Student Evaluations

A Selection of Student Reviews

"Overall, the professor did a great job at explaining difficult concepts in an easy to understanding way. As well as providing answers to questions asked. During one of the lectures he said he likes it when students ask questions so it gives him an opportunity to think too. I like this mindset. It breeds a helpful learning environment that allows the student to truly be comfortable with asking questions."

"One of the best instructors I have taken a class with at my time at USF, explains everything very well and provides good examples to facilitate learning."

“Great professor! Knowledgeable about the material and able to present the material in a clear and concise manner. Challenges students and has a genuine interest in helping students become more confident and proficient programmers.”

“I was very impressed by Zach's command of the material and ability to teach it.”

“He is easy to get along with, understanding, and very helpful. I approached him numerous times questions about our (extremely difficult) projects, and he was always very eager to help. I would definitely take another course with him, without question. I'm glad I took this course with him, I have heard stories from friends about their experiences with other professors. I feel very prepared for my upcoming courses.”

“Zach actually made the class interesting and I looked forward to going to it. I feel like I learned an incredible amount and feel very specialized in data structures and even have a good start on algorithms or when I take my algorithms class.”

“I really liked how rigorous you made the projects. It's not easy, and it takes a lot of extra research on the side, but I feel very prepared and comfortable with advanced C++ and data structures after taking your class. I think one small tweak would be to have better written slides for some topics, but if I wasn't able to find something I needed in the slides, it was easily looked-up in the book.”

“Very good instructor who cares very much about his students. Makes sure you actually learn the material. My only complaint is the assignments are much more intensive than the [other instructor] version of the course, but he answers any questions on them and they make sure they student actually learns to program.”

“Instructor Beasley took suggestions as the semester progressed and listened to the students as to how the course could include better tools for learning the information. He provided worksheets to work out algorithms and certain data structures on paper. This was done as a response to asking for more of this type of work and immensely helped learn the material. The course assignments were very difficult but not impossible to do.”

"Seemed to me that the professor was genuinely concerned with giving the students the best experience possible. He often asked how we felt about the class and different lecture methods and tried to make a dull subject interesting. He was always accessible and kind. Expectations were clear. I would take another class with him if I was presented the opportunity to do so."

"Was very clear and concise. He could answer any questions that were directed at him. If he couldn't answer it on the spot he always followed up with a canvas or piazza post. Easy to talk to."

"Mr. Beasley has been an excellent instructor. He engages the classroom with in–class exercises that help students better understand course material that has been taught in the lectures. Mr. Beasley goes above and beyond to ensure that students understand a concept before moving on with the lecture. Mr. Beasley has been fair in his examinations and projects, they truly test your understanding of the material."

"Very good professor for a challenging class. There was never a moment when I thought things weren't explained well enough."

Student Review Summary Processed with My Sentiment Analysis Algorithm

Just for fun, I decided to apply my research to all the student textual reviews I received in 2017, 2018, and 2019. The result below was not edited, but was the result of my algorithm for analyzing peer review in the classroom. Thankfully, my students had enough good to say that I received a high B+. The top three aspects (nouns) upon which students commented were "class", "professor", and "job" - although the sentiment captured on those aspects was imperfect, it was close, especially for the number of short reviews received.