Abigail Raz - University of Nebraska–Lincoln · 2020. 10. 20. · Abigail Raz 1/26 TEACHING...

Abigail Raz 1/26

TEACHING EVALUATIONSAbigail Raz ([email protected])

Enclosed you will find my student evaluations in reverse chronological order. I have only includedcourses for which I was the instructor.

Contents

University of Nebraska, Lincoln 10.1 Elementary Analysis — Spring 2020 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.2 Differential Equations Section 002 — Fall 2019 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.3 Differential Equations Section 004— Fall 2019 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Rutgers University 160.4 Probability — Summer 2018 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170.5 Introductory Linear Algebra — Summer 2017 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200.6 Graph Theory — Summer 2016 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

https://www.math.unl.edu/abigail-raz

1 - I understand that my response will be anonymous and will not include any identifying information.

Response Option Weight Frequency Percent Percent Responses Means

Yes (1) 13 100.00% 1.00

0 25 50 100 Question

Response Rate Mean STD Median13/23 (56.52%) 1.00 0.00 1.00

2 - Educational research has identified the elements in the below statements as being important to student learning. For each statement, please select your level of agreement regarding your learning experiences in this course:

I feel welcome and respected.


Strongly Agree (5) 9 75.00%

Agree (4) 2 16.67%

Neither Agree nor Disagree (3) 1 8.33%

Disagree (2) 0 0.00%

Strongly Disagree (1) 0 0.00%

4.67




I understand course expectations and how my performance is evaluated.



Agree (4) 3 23.08%




4.38




I feel challenged to learn a lot in this course.



Agree (4) 1 7.69%




4.92



Instructor: Abigail Raz *

MATH-325-002.1201: ELEMENTARY ANALYSIS MATH325 SEC 002 Spring 2020Course:

CAS Spring 2020 Course Evalua onsUniversity of Nebraska, Lincoln

13/23 (56.52 %)Response Rate:

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Course activities effectively promote my learning and interest in the subject.



Agree (4) 3 23.08%


Disagree (2) 2 15.38%


4.15




The learning tools (e.g. course texts, notes, slides, videos, exams, projects, etc.) support my learning.



Agree (4) 3 23.08%


Disagree (2) 2 15.38%


4.31




I am invited to be an active participant in my learning (either face to face or online).



Agree (4) 4 30.77%




4.54




I have opportunities to learn with and from other students in this course.



Agree (4) 4 30.77%




4.31







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The feedback I receive on my work is useful to me for making changes and improvements.



Agree (4) 4 30.77%




4.15




I know where to go for help in this course if, and when, I need it.



Agree (4) 3 23.08%




4.54




I find communication with the instructor (e.g. office hours, email, Canvas, etc.) effectively supports my learning.



Agree (4) 2 15.38%




4.38







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3 - What has been beneficial to your learning? From the following list of teaching elements, what is the one thing that has been the most beneficial for your learning in this course so far? After your selection, please provide written comments about the element.


Inclusiveness (1) 0 0.00%

Course Performance Expectations (2) 1 7.69%

Course Challenge (3) 2 15.38%

Engagement in Assignments or Projects (4) 1 7.69%

Course Learning Materials and Tools (5) 1 7.69%

Active Learning Opportunities (6) 0 0.00%

Quality Interactions with Students (7) 2 15.38%

Timely and Useful Feedback for Improvement (8) 0 0.00%

Support (9) 1 7.69%

Instructor Communication (10) 3 23.08%

Other (11) 0 0.00%

Not Applicable (0) 2 15.38% 0 25 50 100

Response Rate13/23 (56.52%)

4 - You selected 'Inclusiveness'. Please provide written comments on your choice.

Abigail RazResponse Rate 0/23 (0%)

5 - You selected 'Course Performance Expectations'. Please provide written comments on your choice.


6 - You selected 'Course Challenge'. Please provide written comments on your choice.

Abigail RazResponse Rate 2/23 (8.7%)

• This course was very challenging for a lot of reasons, and it mostly had to do with the way the material was taught and the way things were explained. I felt that the material itself is challenging butwas not explained well enough or help was not given properly for me to fully master this Material from Dr. Raz

• Agree strongly

7 - You selected 'Engagement in Assignments or Projects'. Please provide written comments on your choice.


8 - You selected 'Course Learning Materials and Tools'. Please provide written comments on your choice.


9 - You selected 'Active Learning Opportunities'. Please provide written comments on your choice.






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10 - You selected 'Quality Interactions with Students'. Please provide written comments on your choice.


• She makes so much time for her students and it is very obvious that she wants them to succeed which is extremely appreciated.

• constantly encouraged us to engage during lecture, the workshops were actually very helpful. I have taken this course before however, you are the only professor that explained the material in away that I could understand.

11 - You selected 'Timely and Useful Feedback for Improvement'. Please provide written comments on your choice.


12 - You selected 'Support'. Please provide written comments on your choice.


• Abigail is one of the best professors I have ever had. She truly cares about your success and learning in the course and encourages students to ask her about the course material. She offers all thesupport you need for a very rigorous course.

13 - You selected 'Instructor Communication'. Please provide written comments on your choice.


• Professor Raz has great communication. She always keep us updated if there is any changes in the course and she make sure we understand the materials.

• She helps me a lot.

14 - You selected 'Other'. Please provide written comments on your choice.


15 - You selected 'Not Applicable'. Please provide written comments on why you selected your choice.


• The way the material was presented and taught I just could not learn it effectively. I felt like there had to be a better way to present the material.





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16 - What could use some improvement? From the following list of teaching elements, what is the one thing that could most use some improvement to increase your learning? After your selection, please provide written comments about the element.


Inclusiveness (1) 0 0.00%

Course Performance Expectations (2) 0 0.00%

Course Challenge (3) 1 8.33%

Engagement in Assignments or Projects (4) 0 0.00%

Course Learning Materials and Tools (5) 2 16.67%

Active Learning Opportunities (6) 0 0.00%

Quality Interactions with Students (7) 0 0.00%

Timely and Useful Feedback for Improvement (8) 2 16.67%

Support (9) 0 0.00%

Instructor Communication (10) 0 0.00%

Other (11) 1 8.33%

Not Applicable (0) 6 50.00% 0 25 50 100


17 - You selected 'Inclusiveness'. Please provide written comments on your choice.


18 - You selected 'Course Performance Expectations'. Please provide written comments on your choice.


19 - You selected 'Course Challenge'. Please provide written comments on your choice.


• Agree strongly

20 - You selected 'Engagement in Assignments or Projects'. Please provide written comments on your choice.


21 - You selected 'Course Learning Materials and Tools'. Please provide written comments on your choice.


• We would have many worksheets given to us to do but we were not able to fill them out due to lack of knowledge or understanding of the material. It was not taught well and the materials were notgiven to us to learn the material effectively

• There just wasn't a whole lot I could learn from. I had to try to learn from the internet more than anything.

22 - You selected 'Active Learning Opportunities'. Please provide written comments on your choice.






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23 - You selected 'Quality Interactions with Students'. Please provide written comments on your choice.


24 - You selected 'Timely and Useful Feedback for Improvement'. Please provide written comments on your choice.


• Her expectations from students for the homework were not clearly defined. She would give homework even during the week of midterms and that was inconvenient since we don't have only onesubject to focus on. Sometimes 2 homeworks were due in the same week. She used to rephrase the exact thing the student wrote and dock off points in the homeworks and quizzes for rephrasing.She used to dock off points for not meeting her expectations of a proof and then not even clearly mention it in the class. Her class notes should consist of more examples so that they would help ussolve some difficult problems.

25 - You selected 'Support'. Please provide written comments on your choice.


26 - You selected 'Instructor Communication'. Please provide written comments on your choice.


27 - You selected 'Other'. Please provide written comments on your choice.


• The weighted aspects of the course could be a little differently distributed.

28 - You selected 'Not Applicable'. Please provide written comments on why you selected your choice.


• There is nothing I would change about this course that is within anyone that is involved powers. It is sad we were not able to finish out the semester in person.

• Professor Raz is doing what she is currently doing.

• I enjoyed being your student

29 - This course is:


Required by my major/degree (1) 13 100.00%

Required by my college (2) 0 0.00%

A chosen elective (3) 0 0.00%

Don't know/choose not to answer (4) 0 0.00% 0 25 50 100






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30 - I spend the following average number of hours studying and/or preparing for this course per week:


Less than 1 hour (1) 1 7.69%

Between 1-4 hours (2) 2 15.38%

Between 4-7 hours (3) 4 30.77%

Between 7-10 hours (4) 4 30.77%

More than 10 hours (5) 2 15.38% 0 25 50 100


31 - My attendance in this class so far:


I missed 0% of classes (1) 2 15.38%

I missed 1-10% of classes (2) 9 69.23%



I missed 51% or more of my classes (5) 1 7.69% 0 25 50 100


32 - My anticipated grade for this class is:


A (4) 2 15.38%

B (3) 4 30.77%

C (2) 5 38.46%

D (1) 1 7.69%

F (0) 1 7.69% 0 25 50 100






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1 - Do the classroom procedures and discussions seem well-planned?

Abigail Raz


Always (5) 17 94.44%

Often (4) 0 0.00%

Sometimes (3) 0 0.00%

Seldom (2) 1 5.56%

Never (1) 0 0.00%

4.83



2 - Are the instructor's presentations and explanations helpful in understanding the subject matter?

Abigail Raz


Always (5) 10 55.56%

Often (4) 5 27.78%


Seldom (2) 1 5.56%

Never (1) 0 0.00%

4.33



3 - Grading policies were .


Clearly stated (5) 12 66.67%

Clear enough (4) 5 27.78%

Perhaps stated but do not recall (3) 1 5.56%

Never made clear (2) 0 0.00%

Never mentioned (1) 0 0.00%

4.61



4 - Could a student get individual help from this instructor?

Abigail Raz


Yes, definitely (5) 16 88.89%

Usually (4) 1 5.56%


Seldom (2) 1 5.56%

Definitely not (1) 0 0.00%

4.78




MATH-221-302.1198: DIFFERNTL EQUATIONS MATH221 SEC 302 Fall 2019Course:

CAS Fall 2019 Course Evalua onsUniversity of Nebraska, Lincoln


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5 - During lectures, does the instructor make suitable adjustments when the class becomes lost or confused?

Abigail Raz


Always (5) 9 50.00%

Often (4) 6 33.33%


Seldom (2) 2 11.11%

Never (1) 0 0.00%

4.22



6 - Does the instructor seem interested in this subject and in teaching it?

Abigail Raz


Yes, very much (5) 16 88.89%

Yes, usually (4) 1 5.56%

Maybe, hard to tell (3) 1 5.56%

No, not much (2) 0 0.00%

No, not at all (1) 0 0.00%

4.83



7 - Has work done in class helped you to solve course problems on your own?


Yes, very much (5) 14 77.78%



No, not much (2) 1 5.56%

No, not at all (1) 0 0.00%

4.61



8 - What is your overall impression of the quality of instruction in this course?

Abigail Raz


Excellent (5) 10 55.56%

Very good (4) 4 22.22%

Good (3) 3 16.67%

Fair (2) 0 0.00%

Poor (1) 1 5.56%

4.22







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9 - Do the instructor's way of speaking and personal mannerisms interfere with effective teaching?

Abigail Raz


Never (5) 10 55.56%

Rarely (4) 7 38.89%

Occasionally (3) 0 0.00%

Frequently (2) 1 5.56%

Nearly always (1) 0 0.00%

4.44



10 - How would you describe the pace of this course?


Very slow (5) 0 0.00%

Slow (4) 0 0.00%

About right (3) 10 55.56%

Rather fast (2) 7 38.89%

Very fast (1) 1 5.56%

2.50



11 - Please comment on the quality of the instruction you received and on your experiences in this course.


• The weekly quizzes resembled the homework due after them, effectively requiring the student to do their homework two days early. However, this interfered with my schedule as I consistently hadhomework in other classes due the day of the math quiz. I was forced to choose between doing poorly on the quiz or doing my math homework when I only had time for other assignments.

• Wonderful teacher would take another class that is taught by her

• Material was a bit hard to understand for the first week but afterwards it felt like a proper math class.

• Mainly taught what the book went over and did not add much to the material. A lot of definitions and theorems but I believe that is more to due with the class itself than the professor. Wouldrecommend having professor Raz spend more time shortening up notes and going over more examples in class.

• Everything made sense when it was taught, it was especially helpful when going through examples.

• This course was excellent. The only complaint I have is that there was little to no feedback on why points were lost on homework. Everything that Dr. Raz graded herself was clearly explained. Dr.Raz is one of the best instructors I have had. She genuinely cares about the subject and her students. I especially appreciate that she provided some applications of differential equations to help usas students see how differential equations can be useful, since most of us are engineering majors.

• Very good, really enjoyed this class. Felt that the pace was good compared to other math classes. I liked the small classroom atmosphere because she knew everyone's names and people couldspeak up when confused. Very approachable for questions and understanding of missing class, being late etc

• She did a great job teaching, but I feel like a lot of lectures were very theory based, but personally since I'm not doing math theory, I'd much rather just do examples all class long. I don't care aboutthe theory.

• Probably one of the best math professors I have had so far. Everything just makes sense; how the class is structured, being able to use certain concepts in earlier chapters and connecting themwith problems in later chapters, etc. Professor Raz clearly outlined what we would be doing, and did an amazing job teaching all of these different concepts. I really liked being able to do multipleexample problems for every section we covered. That really helped when doing problems on my own. Her teaching style is very easy to follow, and is always willing to help students who don'tunderstand something. She makes you really think about what's going on, always asking questions to the class to make sure everyone is following along. Overall, a great person and an amazingmath professor.

• She was great! I got everything I needed out of the class!





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1 - Do the classroom procedures and discussions seem well-planned?

Abigail Raz


Always (5) 10 55.56%

Often (4) 5 27.78%


Seldom (2) 1 5.56%

Never (1) 0 0.00%

4.33



2 - Are the instructor's presentations and explanations helpful in understanding the subject matter?

Abigail Raz


Always (5) 6 35.29%

Often (4) 6 35.29%


Seldom (2) 1 5.88%

Never (1) 0 0.00%

4.00



3 - Grading policies were .


Clearly stated (5) 9 50.00%

Clear enough (4) 7 38.89%

Perhaps stated but do not recall (3) 1 5.56%

Never made clear (2) 1 5.56%

Never mentioned (1) 0 0.00%

4.33



4 - Could a student get individual help from this instructor?

Abigail Raz


Yes, definitely (5) 12 66.67%

Usually (4) 5 27.78%


Seldom (2) 0 0.00%

Definitely not (1) 0 0.00%

4.61







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5 - During lectures, does the instructor make suitable adjustments when the class becomes lost or confused?

Abigail Raz


Always (5) 3 16.67%

Often (4) 7 38.89%


Seldom (2) 2 11.11%

Never (1) 0 0.00%

3.61



6 - Does the instructor seem interested in this subject and in teaching it?

Abigail Raz


Yes, very much (5) 14 77.78%



No, not much (2) 0 0.00%

No, not at all (1) 0 0.00%

4.72



7 - Has work done in class helped you to solve course problems on your own?


Yes, very much (5) 6 33.33%

Yes, usually (4) 10 55.56%


No, not much (2) 1 5.56%

No, not at all (1) 0 0.00%

4.17



8 - What is your overall impression of the quality of instruction in this course?

Abigail Raz


Excellent (5) 7 38.89%

Very good (4) 5 27.78%

Good (3) 4 22.22%

Fair (2) 2 11.11%

Poor (1) 0 0.00%

3.94







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9 - Do the instructor's way of speaking and personal mannerisms interfere with effective teaching?

Abigail Raz


Never (5) 8 44.44%

Rarely (4) 8 44.44%

Occasionally (3) 2 11.11%

Frequently (2) 0 0.00%

Nearly always (1) 0 0.00%

4.33



10 - How would you describe the pace of this course?


Very slow (5) 0 0.00%

Slow (4) 0 0.00%

About right (3) 10 55.56%

Rather fast (2) 6 33.33%

Very fast (1) 2 11.11%

2.44



11 - Please comment on the quality of the instruction you received and on your experiences in this course.


• I think she was a good instructor. She tried to get class participation going by asking us questions and giving us some group work problems to get us discussing together. Abigail would talk tostudents before class instead of just being there to teach, it seemed like she was interested in getting to know us a little, which helped people feel comfortable asking for help. I like that she showedproofs when necessary, but was also willing to move past one if it was going to be too much. I enjoyed this class very much :)

• She was great.

• Well taught except I would have liked to have more opportunities to receive clarifications on course material.

• She is a good instructor, helped me a lot in understanding the material of the course even though it was hard to understand.

• Dr. Raz did a decent job teaching the material. I understood some material in class, but there was some material that I didn't understand as well, especially once we started Laplace transforms.There were a few times where it was hard for me to keep up with her taking notes. Dr. Raz was very nice to me and was helpful when I went to her office hours. I wish I would have been able todevote more time to the class in order to get a better grade. As for the course, I was not pleased with how it was set up. I did not like how the homework assignments were set up. I could not usethem to study for quizzes since we had to turn them in the week before we took the quiz over what the homework covered, which made it difficult for me to do well on quizzes. I did not like the bookthat we used as it was very poor at explaining material and had very bad examples for the most part. Furthermore, it also bothered me that we were not allowed to use an equation sheet for theLaplace transforms as there was no way I could memorize all of them along with the inverse to each one. Finally, I was not able to figure out the whole point of this course, as the topics seemrandom and don't appear to correlate well with each other, and this made it hard for me to learn in the course.

• I really appreciated her support and reliability in this course.

• 4/10. Would give us abstract things and then throw something new at us on quizzes and exams.

• Abigail did a great job teaching this course. Office hours were very helpful and no time was wasted during the classes.

• The homework were way too long and so were the tests. It was rough because of that. Extra stress I didn't need. But, teaching wasn't terrible.

• This was my third MATH course at UNL, and it was by far my favorite. A lot of that was due to the instruction of Abigail Raz.





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Rutgers University Student Instructional Rating(Online Survey - Sakai)

Raz Abigailajr224Summer 2018,01:640:477:B1— Math TheoryProb (index#01484)Enrollment= 28,Responses= 11

Part A:University-wideQuestions:

Student Responses Weighted Means

StrongDisagree

1

StrongAgree

5

Noresponse

Section Course Level Dept

1. The instructorwas preparedfor class andpresented thematerial in anorganizedmanner.

1 0 0 0 10 0 4.64 4.50 4.04 4.62

2. The instructorrespondedeffectively tostudentcomments andquestions.

1 0 0 0 10 0 4.64 4.50 4.25 4.54

3. The instructorgeneratedinterest in thecoursematerial.

1 0 0 1 9 0 4.55 4.36 3.96 4.40

4. The instructorhad a positiveattitude towardassisting allstudents inunderstandingcoursematerial.

1 0 0 0 10 0 4.64 4.55 4.33 4.61

5. The instructorassignedgrades fairly.

1 0 1 1 8 0 4.36 4.50 4.14 4.39

6. Theinstructionalmethodsencouragedstudentlearning.

1 0 0 1 9 0 4.55 4.36 3.92 4.40

Student Instructional Rating Survey, Summer 2018 - Raz Abigail - a... file:///Users/abigailraz/Downloads/SIRS_Summer-2018_01_640_4...

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Raz Abigailajr224Summer 2018,01:640:477:B1— Math TheoryProb (index#01484)Enrollment= 28,Responses= 11



StrongDisagree

1

StrongAgree

5

Noresponse


7. I learned a greatdeal in thiscourse.

1 0 0 1 9 0 4.55 4.45 4.04 4.45

8. I had a strongprior interestin the subjectmatter andwanted to takethis course.

0 0 2 1 8 0 4.55 4.00 3.61 3.48

Poor Excellent

9. I rate theteachingeffectivenessof theinstructor as:

0 0 0 1 10 0 4.91 4.59 4.04 4.45

10. I rate theoverall qualityof the courseas:

0 0 0 3 8 0 4.73 4.64 4.02 4.26


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What do you like best about this course?:

“The materials are very efficiently organized and examples are easy to understand. Quizzes, homework’s and problems in class arevery helpful for student to review all the materials. The instructor is nice and patient.”

“There was a strong balance between strict lecture and problems/examples, which made both the theoretical and practical aspects ofthe course very engaging.”

“The pace and the depth of the material. Abigail worked through and explained example problems at a pace which was not hard forme as the student to keep up with. The depth of the material was enough to be interesting and insightful, but was not so deep that Iwas feeling overwhelmed or lost. ”

“The course material is well-organized.”

“There were plenty of examples during class to help us understand the theory.”

“Abigail is a fantastic teacher, very patient and responsive.”

“The lecturer was friendly, there was plenty of examples and a lot of things were explained clearly.”

If you were teaching this course, what would you do differently?:

“I would use more diagrams to help student understand the difinitions in class.”

“I would have changed the scheduling of the quizzes from Tues/Wednesday to Mon/Wednesday. Otherwise, it was a well structuredcourse. ”

“Offer a bit more flexibility in the grading breakdown. To assign letter cut offs before the semester begins is not always the most fairway to determine grades. Especially in a summer course. The timeframe of the course demands that students are prepared for multipleassessments each week on material that was learned very recently. With real life outside of school, it is not always possible forstudents to prepare for the assessments as well as they could have if the time frame was a bit longer. Perhaps dropping two lowestgrades for the different assessments would be a bit more forgiving. ”

“/”

“I would distinguish my f's and F's more clearly.”

In what ways, if any, has this course or the instructor encouraged your intellectual growth and progress?:

“The willingness to be of true aid during office hours was a very encouraging aspect and it allowed for a deeper understanding of thework.”

“Abigail’s method of instruction offers students the opportunity to think for themselves, while still receiving an appropriate amount ofguidance in the right direction. When problems originally are posed, they can seem daunting. But Abigail reminds the class of whatwe know, and how we can use that knowledge to arrive at the desired solution. Lucky to have Abigail as an instructor this term! ”

“/”

“Probability is fun when you understand it.”

Other comments or suggestions::

“My only suggestion would be that it would be better if the instructor could write f and F more differently. ”

“I think that the course was both interesting and very well taught. It has further solidified my interest in studying probability.”

“/”

“Abigail was a superb instructor; one who shows that she cares. Lectures were clear and kept me interested even for an 8am class.Office hours are golden. She'll clear up any questions that you have. Thanks Abigail (thumbs up emoji)”


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Rutgers University Student Instructional Rating(Online Survey - Sakai)

Raz AbigailSummer 2017,01:640:250:B2— INTROLINEARALGEBRA(index #01554)Enrollment= 27,Responses= 13



StrongDisagree

1

StrongAgree

5

Noresponse



0 0 1 2 10 0 4.69 4.57 4.54 4.68


0 0 1 0 12 0 4.85 4.62 4.48 4.56


0 0 3 1 9 0 4.46 4.48 4.37 4.54


0 0 1 2 10 0 4.69 4.65 4.60 4.64


0 0 2 3 8 0 4.46 4.52 4.43 4.56


0 0 2 2 9 0 4.54 4.34 4.34 4.50

Student Instructional Rating Survey, Summer 2017 - Raz Abigail file:///Users/abigailraz/Downloads/SIRS_Summer-2017_01_640_2...

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Raz AbigailSummer 2017,01:640:250:B2— INTROLINEARALGEBRA(index #01554)Enrollment= 27,Responses= 13



StrongDisagree

1

StrongAgree

5

Noresponse



0 1 2 0 9 1 4.42 4.39 4.43 4.55


0 2 3 1 7 0 4.00 3.88 3.75 3.61

Poor Excellent


0 1 1 1 10 0 4.54 4.40 4.33 4.53


0 0 2 3 8 0 4.46 4.27 4.25 4.41


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“all the applications of it”

“I like how the instructor was helpful with questions and assigned relevant homework problems. ”

“Learning something new everyday was very pleasing.”

“The teacher taught better than any other Mathematics professor that I had here at Rutgers. She was really friendly with all thestudents and knew us all personally and knew how to help us as individuals. She knew exactly which examples to give such thatstudents understood every subject matter. This is a 3.5 month class compressed into 1 month but the teacher did not ever make us feelrushed or scared of the material we had to cover. She was always very patient in class and office hours with us, she answered everysingle question gracefully and kindly. In other words The best thing about this course is the teacher. Abigail made a hard subject likeLinear Algebra look easy to us and helped us grow interest in the overall subject.”

“fair homework, fair quiz, fair grade”

“The professor was very helpful, and almost always available for office hours. ”


“not give proofs on exams”

“I would slow down a little bit and go more step by step. Also at the beginning of each lecture I would recap on some of the materialfrom the previous lecture. The course was a little fast paced.”

“More precise outline of sections available on syllabus”

“I would slow down some, as some students like myself have never seen this material before this class. It felt fast paced.”

“I would try to teach this course exactly the way she taught us the course but I would probably fail to reach her level of teaching skillsand knowledge.”

“First of all I will self learning calligraphy. Well, at least make sure my script is legible. her handwriting is terrible, so many times shewrote u like v and vice versa not to mention she hesitates a lot while she's copying her notes to the chalk board. and still gotwrong(like missing "-" symbol or something) Math is a precision thing, and her handwriting is an issue. Second&last, I will grademore fairly. For 2 HW in a row I got the same point reduction because I was a little lazy. "let a be scalar of vector v" "let b be scalar ofvector u", I did "... b ... u" instead She used this way couple times in class so i guess it's okay. when i handled my second HW and getback my first one i saw the point reduction. i got the same reduction on the second HW later. And I got some points back. So i think ifi was teaching this class I would think more about this kind of issue. ”

“I would go a little slower on the proofs.”


“I have learned to think from a different perspective in terms of problem solving”

“I have learned to deal with a fast paced class and understand material quickly when I have never seen it before.”

“Our instructor not only taught us about Linear Algebra but also helped us grow interest in the courses that follow Linear Algebra.She always advised us on what to do if we were to Major or Minor in Mathematics and what courses to take and what track to follow.As a result of this course several of us are considering a Math Minor. She took the fear of mathematics out of us and helped usovercome the negative pre-existing conceptions we had about this course.”

“N/A”

“The course has encouraged me to learn more about proofs, and understand that there is a lot more to math than I thought. ”


“please don't make students do proofs. i understand if the professor does the proof to show it (theorem) actually works but i would


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rather deal with all the application based aspect of the course instead of the theoretical”

“I don't have any suggestions for the teacher but for the department, teachers like her should be teaching the course during the Springand Fall as I believe she is on the level of the existing professors. She relates to the students better, she knows what students need andhow they should be taught. I went to a few Linear Algebra classes last Spring just to check out the subject material and professorsthere lack the passion that Abigail had and they seemed to make it look harder than it actually is, as a result many of my friendsdropped this class. I am super glad that I took this course with her, it was pure luck. But now I am going to refer her to all of myfriends such that they all learn from the best as I have. Thank you for your Time Abigail.”

“N/A”

“The professor was very helpful and put in a lot of effort to make sure her students could understand the material. ”


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Rutgers University Student Instructional Rating(Online Survey)

Raz AbigailSummer 2016,01:640:428:B1— GRAPHTHEORY (index#00832)Enrollment= 30,Responses= 12



StrongDisagree

1

StrongAgree

5

Noresponse



0 0 0 0 12 0 5.00 5.00 4.88 4.63


0 0 0 0 12 0 5.00 5.00 4.84 4.50


0 0 0 2 10 0 4.83 4.83 4.75 4.42


0 0 0 1 11 0 4.92 4.92 4.93 4.61


0 0 1 0 11 0 4.83 4.83 4.74 4.50


0 0 1 4 7 0 4.50 4.50 4.73 4.39


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Raz AbigailSummer 2016,01:640:428:B1— GRAPHTHEORY (index#00832)Enrollment= 30,Responses= 12



StrongDisagree

1

StrongAgree

5

Noresponse



0 0 0 2 10 0 4.83 4.83 4.79 4.48


0 0 1 4 6 1 4.45 4.45 4.27 3.67

Poor Excellent


0 0 0 2 10 0 4.83 4.83 4.77 4.41


0 0 0 3 9 0 4.75 4.75 4.68 4.31


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“We learned a wide variety of things but they didn't seem disconnected or random. The book was good despite being a bit sparse withexamples, so around an 8/10, and that made it much easier to study independently. It tied them together well. Things were clearlyorganized both in that sense and in how Abigail always was early and graded things SO FAST which was extremely helpful becausewe could look at our graded work very quickly and learn from it. Also everything was clearly organized on Sakai and there was neverany confusion about policy or deadlines. Our grades and homework and syllabus were all on Sakai and it was fantastic. I loved thisclass - the subject material was great and so was the teaching!”

“I really enjoyed the content of the course as well as how the lectures were interspersed with small group discussions. I found theformat/lectures engaging, despite the longer classes and highly condensed nature of the course. ”

“The topic itself was interesting and is applicable to my field of study (Computer Science).”

“The material is really interesting, it's different from typical math classes.”

“Getting a revelation to solve a difficult proof.”

“The instructor was amazing. The way she taught the course, made the proofs and concepts easy to understand.”

“I felt like I definitely learned a lot, though I was hoping to get into a few topics that were not covered.”


“FIRST: Math 300 (CS 205 could also be accepted maybe) definitely needs to be a prerequisite for this course. I think people whodidnt take it were at a distinct disadvantage compared to me and others who had taken it, and it wasnt fair but once they were put inthis class there was no way to fix that - you cant find time in the few weeks before a summer session midterm to get someone whobarely remembers the rudimentary convergence proofs in Calc 2 to the same level of proof writing as someone who has spent a fullsemester in a class dedicated to it, no matter how excellent the instructor is. There were a few people I talked to who just did not getthe idea of proof by contradiction ("but if this is false doesn't it disprove it??") or induction, and we spent a lot of time on induction in300 and really explained it but there was no time in this course because it was packed with so much cool stuff. Also Calc 3 was notused a single time in this course and 250/intro linear algebra was touched upon with one topic one day (and matrix multiplication issimple enough to learn in one day even if you haven't taken 250). The prerequisites don't make a lot of sense and I would change thatif I were in charge of this course (I know that's the department and not the instructor though) SECOND: Sometimes the proofs on theboard got very long (by that I mean each section of the board had to be erased and written over multiple times for the same proof, soessentially the proof was 2 blackboard long in normal handwriting). This could be a bit hard to follow every once in a while, andsince we were only expected to do proofs that were significantly simpler than those it wasn't as helpful as other things could havebeen. Even the medium length proofs could get boring just because there were so many of them. Some of the proofs were helpful andI found myself engaged, but I think the group work and problem examples on the board were usually more helpful. We didn't reallydo proofs in group work, and I think that might have been better than watching proofs be written. Overall though it was a really greatclass with a fantastic instructor and that's all the nitpicking I have.”

“Involve more group work and interaction among the students. Also slow down in terms of writing on the board. It would make thewriting more legible and would give students time to absorb the information being taught. There are times when I fear even erasingsomething I copied wrong because if I did, then I would fall behind and struggle to keep up.”

“Nothing, she teaches it really well and I really like how the class goes.”

“I would announce the topic of quizzes a few days before.”

“Maybe the set of topics that are covered after the base material. I was interested in other sub-topics”


“Abigail is great. She never makes people feel stupid; she responds nicely and thoroughly to questions I later realize I must havesounded dumb for asking. Even though she's an advanced graduate student and clearly very smart, she doesn't give the impression oflooking down on us like some do. This makes me feel comfortable about participating in class, which has been very helpful to myunderstanding of the material and to my confidence with math. I actually would have been too afraid to take a 400 level math class if Ididn't know she was teaching it (I had some experience with her in a different class so I knew she was very nice and helpful), but now


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I am signing up for combinatorics next semester. I'm also going to try to change my math minor that I was debating dropping (becauseI was afraid of failing more advanced classes, not because of poor performance thus far) to a full double major. I always had theinterest but was too afraid to try a higher math course than 300, but I'm doing well in this course - it turns out I can do it and Iprobably wouldn't have found that out if it weren't for Abigail.”

“I learned a great deal about graph theory and the instructor answered all my questions and provided a lot of constructive feedback.”

“Definitely learned a good amount on graph theory and how to do proofs in mathematics.”

“This course gives me a better understanding on graphs, and it will definitely help me with my future studies on CS.”

“Not sure”

“The examples in class taught us the real-world applications of this course!”

“I feel like we covered a wide breath of what graph theory is, and I also especially liked the bits of historical context the professorprovided.”


“Even though she's still a TA, I think she's tied with prof. Thom Tyrrell as the best math instructor I've ever had and is significantlyahead of every other instructor, including a good number of full professors/phds, who has taught me in the past. She really seems tohave a passion for sharing knowledge and helping people learn about math, which she clearly loves. I am very glad to have had her asmy teacher.”

“You are the BESTTTTT!!!!!”

“None”

“Thank you so much for being an amazing instructor :)”


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Abigail Raz - University of Nebraska–Lincoln · 2020. 10. 20. · Abigail Raz 1/26 TEACHING...

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