Summary of Student Feedback

Diana Ruggiero
Spanish & Portuguese
Winner 2004 Graduate Teaching Associate Award
The Ohio State University

“[Diana] is honestly one of the best Spanish instructors I’ve ever had because she makes learning the language interesting and she uses culture to reinforce everything.”
–Student’s quote from a mid-term evaluation

In order to improve my teaching skills and adjust my activities to fit my students’ needs, I use a variety of feedback tools. The most important tool for me is to simply ask the students for their suggestions, especially after trying out a new activity. Written feedback tools are also used, including Student Evaluation of Instructor forms, Student Evaluation of Teaching forms, mid-quarter feedback surveys, and Evaluation of Activity Forms.

One of the biggest adjustments I have made to my teaching technique came after I discovered that a wide majority of the students were complaining about the amount of repetitive, written homework exercises I assigned. The exercises are included in the texts and workbooks for the classes, and are normally assigned on a daily basis. After seeing the students’ comments, I resolved to reduce the amount of written homework that was collected for grading, and rely almost exclusively on in-class quizzes to make sure that the students were keeping up with the work. Students across the board were greatly appreciative of this move. The quizzes continued to motivate the students to study and practice at their own pace, and grades generally improved as students had more time to concentrate on the specific trouble areas that they did not have time for when the written homework was piled on.

One of the biggest complaints about foreign language classes has to do with the speed/pace of the class. Spanish 102.66 is basically a review class with a fast pace, and students of many skill levels test into this section. Spanish 104, the other class I have taught at OSU, is the final class in a series (101, 102, 103, 104) that meets the GEC foreign language requirement, and as such also has students of many skill levels and varying degrees of true interest in the subject. Therefore, there are always many complaints about the class being either too fast or too slow, or not very stimulating. According to the student feedback I have received, the primary reason I have been so successful in keeping my classes motivated is the unique combination of enthusiasm, technology, and cultural examples that I use to spice up the routine grammar practice.

One of my past students submitted this to me in an email, which let me know that my enthusiasm for the Latino culture was appreciated:

“While I was in Spanish 102.66 I quickly became amazed by your passion and enthusiasm for your native Argentinean and Latino culture. Everyday you taught with the same passionate and vibrant attitude, which I found to be highly contagious. By observing your attitude and demeanor I soon realized that the Spanish language and the Latino culture is not merely made up of vocabulary and grammar rules to be learned and understood but rather it is part of a dynamic and vibrant tradition and culture that is meant to be interacted with and embraced.”-Student email

The word most commonly used to describe me and my style of teaching on student evaluations is enthusiastic. One student wrote that, “She’s very enthusiastic and genuinely interested in teaching and helping.” Another says, “Diana is very enthusiastic and makes the classes fun while learning Spanish.” A third would recommend my class to her friends, which is always a great complement:

“The instructor was very excited and eager to teach. She gets the whole class involved in all of the oral exercises and has succeeded in making us all friends. I would insist any friend of mine take this course provided she was the instructor.”-Student mid-term evaluation

When asked about the most useful material in my course, students routinely answer, “Diana’s Web CT webpage.” One student wrote, “The webpage was the most useful and helpful tool,” while another went as far to say, “Diana’s webpage was more useful than the [OSU Spanish] department page.” Other students appreciate the games and exercises I create for the class. One writes, “I liked the approach the instructor took including using songs and games to encourage participation.” I am always available to help the students, before and after class, in office hours, and electronically. One student summed this up by writing, “I knew that if I ever had any trouble with Spanish or even a personal problem you would drop whatever you were doing and immediately be there to listen and help me solve my problems.”

Below is a cumulative student evaluation of instruction report summarizing the courses I have taught at OSU. I am most proud of the fact that eighty-five out of ninety-six students have responded to this evaluation over five quarters, and I have still maintained a perfect 5.00 in the category “Instructor Interested in Teaching.” I have also maintained an almost perfect score in “Interested in Helping,” which truly defines my approach to teaching.

I would like to end by including this touching quote written on the back of a mid-term evaluation:

“She is the best TA I’ve ever had. She creates creative activities that help us tremendously with our Spanish speaking skills. She has so much energy and excitement for this course that makes us want to try harder. It’s great to have a TA who knows what they’re doing and is able to make the course so interesting. She is perfect. The only way she could improve is to become a professor at O.S.U. I mean that she is one of the few rare TAs out there that have a talent for presenting information in a manner that everyone understands and can learn.”