Student ratings of teaching log in SILC at Arizona State University (1-5, 1=high; 5=low)
Representative Student Comments
I included a representative sample of my students’ course evaluations. The information provided is truthful, and the originals or more examples can be requested at any time for verification.
GER 313: German Composition 1.48
“She had very high expectations and drove us to work harder. I learned more in this class then in any of my 7 years in German.”
“The strengths of this course are the detailed assignments that are of personal interest.”
SLC/SPA 591: Teaching methods for Foreign Language Teaching assistants 1.32
“Carla is a phenomenal professor who brings so much knowledge, enthusiasm and sincere care to her class. She truly cares about her students and is extremely passionate about teaching.”
“Carla is a wonderful teacher. She is very understanding and she relates to all of us so well. Course is well organized and quite interesting. It is so obvious Carla’s passion and competence in the subject.”
GER 101: German I 1.1
“Learning a foreign language is challenging, but I feel that the instructor taught the subject in an effective way, and has increased my ability to learn not only German, but foreign languages in general.”
“Professor Ghanem's enthusiasm was contagious. She was so warm and welcoming and it really helped us to open up and let go of our fear of speaking out loud and putting ourselves out there. Her personality and teaching style made us more at ease when trying new sentence structures, attempting to pronounce words we didn't know, etc.”
GER 313: German Composition 1.5
“Very helpful professor! I really enjoyed her class, and when I was falling behind she was very helpful in guiding me back to a good grade.”
“The instructor was very good, she truley enjoyed her job, and cared about the students. She was tough enough so people were forced to learn and improve, but fair enough not to fail everyone. She was also entertaining, and made class enjoyable.”
SLC 201: Introduction to Linguistics 1.2
“This instructor could be teaching basketweaving, and I would consider taking the class. She is enthusiastic, presents the subject matter in a fun and engaging fashion, and prompts students to participate fully, without being pushy.
“The strength of this course was having a professor who was fluent in three different languages and could critically analyze and compare, and use these languages as examples in our course material.”
GER 111: Accelerated First-year German 1.3
“The instructor's enthusiasm for this course made a perfect environment for learning.”
“The professor was very passionate about the subject, very focused on engaging students and pushed for success.”
GER 313: German Composition 1.6
“I enjoy that she speaks a lot of German in this class and is genuinely interested in the topic. She takes her class very seriously.”
“I really liked that the teacher is a fluent German speaker. I feel that I improved my German vocabulary and writing skills substantially. The course is very in depth and all spoken in German. The teacher did a very good job of keeping the classroom language in German at all times which is admirable because that is a very hard thing to do when all students speak fluent English and sometimes it is easier to fall back on when not all is understood. The teacher made an effort to make sure all students knew each other and we did a lot of group collaboration. I learned a lot more about Germany, and am more confident writing in German.”
CHI/FRE/GER/JPN/SPA 591: Teaching methods for Foreign Language Teaching assistants 1.4
“Carla has designed the class around her students' growth as language instructors. One of the biggest strengths was the opportunity she gave us to visit other classrooms to help us learn from other instructors.”
“The instructor was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable of the content, which made it easier to learn the material. This was a very good class, and enjoyed it very much.”
GER 319: Business Correspondence/Communication 1.2
“I thought the instructor did very well. She was clear in what we needed to do and graded fairly. I thought the presentation and written assignments related very well to the course and I learned useful information from that material.”
“Wonderful instructor, I would recommend any of her classes. Her enthusiasm is absolutely contagious.”
GER 494/521: History of German Language 1.3
“Dr. Ghanem excels at allowing each student to provide their knowledge, thoughts and opinions on the given subject matter. She does this through both an open discussion format, as well as by forcing the students to teach an assigned portion of the day's material.”
“Enjoy class very much! Great open discussion of ideas.”
SLC 201: Introduction to Linguistics 1.4
“She's really fantastic - she's so enthusiastic about the subject of linguistics that every class is fun, and as a student it makes me want to learn more about the subject.”
“Great sense of humor; makes her expectations very clear in the syllabus; it's clear she has an extensive knowledge of languages and is enthusiastic about SILC and SLC201 and linguistics in general.”
GER/SLC 494/598: Multi-Kulti: Multiculturalism in Central Europe 1.3
“This course was designed in a highly constructive way. The weekly class discussions have been some of the best college course forums I have experienced, where students are able to exchange ideas with one another and the instructor in a way that allows everyone to deepen their own understanding of the thematic concepts. The variety of both the texts and the films was excellent, as well as each work's ability to address multiculturalism.”
“the discussion based setup provided for in depth analysis and questioning of course material; the films and readings allowed for visual and audio students with the opportunity to use their preferred method of learning”
CHI/FRE/GER/JPN/SPA 591: Teaching methods for Foreign Language Teaching assistants 1.5
“I like how Dr. Ghanem organized the class. She had us work collaboratively very often, which helped us better understand the material. She always put an emphasis on practical application, which is important since many of my classmates had never taken a teaching methods course before.”
“Carla's energy made it so easy to stay focused in class. The class was at 3, which is later in the day, but I always looked forward to the class and knew it would be interesting.”
GER 580: Practicum (1-credit hour course) (was not evaluated)
GER 319: Business Correspondence/Communication 1.3
“This course is one of the most interactive I have ever taken, with lots of group work and discussion. The professor makes class very engaging.”
“I thoroughly enjoyed the class and learned a ton of different facts about the German and American economies. I also learned tons of new vocabulary and was able to improve my speaking skills as well.”
GER/SLC 494/598: Intercultural Communicative Competence 1.5
“Class participation is what made this class so awesome. Usually in a class at this hour, I would be falling asleep, but I never had this problem in Dr. Ghanem’s class because we were always engaged in discussion or doing interesting and fun activities. The assignments were not overly demanding and they were very interesting.”
“Dr. Ghanem’s passion for and insight into the course’s subject matter are the major strengths. She clearly knows the subject well, and consistently put the general study of communication into the light of intercultural interaction.”
FRE/GER/SPA 591: Teaching Methods for TAs 1.3
“The course is interesting and points methods new Teaching Assistants need to know. It is very interactive and a way for new TA's to show help each other and develop their teaching curriculum with the help of each other. The teacher seems highly enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the topic and very helpful.”
“Carla is very knowledgeable and really goes out of her way to make this course successful and to help us grow as individuals.
GER 494/521: History of German Language 1.7
“I enjoyed the interactive instruction style. It made a topic that could potentially be incredibly boring much more interesting.”
“The strengths are in the way Dr. Ghanem encourages us to think critically and have discussion in class. Also how she responds to feedback from students.”
SLC 201: Introduction to Linguistics 1.6
“Love the interaction and the teaching methods! Favorite class this semester, hands down.”
“Dr. Ghanem was a great instructor. She facilitated and encouraged debate and conversation among students so that rather than just a straight-forward lecture, we were able to learn by discussing and asking questions. Her knowledge of the subject clearly expanded beyond just the course studies, so I felt that if I asked a question that went beyond what we were learning, I could trust that she truly knew what she was talking about. I appreciated her instruction because she made things understandable even to those with no prior understanding of linguistics without "dumbing down" the subject.”
FRE/GER/JPN/SLC 591: Foreign Language Teaching Approaches & Pedagogy 1.5
“I really enjoyed how we had to work with different students and think critically about the various texts that we read. An important part of that was not always agreeing with what the authors wrote and I really liked that we were encouraged to speak our minds about the texts as well. The observations and micro-teachings were also very good because I was able to see how other teachers teach and see how I can use some of those methods/approaches in my own teaching.”
“The small group interaction and environment on a consistent basis; the instructor's knowledge on the subject matter.”
“Dr. Ghanem is very knowledgeable as well as personable. She is always willing to give help during office hours and on appointment. She gives lots of feedback.”
GER/SLC 494/598: Multi-Kulti: Multiculturalism in Central Europe 1.2
“The strength of this class is the openness in class discussions. The instructor is very good at guiding the discussions and promoting a respectful classroom, even with difficult topics. I also really enjoyed the interactivity of the class, how the teacher made it interesting and participatory.”
“I was challenged to critically examine my ideas and beliefs about the subject matter. As a class we had in-depth discussions of material. I feel that I gained a much better understand of the multifaceted nature of the course topic. Carla is great at encouraging students to dive deeper and analyze the material more deeply.”
“Discussion-oriented, open to thoughts and ideas from its students. Other strengths include the actual teaching method, instead of lecturing for three hours, instructor encourages critical thinking and discussion among students. Grad/undergrad immersion is also a huge strength. Engagement as well.”
GER 201: Intermediate German icourse (designed and implemented for the first time by me) 1.0
“Since it's an online course, I could do the work at my own time which was nice since I have a job. The virtual meetings were very helpful and the instructor was willing to accommodate the students with the convenient time.”
GER/SLC 494/598: Intercultural Communicative Competence 1.5
“I think the best part was the discussion and interaction with the professor and other students. I don´t think I´ve had a class with such an inviting and engaging atmosphere. I felt comfortable to share and open up about certain things. While not many projects were due, the ones that were assigned were appropriate and helped get the most out of the course material.”
GER 494: Outreach: Teaching German in US 2
“This course provided completely new material that opened up new opportunities and possibilities for me in the future. I really enjoyed learning this new material and the way that the professor taught it to us.”
“It was a demanding course and it was good to be so involved in the lesson plan. It allowed me to have a new perspective on teaching and what it takes to be a teacher.”
SLC 201: Introduction to Linguistics 1.5
“[...]Personally, I was always interested in the material, especially under the instruction of Dr. Ghanem. The assignments and projects asked of us were helpful as well to learning the course material thoroughly."
“The strengths of this course was the Professor. The professor is the base to the whole class. I have never had a teacher that just knew everything. She was amazing and did her best to have the students understand the course information.”
“The course is very clear and the way it is organized and taught makes it very easy to understand the many things we study. The teacher was informative as well as friendly and it was enjoyable being in her class.”
GER/SLC 494/598: Intercultural Communicative Competence 1.2
“The open-ended discussion that occurs in this course is fantastic. It made every class extremely engaging and overall helped tie in the themes/concepts from required materials. This course forced me to do so much self-reflection into my own behaviors, that in the end it has created a positive long-lasting impact not only in my future career but in my future interactions in general.”
“The presentation by the instructor was a great buffer between the reading materials and other concepts.”
SLC 201: Introduction to Linguistics (60 students class; designed and taught for the first time) 1.6
“She does a great job of explaining enough to get you interested in an area of linguistics and enough to do well in class. She makes class interesting and exciting.”
“Strengths are the interaction that is encouraged among the students and teacher.”
“The instructor, Dr. Ghanem, is very knowledgeable on the subject.”
GER 494: Outreach: Teaching German in the US 1.9
“The professor is one of the best German speakers I have taken a course with throughout my time here at ASU. She does an excellent job of identifying areas of improvement for her students and addressing those to that they better themselves. She provided timely and effective feedback for assignments throughout the course/semester. Would highly recommend.”