great to work with. His interest in the course material and genuine concern for his students was evident throughout the course. He was easy to get in touch with and was clearly knowledgeable on material.

AMAZING. Aaron truly made himself available and expressed concern for all of his students in the course.

While there are several factors that go into student perceptions of what makes a great teacher, I do believe that there is a strong correlation of overall rating and shows respect and concern for students. That is what makes me different in the eyes of my students. I do not see them as just an aspect of my job, but I see them as individuals with dreams that I am responsible for helping to reach. And if they know that I care about their dreams, they will care about their dreams and that hopefully translates into success in the class. I believe the students’ comments below reflect my efforts:

This is the second semester (OChem1&2) that I had the pleasure of being in Aaron's Friday Recitation Session. He is hands down the best TA I've had in any subject throughout my college career. I am not very good in Organic Chem and sometimes lectures would make topics daunting and stressful. Aaron has analogies and demonstrations that simplify reactions and make the topics memorable. Although my busy schedule did not allow me to come to office hours this semester, Aaron ALWAYS reminded us that he was there to help us whether it was through office hours, email, or just passing him by on campus. He honestly cares about students learning this difficult subject; he does a fantastic job!

Aaron finds a way to make the course material accessible to a variety of students. He is always cheerful and willing to help in any way he can and is a really positive presence in what is a challenging course. His style and method of teaching is different from [Course Instructor], which actually helps students learn in multiple ways, which cements concepts more properly.

Aaron is one of the best TA's i have had! He really cares about the students and is always telling us to come to his office hours if we need help on anything! He is busy but still makes time and cares deeply about organic chemistry and the students.