Summary of Teaching Evaluations
Instructor evaluations – quantitative data
Environmental Change, Geography 3350a
Fall 2013 (Respondents: 19/22)
Fall 2014 (Respondents: 10/14)
Winter 2019 (Respondents: 16/22)
| Select questions | Mean (2013) | Median (2013) | Mean (2014) | Median (2014) | Mean (2019) | Median (2019) |
| Displays enthusiasm | 6.5 | 7 | 6.6 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Encourages participation | 6.7 | 7 | 6.8 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Interesting presentation | 6.6 | 7 | 6.4 | 6.5 | – | – |
| Overall instructor effectiveness | 6.5 | 7 | 6.8 | 7 | 6.9 | 7 |
| Average of instructor questions | 6.3 | – | 6.4 | – | 6.9 | 7 |
Scoring:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| poor | unsatisfactory | borderline | satisfactory | good | very good | outstanding |
Physical Geography (Geo 1300b) Evaluations, Winter 2012, Winter 2018
Winter 2012 respondents: 38/97
Winter 2018 respondents: 40/85
| Select questions | Mean (2012) | Median (2012) | Mean (2018) | Median (2018) |
| Displays enthusiasm | 5.8 | 6 | 6.6 | 7 |
| Encourages participation | 5.7 | 6 | 6.4 | 7 |
| Responds to questions clearly and thoroughly | 5.8 | 6 | 6.1 | 6.5 |
| Encourages reflection* | – | – | 6.3 | 7 |
| Provides helpful feedback* | – | – | 6.0 | 6 |
| Approachable when students sought guidance* | – | – | 6.5 | 7 |
| Overall instructor effectiveness | 5.7 | 6 | 6.2 | 6 |
| Average of instructor questions | 5.7 | – | 6.1 | – |
*these questions were added to the questionnaires in 2017.
Scoring:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| poor | unsatisfactory | borderline | satisfactory | good | very good | outstanding |
Sample comments from Instructor evaluations
Unique teaching style
“Beth has been one of the most engaging, enthusiastic, professional, and passionate instructors I’ve had in university. Her unique teaching style makes every class different, and although I was first intimidated that it was different from a traditional lecture style, I feel that it overall benefited my learning of course material as well as giving me opportunities for developing research, communication and confidence skills. I always looked forward to class, and was excited about what and how we were going to learn. Thank you for a wonderful semester!” Geo 3350a Winter 2019
Student-centred
“This has been one of the best instructed classes that I have taken, and Dr. Hundey truly used the WALS room to enrich our learning experiences. I feel as though I have gained vast knowledge of the course material, while being able to develop my communication, interpersonal, research and presentation skills. I feel like I am a more confident learner, and that I can take my knowledge and skills and apply them outside the classroom. I think that the course material was all relevant, and that the methods for evaluation were fair. Both the instructor and TA always provided good feedback on assignments. I wish more classes were taught in this style, as I truly believe that it has enhanced my academic experience.” Geo 3350b Winter 2019
“Due to the fact that in the beginning of the course we do/ did activities it definitely made it easier to make friends. There was a very relaxed atmosphere in the class due to those activities which is awesome & extremely rare.” Geo 3350a Fall 2013
“Love the enthusiasm and upbeat approach to lectures. The need to discuss topics with neighbors multiple times every class may be a little overdone, as I feel that most people would rather avoid awkward peer interactions and group work whenever possible. I share this feeling for lab work as well. However, I understand that producing labs in pairs reduces work load for students and instructors and encourages an exchange of ideas that is more productive and less uncomfortable than in–lecture group discussions. I really like that the lecture and lab topics are relatively in–sync week to week, since revisiting the topic multiple times over the span of two weeks improves long–term learning and makes studied for the exam easier and more effective. I think you are a great instructor. You show that you are passionate about your field, and your students, and the extra effort that you put in with the pre–class videos and the use of resources like Piazza and Collaborate goes a really long way.” – Geo 1300b Winter 2018
“I really enjoy the in class group exercises as they improve my understanding of the content greatly” – Geo 1300b Winter 2018
Motivating
“Honestly, Beth has been my favourite Prof in my 5 years at Western. She works so hard to make the course interesting and encourages students to learn further about what she teaches. Her methods of evaluation were fair & allowed me to research things that actually interested me. The class conference was great & students were obviously enthusiastic about it. All in all, Beth made this course as interesting & as fun as possible &, so far, my favourite course at Western.” Geo 3350a Fall 2013
“Beth was so awesome! This is my favourite course this term despite it being at 8:30 am. I always tried my hardest to come to class (missed two classes I think) since I knew I would miss a great experience if I slept in. She is knowledgeable, enthusiastic and funny… She is a great teacher and I learned a lot this term and most of all, enjoyed learning it. She is creative and very effective as a University Professor!” Geo 3350a Fall 2013
“I’m so happy i took this course. It was an eye opening experience and has me rethinking what i will pursue as a career.” Geo 1300b Winter 2018
“Your passion for the Geography work you do has both inspired and motivated me to learn more about Geography. Geography is cool. Thanks for showing me that.” Geo 1300b, Winter 2012
High expectations
“If they were all like Dr. Hundey there would be no need for these evaluations. She is the epitome of what a teacher should be at any level of education. Of my 4 courses this course material is the most difficult and complex for me, if there were one I could drop to lighten my load as I try to begin my degree as a mature student it would be this one, however I wouldn’t dream of giving it up and missing one moment to continue to learn from Dr. Hundey and experience her obvious enthusiasm for teaching and for the content.” Geo 1300, Winter 2018
“Professor Hundey is an outstanding Professor. Her progressive, interactive approach to teaching is very effective. Although the course was a bit heavier in terms of workload, I feel I can take a lot away from this course. Please give her more opportunities to lecture in future! She is the sort of addition to the department that will encourage more students to enrol in geography.” Geo 3350a Fall 2014
Approachable and encouraging
“Professor Hundey was by far my favourite professor throughout university. She is able to explain concepts clearly and concisely in a way that really helps me understand the topics. Professor Hundey truly cares about her students, always open to discussion and helpful with concerns. I have never had another class like this one before! Great experience :)” Geo 3350b Winter 2019
“Very enthusiastic and creates a very welcome and involved teaching environment where students participate during each class discussion. Created interesting and meaningful projects that helped further my learning and think critically about the knowledge that I have gained. It was a great year and I am very pleased with the structure of the course.” Geo 3350b Winter 2019
“In my opinion, the way that this course is taught is a great learning experience. The level of enthusiasm that Dr. Hundey shows is extremely encouraging and makes coming to class enjoyable. The lectures are very organized and easy to understand. Dr. Hundey did a great job at explaining key concepts and always answering questions. I really appreciated Dr. Hundey as a teacher and I would recommend anyone else to enrol in a course taught by her.” – Geo 3350b Winter 2019
Technology-enhanced
“The owl site for this course was amazing. The amount of effort that Prof. Hundey put into the course not just during class time is unparalleled with my other professors. She had weekly introducing videos, checklist to help keep students on track, pre reading questions, supplementary pre readings from outside sources, diagrams, youtube videos, and on top of that moderated a piazza page for students to ask questions.”- Geo 1300b, Winter 2018
“Professor Hundey is an extremely invested prof who is very passionate about her job and engages with her students. She is really good with technology, and has introduced new forms of media to me (piazza, iclicker, voicethread) ” – Geo 1300b, Winter 2018
Teaching Assistant Evaluations
The format of TA evaluations in the Department of Geography at Western has evolved over time, however most evaluations have a concluding question regarding the “overall effectiveness” of the teaching assistant. Below, these results are summarized, and indicate that 89 to 100 percent of students indicated that I was a very good or outstanding teaching assistant.
Anonymous student comments indicate that many students find me engaging, approachable, clear, and effective at giving feedback.
Engaging
“Always had a great outlook on class discussions and assignments. Happy to help and always wore a smile!” – Geomorphology and Hydrology, Fall 2009
“She was very good at explaining difficult concepts, and was very excited about what we were learning.” –Geomorphology and Hydrology, Fall 2009
“I thought she was very enthusiastic and optimistic about what she taught. She was a fun person to learn from, who marked fairly and quickly. Beth made the labs interesting and funny.” – Introduction to Physical Geography, Winter 2010
Approachable
“You made the experience a positive one in which I felt comfortable and safe to share my presentation.” – Teaching Assistant Training Program (TATP) Microteaching Evaluation, Fall 2012
“She was very helpful and understanding, made things a lot clearer for me because I never took geography before this course…” – Introduction to Physical Geography, Winter 2011
“She was always willing to provide extra help and was easily approachable. She was extremely enthusiastic and made class interesting.” – TA Geomorphology and Hydrology, Fall 2009
“Personable, welcoming and risk taking environment. Gave confidence to try new things, validated comments, and was accepting of all opinions.” – TATP Microteaching Evaluation, Fall 2013.
Clear and organized
“Very good at conducting labs. Clear and organized, thorough. Very helpful and effective.” – Geomorphology and Hydrology, Fall 2009
“Explained concepts, what was expected and any other questions that were asked were answered thoroughly. Assistance was always available if needed.” – Paleolimnology, Fall 2008
“She was very clear, concise, and knowledgeable.” – Introduction to Physical Geography, Winter 2011
Effective at giving feedback
“Very good feedback was provided on marked assignments, which was extremely helpful in understanding how to improve.” – Geomorphology and Hydrology, Fall 2007.
“The TA provided good feedback and comments on my proposal and was able to meet with me for further clarifications and guidance for my term paper.” –Introduction to Biogeography, Fall 2012