I’ve been trying to press my peers at Valencia to release our “end of term” survey information from our students. For some reason, while transparency is some value for some people in some settings, once the spotlight gets turned on them, well it seems some would rather stay in the shrouds. So, in an effort to let my future students know what they are getting into, here’s my latest info about my teaching, the good and the bad. Note, all spelling and grammar are from the students, who often are writing in haste and aren’t really thinking about carefully constructing their sentences. These statements come from 7 classes of students, from those who posted a written comment. It’s a messy chart, but maybe one day soon I can just point to a link in Valencia where anyone can see any or all of my “Student Assessment of Instruction” information. Till then, enjoy the reading.
|
Explain what you found most helpful to your learning in this course. |
|
|||
1 |
I really liked the idea of prep work. It allowed me to research the material that was going to be covered in class before we went over it. This helped me learn and it felt great that I wasn’t going to class with no knowledge of what we were going to discuss. |
|
|||
2 |
As annoying as it was to have to do prep work before each class, i can really tell that it helped the class flow and made learning things easier. The class discussions where very helpful as well, not as much the discussions that we had as students in groups but more the ones we were having with the professor. |
|
|||
3 |
The professor, Creasman is always here to discuss grades, the content of the course or future assignment with you during, before or after class. This was really helpful in order to not be left behind. |
|
|||
4 |
creasman truly cares about his students. this is clearly evident to anyone who has taken any class of his. he does an amaizing job relating the course material to modern day events makeing the material so much more relative. the pair and share can help and can be hindering it depends on if the partner is prepared. perhaps only do it on certain days or only people who are perpared can participate. the congress of vienna game was a very fun and creative way to actually see not only how the actuall event played out but also the importance of the event. the research game was another creative way to show how to do proper research. i enjoy the in class writing assignments because they force you to critically think about the days lecture. those assignments help me the most when im studying for the tests. |
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
1 |
What I found most helpful was the online textbook that was optional to purchase for the course. |
|
|||
2 |
The professor was always available to answer any questions, so I was never left confused. After each assignment, I received comments about what I did well/what I could work on the next time, so I could improve my work. |
|
|||
3 |
Most helpful to me was the constant work. Not too much, but just enough to keep me on track and in touch with the class. |
|
|||
4 |
The discussions and weekly assignments. |
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
1 |
everything was good. |
|
|||
2 |
The separation of topics on the views of history we were interested in. Also the whole idea of video game theme. |
|
|||
3 |
The prep-work we did for each class and lectures. |
|
|||
4 |
Allowing students to bring and use technology in class allows them to go into further detail during class discussions on matter they do not fully understand. |
|
|||
5 |
Lectures |
|
|||
6 |
I really couldn’t learn a lot because the information wasn’t shown it was just said and I’m a visual learner so it was very unhelpful. |
|
|||
7 |
He kept the class interesting. Brought current events that were linked and related to the past to explain the material. Talked and discussd real life events. A real down to earth man and very helpful. |
|
|||
8 |
I thought the course was challenging. Professor Creasmen was clear on what he expected from the student and if I didn’t understand it I was able to ask him. He was available in the office and by emails. |
|
|||
9 |
I particularly enjoyed the notes in this class, Professor Creasman’s slides and lectures were focused. |
|
|||
10 |
I loved Professor Creasman and his teaching style. The Prep Work is worth the work. You learn so much and take away so much form his class. I plan on taking him for future classes. |
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
1 |
Professor’s accessibility, prompt response, and the ability to view classmates responses, this making possible to see the matter from multiple angles. |
|
|||
2 |
Instructor was very nice and open to any questions we had also he was extremely knowledgeable about the subject. |
|
|||
3 |
Being forced to interact with other students certainly improved not only the knowledge on the subject matter but also the critical thinking skills it took to generate an appropriate response. |
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
1 |
Good guidance, material and text. Great videos and evaluation process in general. |
|
|||
2 |
I found the written assignments due each week the most helpful to learn the material in the course. Being able to research in the book and outside sources along with the unit videos allowed me to really understand the material beyond the facts. |
|
|||
3 |
I loved the idea of using the discussion board as a way to communicate with other students and share our thoughts on the subject, as if we were actually in class. How the professor encourages us to check the discussion board often and read all the entries, we learn more by seeing other sides and others opinions and it’s almost like physically being in class. I also liked that the professor would leave me comments on my graded work. |
|
|||
4 |
What I found most helpful to my learning in this course, is that our professor Carl is very understanding. He was willing to answer any questions and concerns I had even before the class began, and he made me feel confident being that it was my first online class I was ever. It was a history class, and It wasn’t my area of expertise I had forgotten alot of things and he made us think in larger terms, we had to gather alot of information on western civilization history in order to join the discussions, and it was a nice experience for me, I have only good things to say about him. I like his method of teaching, and he demonstrated to us that he is more than skilled enough to teach this history class I enjoyed learning from him , and I would like to take him again for another history course, and if he reads this I just want to say thank you for understanding that sometimes things come up in the semester, and he was flexible with grading, he gave us the chance to develop our own ideas. |
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
1 |
I think what I found most helpful was the fact that we had to learn the material before the class.” |
|
|||
2 |
The group interactivity and the way some assessments and in class activities had us work in groups and use our critical thinking skills altogether helped me grasp the material much easier than I expected myself to. |
|
|||
3 |
Prep work was something that really helped me focus in on class and what we were learning. Also the ‘game category’ that we chose in the beginning of the course was a really helpful way for me to get a better understanding of the time we were learning in. This was a very difficult class but I think I learned the most from it. |
|
|||
4 |
The prep work was very helpful because it helped me be more prepared for the class and I could use those notes to study for tests and assessments. Also, the ability to use technology in class was very helpful. Also, I like the group sessions in class. |
|
|||
5 |
The different uses of technology to complete projects was extremely helpful.” |
|
|||
6 |
Teacher was great in interacting with students and getting students to interact with one another. |
|
|||
7 |
The videos were really helpful for visual students. |
|
|||
8 |
The class was very interesting. I always looked forward to going to class, which is not a commong thing, because i knew i would be learning something very interesting and helpful. The teacher was great, he explained very well and was always accessible. The prepwork and group discusssions helped be get a better understanding of the material. It was also very helpful to know the possible essay questions before the test. It helped me study and be prepared. It was an amazing class. |
|
|||
9 |
The class had well-explained assignments and students were all well aware of what the requirements were to earn an A in the class. The subject matter was taught and explained in easy to understand terms, and we had the opportunity to focus on parts of the subject that interested us more. |
|
|||
10 |
I found the option to choose what their most intrested in learning helped alot. |
|
|||
1 |
Professor Creasman is very god at giving very specific feedback to your answers. He is also great at asking questions to get you to go a little further in your thinking than you did on your own. |
|
|||
2 |
This was my first online class and I will be honest that I was nervous. I am a tactile learner and prefer having the teach their. Prof Creasman, made the discussions engaging with excellent prompts and feedback. He pushed us to take the discussion deeper and to really get comfortable with the information. I really enjoyed the class, the professor, and the fast paced assignments really helped me to push myself to a new academic level. My only regret is that I don’t need any more social science courses and can’t take another course that Professor Creasman is teaching, I would have enjoyed that, this was a superior class to my World Civ I experience. |
|
|||
3 |
Mr.Creasman’s comments were certainly very helpful! He assessed my assignments and discussions very well and gave me constructive criticism which helped me have a clear understanding of what I did wrong and what I should work on better. Definitely had a very wonderful professor. |
|
|||
4 |
The professor is really good about providing videos and other tools to learn the information beyond the book |
|
|||
5 |
The professor was highly knowledgeable in subject matter. The professor encouraged thought process and instigated it also. The professor provided great amount of workload, which gave me impulse to have to learn alot of information in the time allotted. I also find that the availability of having the book purchased via ebook was great because I did not have the purchase an expensive book that I would only use for 10 weeks. All in all, great online class. |
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
What suggestions do you have to make this course a better learning experience? |
|
|||
1 |
Nothing, I like the fast paced homework, the discussions are engaging and make good use of critical thinking. The big papers are tough but not overwhelming. I think the class is well balanced. |
|
|||
2 |
Regarding to turning in discussions early to due date, I completely understand the idea behind it which is to encourage and make students get used to turning in assignments on time, although taking points off of the assignment if not turned days before the due date can make students feel in a rush to complete it and as a result have a low quality of work. |
|
|||
3 |
The professor should keep his own personal views to himself. There was a comment made from one of the earlier discussions (directly quoted from his initial post “a far cry longer than the wars we moan and whine about here such as the events in Afghanistan”), I personnally felt a little offended from this and thought it was a little unprofessional. I am a veteran and I would never be so naive to compare the casualties and causes of modern warfare with those of the past. In reality, the death of ten or the death of ten thousand, for a cause that people disagree with is worthy of any “moan and whines”, and should not be judged so pedantically. |
|
|||
4 |
Allow the ebook to be permanently purchased, not “rented”, so to speak. |
|
|||
1 |
None |
|
|||
2 |
I would say everything in the course was pretty good at making it a great learning experience. I think the unit videos were cheesy after the first two or three weeks of class which made it less fun to watch, but other than that, it was great. |
|
|||
3 |
I sort of wished that there were actual quizzes used in the course. I understand this was a Gordon rule course, but quizzes would help us keep the facts in order. Perhaps a short, simple weekly quiz based on the current topic. I think this would also help with our papers for the course. |
|
|||
4 |
I do not have any suggestions at the moment. |
|
|||
1 |
Make questions more clearly worded |
|
|||
2 |
I think requiring a response to a video discussion would be nice. I’m a visual person and it would be fun to discuss the lessons learned from the video with the class. |
|
|||
1 |
No suggestions, the class was great! |
|
|||
2 |
I think for the essays we wrote if he would have personally reviewed with us what he was looking for would have been a lot more helpful. |
|
|||
3 |
More little quizzes or assessments to help prepare us for major tests/final. |
|
|||
4 |
None |
|
|||
5 |
Maybe have more slides to make note taking a bit easier. |
|
|||
6 |
the professor’s handwriting was hard to understand when he gave us feedback in the prepwork and graded paragraphs. Other than that, the way the class is set up is perfect and it was very helpful for me. |
|
|||
7 |
I suggest he hands out refferences to how he expect the work to get done. I feel like he was not compeletely clear on what he wanted in certain assignments and left alot of students confused. |
|
|||
1 |
none. |
|
|||
2 |
The class was wonderful. But, having a more direct way to found out how our assignments were to be graded would make the class perfect. |
|
|||
3 |
I wasn’t a huge fan of splitting off into groups all the time. I felt like as an individual I never gained more than I already knew from a group, and I thought it took up too much class time. |
|
|||
4 |
More bullet points |
|
|||
5 |
Put the powerpoint online |
|
|||
6 |
None. |
|
|||
7 |
Honestly, I don’t have any suggestion. |
|
|||
8 |
I would have liked the expectations of each assignment to be more clear, especially concerning the class prep assignments, the prompts for which I felt were vague and not specific enough to really engage in an in-depth response. |
|
|||
9 |
Creasman you are the best. I love American History and you made my passion for it even bigger. Thanks Alot. You are a great Professor and cant wait to have you again. |
|
|||
1 |
I found this class to be overall a great learning experience. I don;t think I would change anything really ecept for maybe a few assignments that were different from the norm. |
|
|||
2 |
Change the book, I didn’t like that it sort of mixed unimportant and irrelevant information about a topic that had nothing to do with the chapter, it made it hard to concentrate. |
|
|||
1 |
I learned so much in this class i really dont think its possible to make it a better learning experience |
|
|||
2 |
Perhaps the class should spend a bit more time, but not too much, on WW2 ? |
|
|||
3 |
wasnt a fan of the five bibliographies. would have prefered a research paper. i do understand he was trying to convey the importance of proper citation and research techinques but i think a paper would do the same thing. i like the style of in class papers rather than outside for the simply personal reason that in class papers forces me to study rather than put the paper off till the last minute.plus having an option of short answere questions can help pad the grade. |
|
|||